Looking ahead to the Medical Exam in Guangzhou...

Quite a few friends and relatives have asked me in the past few days if Aaron will need to get mass immunizations at the U.S. Medical Exam in Guangzhou before his U.S. Visa will be issued, allowing him to travel to the U.S. They have asked because of the very difficult situation my online friend, Diana and her family's have experienced this week with their new, beautiful daughter, Sienna Grace. (Their blog is the last one on my blog list on the right side of my blog; it's listed as myadoptionwebsite.com) Poor Sienna was forced (by the U.S. government) to receive SEVEN immunizations at one time in order to be granted permission to come to the U.S. (Keep in mind children in China have already received many of the same immunizations children in the U.S. receive.) Within hours Sienna developed a fever of 104! and began vomiting. I cannot imagine the fear this family faced being in a foreign country with a very ill child. Their experience at a modern hospital in Guangzhou is unbelievable and frightening...they ended up leaving before being seen. The good news is that Sienna has been granted an expedited visa for medical reasons and will be coming to the U.S. on Saturday. It is unfortunate that she had to go through all of this. And, it is unfair. Biological children born to U.S. citizens living abroad are not subject to mandatory vaccinations or TB testing prior to coming to the U.S. However, children adopted in foreign countries by U.S. citizens are required to receive these immunizations and undergo TB testing before being allowed into the U.S. This is absolutely discrimination. Children adopted internationally by U.S. citizens should be treated the same as children born to U.S. citizens living abroad. There are currently acts before Congress to try to correct this injustice...

The good news for our family, is that Aaron will NOT be receiving immunizations at the medical exam. We are an I600 family, under the USCIS, and are allowed to present a vaccination affidavit exempting Aaron from immunizations while in China. Unfortunately, for many other families adopting children from China, including Sienna Grace's family, the newer USCIS paperwork called I800 requires children to receive mass vaccinations as part of the medical exam. In this way we are quite fortunate. However, all children over 2 must undergo TB testing in Guangzhou before being issued a U.S. Visa. We have no reason to think there will be any problem with this, but have followed the stories of two families in the past six months who were stuck in China for an extended period of time when their new child tested positive for TB. (Again, U.S. citizens and their children traveling abroad do not have to be tested for TB before entering/reentering the U.S, but now those children adopted by U.S. citizens do...This simply must be changed.)