Recent article about Vietnam and the slow down...

Associated Press, Jan 6, 2008)Lynn DeHart never planned to live in Vietnam — until the U.S.government said she couldn't bring her newly adopted grandson home.Now, she's been stuck in a Vietnamese hotel for three months, tryingto get a U.S. visa for 18-month-old Alexander. "Good heavens, no, Ican't leave without him," she said. "I couldn't live with myself. Dothey really think I would return him to an orphanage?"

Renewed U.S. concern about possible baby selling, fraud andcorruption — the same fears that led to the suspension of Vietnameseadoptions from 2003 to 2005 — are holding up visas for some babiesadopted in Vietnam. Roughly 20 American families are affected,according to Vietnamese adoption officials.

"We have conveyed our concerns to the government of Vietnam, and theyare assisting us in our investigations, " said U.S. Ambassador MichaelMichalak. "We're trying to fix the system. It's going to take time.And it's a painful situation all around."

Nguyen Cong Khanh, deputy director of Vietnam's internationaladoption agency, agreed that the system needs to be improved. Toomany American adoption agencies have been licensed in Vietnam, andthe demand for babies is greater than the supply, he said.

Vietnamese law requires that foreign adoption agencies makehumanitarian contributions to orphanages. These orphanages oftendon't disclose what they receive or how they use it, Khanh said. "Theagencies mostly pay in cash, and it is hard to ensure that the moneyis used transparently and correctly," Khanh said. "This may havecreated fertile ground for corruption."

Families like the DeHarts, who adopted babies in line with Vietnameselaw, are left with two choices: returning their babies to theorphanage, or appealing the U.S. visa decision, a time-consuming andcostly process with no guarantee of success.

David and Julie DeHart adopted Alexander last September and expectedto take him home three weeks later. Then, U.S. immigration officialssaid they intended to turn down their visa request.

David, a family physician, had to get back to work in the UnitedStates. But his mother, Lynn, was willing to stay in Vietnam with hergrandson while the family appealed. She never expected to be herethis long. "It is an amazing voyage that I'm on," she said.

She has had to learn how to cross Hanoi streets, wading through a seaof motorbikes and scooters that rarely slow for pedestrians, not evenfor 64-year-old grandmothers pushing baby strollers. "They go throughred lights and drive on the sidewalk!" she said. "I just put up myhand and say, 'Don't hit me!'"

Every morning, she and Xander, as the boy is nicknamed, call hisparents and 4-year-old brother Spencer in the U.S. Midwestern stateof Wisconsin using Skype, watching each other with webcams on thefree Internet service.

U.S. Embassy officials sympathize with families in the DeHarts'situation, but say they have a legal responsibility to investigateadoptions thoroughly. U.S. law requires that an adopted child be agenuine orphan, or be given up knowingly for adoption by his birthparents.

Because of the recent problems, immigration officials have begunconducting visa investigations before parents arrive to pick up thechild. "I wish they had been doing that all along," David DeHartsaid. "Unfortunately, there's a group of us who are now stuck inlimbo.

"Some have quit their jobs to stay in Vietnam with their babies,living off their savings while they appeal. "My entire livelihood isat stake," said Monica DiGioacchino, 39, who has taken leave from herjob to pursue a visa for her adopted 7-month-old son Patrick."

It is absolutely anguishing," said DiGioacchino, a technical writerfrom Alameda, California, who shares a Hanoi apartment with a friendin the same situation. "We are first-time parents, and we are awayfrom our support system."

Vietnam has become a popular place to adopt because the wait forbabies is generally shorter than in other countries. Also, singleparents are eligible to adopt here and, unlike neighboring China,Vietnam allows babies to be adopted before they turn 1 year old.

Twelve countries have adoption agreements with Vietnam, but Americansadopted more babies in 2007 than all the others combined, accordingto Vietnamese officials. Last year, 826 American families adoptedbabies in Vietnam, including Hollywood star Angelina Jolie. In 2002,the last full year of adoptions before the suspension, Americansadopted 766 babies.

Among the other nations with adoption agreements are Canada andseveral European nations, including France, Germany, Denmark, Italy,Sweden and Ireland. So far, only the United States has raised publicconcerns about adoptions in Vietnam.

Before adoptions resumed, Vietnam agreed to set up a centralauthority to regulate adoptions in the country's 64 cities andprovinces. But U.S. officials say that individual provinces havecontinued to set their own rules and adoption fees, increasingopportunities for corruption.

With more than 40 U.S. adoption agencies operating in Vietnam, thecompetition for babies is intense. An adoption can cost more thanUS$20,000, not including travel costs.

While many agencies follow the rules, U.S. officials believe some donot. According to the embassy Web site, some Vietnamese parents havebeen offered cash for their babies, and some infants have been put upfor adoption without their parents' knowledge.

The embassy statement also describes a suspicious surge in reports ofabandoned babies after U.S. adoptions resumed, especially in therural provinces of Thai Nguyen and Phu Tho, where the DeHarts adoptedXander.

Many of the abandonments appear to have been staged, said a U.S.Embassy official who declined to give his name, citing embassyrules. "They probably know where the child came from, but they areusing false documents to make it difficult for anyone who is tryingto figure it out," he said.

The concerns about Xander's adoption stem from a date change on hisadoption papers, David DeHart said. The form said the baby had beenfound abandoned in 2007, but apparently someone had changed the yearto 2006.

U.S. Embassy officials will not discuss specific cases, citingprivacy concerns. During September and October, the first two monthsof the 2007 fiscal year, they raised questions about 13 adoptions.All those families are appealing for visas.

The DeHarts say they chose their adoption agency carefully and havecomplete confidence in it. Still, David DeHart said he understandswhy U.S. officials are subjecting adoptions to heightenedscrutiny. "They are concerned about children basically being boughtand sold," he said. "That's something we obviously don't support."