Due to the current situation in Vietnam, Homecoming Adoptions is not accepting applications for this county.

History in a Nutshell
The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Vietnam declared independence after World War II, but France continued to rule until its 1954 defeat by Communist forces under Ho Chi MINH. Under the Geneva Accords of 1954, Vietnam was divided into the Communist North and anti-Communist South. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later, North Vietnamese forces overran the South reuniting the country under Communist rule. Despite the return of peace, for over two decades the country experienced little economic growth because of conservative leadership policies. Since 2001, Vietnamese authorities have committed to increased economic liberalization and enacted structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries.

Vietnam is a densely-populated, developing country that in the last 30 years has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally-planned economy. Substantial progress was achieved from 1986 to 1997 in moving forward from an extremely low level of development and significantly reducing poverty. Growth averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy and temporarily allowed opponents of reform to slow progress towards a market-oriented economy. GDP growth of 8.5% in 1997 fell to 6% in 1998 and 5% in 1999. Growth then rose to 7% in 2000-05 even against the background of global recession. Since 2001, however, Vietnamese authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to economic liberalization and international integration. They have moved to implement the structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. However, equitization of state-owned enterprises and reduction in the proportion of non-performing loans has fallen behind schedule. Vietnam's membership in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and entry into force of the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade in December 2001 have led to even more rapid changes in Vietnam's trade and economic regime. Vietnam's exports to the US doubled in 2002 and again in 2003. Vietnam became a member of the WTO in 2005. Among other benefits, accession allows Vietnam to take advantage of the phase out of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, which eliminated quotas on textiles and clothing for WTO partners on 1 January 2005. Vietnam is working to promote job creation to keep up with the country's high population growth rate.

Adoption Procedure
Due to a slower than expected adoption process in Vietnam, our Vietnam program currently has a waiting list as we are limiting the number of applicants. Infant boys and girls as well as some older children are available for adoption.  Most children are relinquished at birth and each child is given a physical examination upon entry to the orphanage. Each child is tested for HIV and for Hepatitis B.  Although the babies are in an orphanage, the level of care is relatively good.  Prospective adoptive parents should be at least 25 years old and no more than 45 years older than the child to be adopted.

Fully authenticated dossiers are translated into Vietnamese and submitted to the Department of International Adoption (DIA) in Hanoi.  The DIA requests a referral from the province which is then sent to our US office and on to the family.  Once you accept the referral of a child, the DIA in Hanoi sends the dossier to the Province and the Province officials schedule a “Giving and Receiving” ceremony where the adoption if finalized.   Prospective adoptive parents are required to travel for one trip of about 2 weeks.  The entire adoptive process is estimated to take less than a year and families should expect to travel to Vietnam about 8 months after dossier submission to DIA in Hanoi. 

Adoption Costs
Adoption costs are broken down into practice fees, international fees and estimated travel costs. As with any adoption, HCA charges an practice fee of $5,000.00 payable in two installments. The optional document preparation fee for Vietnam is $1,875.00. Practice costs are fixed from the time a contract is signed by the prospective adoptive parents. Of course, in-country fees can be subject to change. However, an increase in the international fee is extremely unlikely once the adoptive process has begun. International fees in Vietnam will be approximately $15,000.00. There are fees paid to the DIA for their services, fees for the orphanage donation, and miscellaneous legal/certification costs for U.S. Immigration as well as passport fees, notarization, etc. Total costs, including everything from lodging and travel to/from and within Vietnam, guide services, meals, homestudy, dossier preparation, etc. are expected to be approximately $25,000, give or take a bit, from beginning to end.  Individual circumstances will vary in mostly small degrees.  Independent medical testing of orphans in Vietnam is currently not possible but we are working on it. There is a one time required donation of $1,000 to help offset the cost of Homecoming’s charitable efforts.