Life in General

Hollywood movie star Angelina Jolie is set to adopt a Vietnamese boy in May after being fast-tracked through the system.

Jolie chose the boy, who is between 3 and 4 years old, during a recent visit to the Tam Binh orphanage on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, said Vu Duc Long, the head of the justice ministry's international adoption department in Hanoi.

Under ordinary circumstances, it takes about four months to process an adoption after the forms arrive, Long said. If the prospective parent already has chosen a child, the adoption can be completed in just three months.

"Three months would be the longest," Long said, adding that Jolie's case could be processed faster than that.

Long confirmed last week that Jolie had filed adoption papers, but did not provide any details about the child or how long the process would take.

Jolie initiated the adoption process in the United States, but her application only arrived at Long's office last week. His department has approved the application and sent it to officials in Ho Chi Minh City, who also must review it.

Jolie and her partner, Brad Pitt, have three children: 5-year-old Maddox, adopted from Cambodia; 2-year-old Zahara, adopted from Ethiopia; and another daughter, Shiloh, who was born to the couple in May.

The pair made a surprise visit to the Tam Binh orphanage at Thanksgiving, when they were spotted cruising around Ho Chi Minh City on a motorbike.