Condolences to Richard Powers

Dick visiting orphanage in Vietnam in 2008

Dear Faith Families, Friends, and Partners,

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Richard Powers (Dick). Dick passed away peacefully in the presence of his children on December 19, 2011. 

He was an integral and vital part of Faith International since its inception. His love for the world's vulnerable children was unmatched. We have lost not only a respected employee, a dear friend,  but also a loved father and grandfather.

Dick positively touched the lives of so many people including thousands of Faith families. His kindness, cheerfulness, compassion, and dedication made him one of the greatest assists at our agency. All of us that were fortunate enough to know and work with Dick benefited from his wisdom and love. His love for all of us put a smile on our faces everyday.

Dick leaves behind nothing but love and respect from families and friends. His spirit will forever inspire all of us at Faith International. In our sorrow, we express our great gratitude to Dick and honor his life, his concerns for the vulnerable children of the world and his contributions towards improving the lives of those less fortunate, and his enduring love for all of us and our Faith families.

Please send letters of condolences to Dick's family to faith@faithadopt.org or our office at:

Faith International Adoptions

1105 Tacoma Avenue South

Tacoma, WA 98402

We will forever love and miss Dick.

John J. Meske and Faith Team

Dick visiting the School for the Deaf Children - Vietnam, 2008

2011 Holidays Hours

In observance of 2011 holidays, our office will be closed for the following periods:

• Thursday, December 22, 2011 (from 1:00PM - 5:00PM)
• Friday, December 23, 2011 (from 12:00PM - 5:00PM)
• Monday, December 26, 2011
• Monday, January 2, 2012

We will not be available for phone calls and be limited for emails during these closing periods. Our office will resume to regular hours starting on Tuesday, January 3, 2012.

Happy Holidays,

Faith Team
faith@faithadopt.org

What to Expect for India Adoptions in 2012

Dear India families,

I hope each of you are doing well and gearing up for the holidays. As the year 2011 is close to end, I would like to share with you some of my thoughts on the next things that will be happening for India adoptions in 2012.

I have received no word from CARA since their last notice, so I am expecting them to re-open in January of 2012. However, please understand that there is a chance that on or before December 31st CARA could send an email as they did in October, informing us of another delay. Let’s hope that it won’t happen this time. So, you may ask what will happen to your case after the re-opening. It depends on where you are at in the adoption process.

If you have a complete homestudy, I will send them to CARA for review. Based on the request stated in your homestudy, CARA will try to find an authorized orphanage (RIPA) that has children meeting your request. That RIPA is required to confirm whether or not they want to proceed with your adoption. If the RIPA agree, I will send your complete adoption dossier to them to get your adoption moving forward. In case that the RIPA refuse your case with a clear explanation, CARA will refer you to another one. CARA will play an important role to facilitate the child searching and matching, which can potentially reduce the matching time.

If you have already been matched, your case will continue to move forward. The RIPA director will submit your dossier to CARA and then the Indian Court for review and approval. I do not find any stated difference for this step in the new system comparing to the old one, so I expect to see the same time frame for it, which is about 6-8 months. Although your dossier has already been sent to India, CARA might ask for additional documents. I will let you know and assist you to complete these as quickly as we can.

If you haven’t started or are working on your homestudy, you should continue to move forward. I will provide you with instructions on any changes from the new system. If you are planning to adopt from India, I suggest you to wait until CARA confirm that they have officially re-opened. You should contact our office sometime in February of 2012 to discuss on the opportunities for your adoption. At that time, I will be able to provide you with more details on the new adoption system of India.

Please understand that even if CARA will be ready to re-open in January of 2012, it might take them some time to be familiar with the new system and have everything well organized. So, be prepared for some delays and unexpected changes. It will not be a big difference in time frame for cases submitted right after the reopening compared to the ones submitted in several months after. So, there is no need to rush your dossier to India in January of February of 2012.

Thank you so much for your effort and cooperation! It is always my pleasure to work with all of you. I am continuingly inspired by your love for children in India. I hope things will get better in 2012 and more children will be able to find their loving families.

Happy holidays!

HAI DOAN
India Adoption Coordinator
hai@faithadopt.org

Vietnam ratifies the Hague Adoption Convention

We receive many inquiries from families on status of the Vietnam adoption and time frame for the re-opening. From the lastest news that we received, Vietnam sent its letter of ratification to Hague Administrative on November 1, 2011, and the Convention will enter into force for Vietnam on February 1, 2012. This is a good sign that the adoption from Vietnam is on the right track to soon become available for American families. However, it may take several months after that for American agencies to apply and receive the license from Vietnamese government. We hope to be able to send the first adoption case to Vietnam in late Summer or early Fall of 2012.

We at Faith are very excited to see the love of our families continues growing strong for Vietnamese children, and many have expressed their interest in an adoption from Vietnam when it is available. If you are one them, here are what we suggested you to do to get ready:

1. Documents for adoption dossier: Have a spare copy of the following documents for adoptive parents (if it is applicable): birth certificate , marriage certificate, divorce decree/certificate, valid U.S. passport, federal income tax return of the last 3 years (2009, 2010, 2011), adoption decrees for all adopted children in home. There will be more documents needed for your adoption dossier, but those are the commonly required ones.
2. Adoption Homestudy: When Vietnam reopens, all adoptions will be proceeded under the Hague process (I-800). So, you should start searching for a local homestudy agency who can assist you with the Hague pre-adoption homestudy report. I always suggest families to contact more than one agency to compare their services and cost efficiency. Each State has its own set of requirements for intercountry adoption, and your local homestudy agency should know them well. It is a good idea to start talking to homestudy agencies about your State's requirements, what you need to prepare, and how the homestudy process should be handled.
3. Preferences and Guardians: As part of your adoption dossier, you will be asked to provide declarations from at least 3 people as preferences and 2 people as guardians for your adopted children. To make it objective, you should ask someone that is not your relative to be your preferences. The guardians for your adopted child should be in similar condition with your family in term of background, financial resources, marital status, etc.
4. Research: Start searching around for information and advices on intercountry adoption in general, and Vietnam adoption in specific. Learn about the country profile of Vietnam, culture, society, history, traveling, and start building strong knowledge and connection with the country. Be born and grow up in Vietnam, I will be more than happy to share with you my experiences and knowledge of the country. So, please feel free to call my office for a quick chat.
5. Get updates: If you want to receive emails from Faith with updates on Vietnam adoption status, sign up today!

Yes, it is very excited that Vietnam adoption will be soon resume and many orphans in Vietnam will be able to find a permanent loving family. May you have questions about the program, please contact our office today.

Hai Doan
Vietnam Adoption Program Coordinator
hai@faithadopt.org | Phone: (253) 383.1928

Related Articles:
Vietnam Joins Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention
Vietnam Ratified The Hague Adoption Convention
Vietnam Adoption Reform
Positive Changes in Vietnam Adoptions

India Adoption Update

I have been asked quite often by families in the India program about where they are now in the process, and what the timeline should be. So, this report is aimed to provide you with an overview on the India adoption process and how everyone is doing.

From my experience, the adoption process for the India program can be divided into 10 different stages from start to finish:

1. Family starts the adoption process by submitting application and completing adoption contract and agreements paperwork.
2. Work on homestudy, prepare documents for I-800A, and prepare documents for adoption dossier.
3. Homestudy complete, file I-800A with USCIS, and send adoption dossier to India.
4. Receive official referral from India, prepare acceptance documents and documents for India State Court. Send acceptance documents and documents for India State Court to India.
5. I-800A approved, file the I-800
6. I-800 approved. File the Immigration Visa Application (DS-230) for the adopted child with the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. Article 5 Letter is granted by the Embassy.
7. CARA approves the adoption. NOC is granted.
8. India State Court approves the adoption. Court Order is issued. Guardianship is granted. Family prepares for travelling to India.
9. Family travels to India to meet the child.
10. Family comes home with the child. Provide post-placement reports at the 3rd, 6th, and 12th months.

There are 9 families in our India program now, and they are at different stages of the process:

• 2 families are in stage 1
• 3 families are in stage 2
• 2 families are in stage 3
• 1 family is in stage 6
• 1 family is in stage 9

The 5 families in stage 2 and 3 are working quickly on completing their homestudy, documents for I-800A and adoption dossier. I really appreciate their effort, commitment, and corporation to get things done quickly. I am very happy to work closely with families to provide them with instructions, advices, and assistance to complete necessary forms and documents.  I encourage families to contact me for any questions they might have. I am available by both email and phone calls. I keep all the families inform on what documents that I will need and what I received from them.

Due to the working habit, things can move pretty slowly in India when it comes to processing and approving the cases. Therefore, the best way to save time for your adoption is to move fast in stages 1 through 6 where we have more control in the processing time. I have seen family can move through the first 6 stages within just 7-8 months. At stage 7 and 8, the time is really depended on the India authorities. And please be prepared for a longer wait than it is stated. A period of 4 -5 months can be expected. As soon as you receive the Court Order and your guardianship is granted, you should start to prepare for your travel to India right away. Faith International Adoptions will provide you with detail instructions on travelling to India.

Thank you for opening your heart to children from India. I look forward to learning more about you and assisting you through this adoption journey.

Hai Doan
Adoption Program Coordinator