Karla made the decision to adopt a child about three years ago. She began the process twice, both times with countries that changed their rules and refused to accept her application, before turning to Vietnam in hopes of finally realizing her dream of becoming a mom.

"On the day [Karla] arrived in Vietnam, Oct. 25, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Ho Chi Minh City announced that because of 'growing concerns about irregularities in the methods used to identify children for adoption in Vietnam and the resulting difficulties in classifying those children as orphans,' the local USCIS office would need to verify the status of any orphan up for adoption to the U.S."

Thus began what is, to date, a seven-month wait for Karla to bring her adopted daughter home. Karla's lawyer, Irene Steffas, says there is hope because they're re-tracing some of their steps to show governments in both countries that the law has been followed and the adoption is legitimate. Source: Wisconsin State Journal

SunHawk Academy offers programs for troubled teens in a boarding school setting. Their adolescent drug treatment center also offers teen substance abuse treatment.

Labels: international, adoption_process, immigration

Posted By: Aspen Education Group