A Camarillo couple's long wait to be reunited with their adopted Vietnamese daughter is almost over.

Steve and Julie Carroll heard Wednesday that they will finally be allowed to bring home 11-month-old Madelyn Grace, who they adopted in September along with another baby girl, Lillian Rose.

While the U.S. government granted Lillian Rose a visa to enter this country, American authorities had refused to issue a visa for Madelyn Grace, and the Carrolls were forced to leave her behind in the care of foster parents.

Now, several months and countless hours of heartbreak later, Steve Carroll, deputy administrator for Ventura County's emergency medical services, is on a plane to southeast Asia to finally bring his daughter home.

"We got an e-mail from USCIS (the U.S. bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services) Wednesday morning saying they were going to send our approval over to the State Department for the issuance of the visa," said Julie Carroll, as she packed a suitcase for her husband, who was flying out Wednesday night on the first flight he could get.

"A State Department representative in Washington, D.C., asked us if there's anything they could do to help facilitate the process, and they have agreed to tell the U.S. embassy staff in Hanoi that Steve will be there on Friday to get the visa," she said.

Once the visa has been issued, he will travel to Ho Chi Minh City to get Madelyn Grace.

The Carrolls credit news coverage and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., for helping to bring their daughter home.

"We struggled for so long to get anyone to listen and pay attention," Julie said. "Then, after it was on the front page of The Star, Sen. Boxer got involved and then it snowballed."

Boxer told U.S. government agencies that she would be closely watching developments after the Carrolls traveled to Washington to meet with her and with State Department officials.

"I am thrilled that this heart-wrenching ordeal is coming to a happy end and that the Carroll family will be able to bring their baby home to California," Boxer said after hearing about the breakthrough Wednesday.

In January, the Citizenship and Immigration Service concluded the case met the criteria for a visa, but last week the State Department — which is responsible for issuing visas — sent the Carrolls' case back to CIS and requested that it revoke approval.

CIS denied that request and directed the State Department to issue the visa.

The Carroll family was apparently caught in the middle of a diplomatic squabble between the U.S. and Vietnamese governments, according to immigration officials.

The two countries are quarreling over the renewal of a 2005 agreement, set to expire Sept. 1, that authorizes adoptions between Vietnam and the United States.

U.S. authorities have told the Vietnamese government and parents who are looking to adopt that the agreement is unlikely to be renewed in its current form.