Here you have it....

This is the update we received today. Still moving at a snails pace but things are looking up!!!
Dear families:

In the past two or three weeks, there hasn't been much progress in overcoming the last barrier to fixing the 5 child dossiers of the kids at the Lien Chieu orphanage. The population committee ex-director has been refusing to sign the five corrected “acceptance into orphanage” letters as ordered by the PC. As of this week, the PC has issued the final order to him and threatened him with severe disciplinary actions, according to what we were told. He lost his directorship last time he refused to sign the original documents, we are not sure what the severe consequences will be for him this time, should he still chooses to not cooperate.

As the Tet holidays are coming up, we don't expect some immediate results to be seen. The PC has talked about alternative plans, but we do not expect any of those to be implemented until at least a couple of weeks after the Tet. We are sure adoptive parents understand and are well aware that things work differently in Vietnam, and we want to assure you that we are diligently trying everything in our power. As a matter of fact, we have enlisted the help of the local DOJ, and were being advised that there are other ways to validate the documents without the signatures of the ex-director. While we are still lacking the details of the alternative plans, we were told that the dossiers will be ready by the end of February. We are very thankful to the DN officials who have been offering advice and assistance in dealing with this tough task. We are also very grateful to have the LC orphanage director's full cooperation in the last three months. As we had explained to parents in the beginning after discovering the child dossiers' errors, it would take some months for the dossiers to be all corrected. The progress came slowly, but also steadily as we expected so far. We incline to believe in the officials and we will be having the final results by the end of February.

Once all documents are approved by the local DOJ, they will release to CAI full sets of copies of the child dossiers. Therefore, in mid February, we will ask families to prepare the I-600 Petition Form, which are to be sent to Da Nang before the end of February. As soon as the child dossier documents are released by the local DOJ, we will have those translated in the shortest time possible and provide parents with copies of all the documents, and will send the petitions on behalf of families, to the USCIS in Ho Chi Minh City.

As a side note, some of you had sent care packages to the orphanage in Lien Chieu. We want to re-emphasize to you that it is not necessary indeed. CAI has committed to cover all the needs of all the children in the orphanage, including the ones matched with families, and the newly admitted ones, adoptable or not. That is our commitment to the Vietnamese government and Vietnamese orphaned children. Please also understand that supplies and goods in Vietnam are much cheaper than in the States. Probably only one-fifth of what you pay for here. Therefore, if you really want to have some more brand new clothings etc. for your matched child, send a check to CAI and we will have the money sent to VN. Just tell us what kind of supplies you wish to get for your child, and the associate there will do the shopping for you and provide you with receipts and a picture of the supplies purchased.

Finally, the orphanage director has been having much trouble with the camera that we provided to her for taking update pictures, and with emailing file attachments, hence the delay with providing you updated pictures and measurements. The DN associate will be going to the orphanage with his own digital camera and retrieve the measurement files shortly after the Tet holiday. He is now back in Hue, his hometown for Tet and to investigate on starting a new project there. As always, please be patient and thank you!

Sincerely,
CAI staff