DOS Adoption Notice: DRC Changes at Embassy Kinshasa for adoption-related immigrant visa processing

Democratic Republic of Congo 

February 7, 2013

Notice: Changes at Embassy Kinshasa for adoption-related immigrant visa processing

Due to the increase in the volume of intercountry adoptions from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by U.S. citizen families, U.S. Embassy Kinshasa announces several changes to its procedures for adoption related immigrant visa processing.  On January 31, 2013, Embassy Kinshasa held a teleconference with U.S. offices of adoption service providers (ASPs) operating in the DRC, to announce these changes.  A meeting will take place February 7 at the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa with local ASP representatives to share the same information.  This notice summarizes the information shared in those meetings.

Embassy Kinshasa will now conduct the required field investigation after the approved I-600 petition is electronically received from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), or, for petitions filed in the DRC, upon receipt of the petition.  The Embassy will notify the petitioner, their ASP, and their designated representative to schedule a visa interview only once the field investigation is complete.  The Embassy will not schedule the interview until the field investigation is complete.  Adoptive families should be advised that field investigations may take approximately 3-6 months to complete, possibly longer if the case originates from an area experiencing civil unrest.  This change is effective immediately, but does not affect any appointments already scheduled.

Because of the security situation in the country, Embassy Kinshasa discourages U.S. citizens from traveling to the DRC solely for the purpose of filing the I-600 petition, and recommends that anyone considering travel to the DRC first review the Department of State’s travel warning for the DRC.  The option of filing the I-600 petition at Embassy Kinshasa is intended primarily for U.S. citizens resident in the DRC.  Residents of the United States should file their I-600 petition directly with USCIS National Benefits Center.  Petitions filed at Embassy Kinshasa may be filed by either spouse listed on the petition.  The absent spouse must sign the I-600 petition before it is submitted, but the petition does not need to be notarized.  The child’s Congolese passport is no longer required by Embassy Kinshasa to file the I-600 petition.  It must, however, be ready before the immigrant visa application and interview.

As a courtesy, the Embassy has gathered information about processing passport and exit visa paperwork with the Congolese government; however, please be advised that these processes are solely administered by the Congolese government and are subject to change.  The processing time for an application with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) for a Congolese passport for an adopted child is approximately 2 weeks.  The fee for the Congolese passport is$170.  The processing time for an exit permit with the Direction Generale de Migration (DGM) is approximately 1 week.  There is no fee for the exit permit.  The MFA and DGM conduct their own investigations to ensure Congolese procedures have been followed.  Embassy Kinshasa will not make calls to expedite processing of either the passport or the exit permit.

Embassy Kinshasa received reports that some individuals have paid “expediting fees” to various Congolese offices in order to receive services related to adoption more quickly.  The Embassy strongly discourages this practice, as these “fees” can be seen as bribes that encourage corruption.

http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=notices&alert_notice_file=democratic_republic_of_congo_4

****As a reminder, PEAR issued an Ethics Alert and Cautionary Statement in December 2012 recommending that PAPs do not initiate new adoption cases from DRC : http://pear-now.blogspot.com/2012/12/pear-ethics-alert-and-cautionary.html

---

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

Media Report: Kyrgyzstan Anti-Corruption Agency Announces Findings on Foreign Adoption

The 24kg News Agency is reporting findings of the Anti-Corruption Service under the State Committee for National Security (GKNB)in Kygryzstan. These findings allege the following corrupt practices with respect to the payments of bribes to officials in the Ministry in association with intercountry adoption:

1. Payment by foreign adoption agency of $15,000 - $20,000 in bribes to secure accreditation.
2. Payment by foreign agency of up to $2000 for each referred child.
3. Payment by foreign agency of up to $1000 for each favorable approval of adoption to the court.

Kyrgyzstan’s intelligence agencies release corrupt scheme of foreign adoptions September 6, 2012 24.kg news agency , by Makhinur NIYAZOVA http://eng.24.kg/community/2012/09/06/25554.html

---

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

Book Review: Finding Fernanda

by David Kruchkow
Board Member of Parents for Ethical Adoption Reform

Where can I start a review of Erin Siegal’s Finding Fernanda? I know Erin Siegal as an online friend and someone who came to me for advice on this book. Why me? Perhaps it is because I made my story public more than a dozen years ago as one of 22 families victimized by an illegal Mexican adoption/baby smuggling ring. At that time, I called for the adoption industry to police itself and remove the cancerous, criminal, profiteering element that infected its underbelly. Back then, I underestimated how deep that infection was. It turns out that it is a systemic infection that pervades all international adoptions, even today and even with the regulations of The Hague Agreement that were intended to prevent abuses.

There are now hundreds of stories that involve most sending countries, like Betsy Emmanuel’s and mine. What Siegal has done with Finding Fernanda that makes her book a must-read is take a purely journalistic approach to the story she presents. She reports on what she learned without passing judgment. The reader can draw his own conclusions about motives, about who the good guys are and who the bad guys are, and the conclusions become devastatingly obvious.

Stories like this are by their nature very convoluted, and Siegal does an amazing job of making the twists and turns as easy to follow as possible. Her preamble includes a section on the cast of characters which can serve as a reference should the reader get confused. A photojournalist by trade, Siegal uses one photo per chapter and each one is carefully chosen to supplement the story appropriately while having the most impact.

What you’ll learn in the book is that international adoption involves a great imbalance of power. The wealth, privilege, and entitlement of prospective adoptive parents in developed Western receiving countries directly impacts the poverty and vulnerability of mothers in impoverished and underdeveloped sending countries, leading to a money-driven market that exploits women and children for the benefit of the middlemen who procure and place the children. This is made abundantly clear in Finding Fernanda. What Siegal has done that is unique is to include the story as experienced by an impoverished, exploited mother who was stripped of two of her children for the adoption trade without her informed consent. Women like Mildred Alvarado have always had no voice, but now, Siegal has given her a voice and presented her view. For that reason alone, every single person who has been touched by international adoption must read this book and go to www.findingfernanda.com. You will feel the anguish, pain, suffering and strength of Mildred Alvarado when you read her story. This book will make you angry and it will make you cry.

There is one other party that has never had a voice in international adoption, and that is the one that belongs to the exploited children. Readers need to pay careful attention to Siegal’s description of Ana Cristina, the child stolen from Mildred Alvarado’s womb and reunited with her years later. In that description is a harrowing picture of the kind of damage done to children by corrupt international adoptions.

Erin Siegal deserves a standing ovation, if not a journalistic award, for her thorough research, her writing skills, her hard work and her braving of a dangerous, criminal world in order to get this story told. Bravo Erin!

Additional information on Finding Fernanda is available at http://findingfernanda.com/

---

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

Nepal & India -- Dal Bahadur Phadera & the suppressed UNICEF report

Dal Bahadur Phadera & the

suppressed UNICEF report

UNICEF Nepal's suppressed Humla report is now available on the web.

The reason UNICEF Nepal suppressed (i.e., never published) their 2005 report is unclear.

Nor is it clear why trafficked Nepali children were left at the Michael Job Centre,

Tamil Nadu,

for over six years.

UNICEF FWLD Displacement of Children From Humla 2005:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/66594955/UNICEF-FWLD-Displacement-of-Children-From-Humla-2005

Also available at Pound Pup Legacy:

http://poundpuplegacy.org/node/48632

And posted by one of the European anti-trafficking INGOs:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/72805496/UNICEF-FWLD-Displacement-of-Children-From-Humla-2005

Here is an extract (one case from the report):

Bikram Bhandari, Thehe VDC

"Bikram Bhandari informed the team that his son (Machche Bhandari now changed to Manish) was sent 6 years ago (Date: 1998) with Kali Bahadur Bhandari from Humla to Katmandu. Ram Bahadur and Gam Singh where 2 other children also sent with Machche Bandari -- they are also now missing however the team did not meet with their parents. Once in Katmandu. Chakra Bahadur Shahi (ex-parliamentarian member) arranged addmition of the children to Bal Mandir (a government organization)

From Katmandu, Machche was sent to a foreign country though Bal Mandir. This information was relayed to Bikram, 3 years ago (Date: 2001) by a member of Bal Mandir when Bikram came to Kathmandu looking for his son.

When Bikram came to know that his child was sent to another country he reqested to meet with his son but the staff of Bal Mandir said that Bikram had to pay 2 lack rupies [lakh rupees]

for this to be arranged.

Bikram explained to the team that the CDO and VDC had prepaired a recommendation letter stating that Machche Bhandari's (Bikrams son) parents where Dead. This was false information.

Bikram would like to meet with his son but is unable to -- he expressed anger about this situation.

Only Kali Bahadur had the information on Bikrams son, however Kali is now dead and Chakra dose not know the information so there is no way of finding out about the child."

For background, see:

On Children's Homes -- Lonely Planet:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2032255&start=0&limit=1000

Read the full thread -- a horrific, first-hand account of D.B. Phadera.

Here are two extracts (from a Western volunteer):

"The orphanage I Managed was registered, but not once did I ever see anyone check up on it. My orphanage being registered also did not make it a good place. My job was to run the home and do everything I could to protect the children from the owner and his goons. The owner was a known childtrafficker who was above the law. The NGO ISIS had conducted and investigation that traced over 530 girls that he had sold to brothels in India. They turned the investigation over to UNICEF who promptly leaked it giving him time to pay off the right people. He spent all of 2 nights in jail. I really prefer not to get into how horrible this man is to children, but he is just one of many respectable businessmen who have registered orphanages that are just ways for him to earn money through exploiting children. Like at many homes, the term "owner" only means that he had custody over the children, not that he paid for anything or did anything to care for the children. I actually had to stop a group of swiss tourists from handing over 2000 USD directly to one of his goons (who was himself a pedophile)."

and:

"DB Phadera...was the owner of my orphanage. He lived just across the path from me. Words cannot fully describe how horrible this man is. My job involved documenting the hell out of each of the kids in order to try to keep them safe from him- and it wasn't always enough. He is truly the most despicable person i have ever met. When an 8 year old girl disappeared from the home, he smiled at me as he told me she was only there on vacation. When he had disputes with the organizations that funded the home, he would cut off their ability to bring the children food. He literally would starve the children as a bargaining tool. When I first arrived at the home, he was allowing his goons free reign and many would come and demand to sleep in the beds with the kids at night. It took everything I had to put a stop to that practice. He forces children to beg, sells them into servitude, or worse, into brothels. For him it's all an equation of how he can make the most money. The lucky children are the ones he just abandons. Many good organizations in the valley have rescued kids from DB. All of the ones I listed in my previous post are among them. their efforts are noble and deserve support. But DB is a politically powerful man. As long as he remains free, he will continue to bring in more Humli children and subject them to cruelty, abuse, and in the best case scenario simple neglect.

Having to deal with him on a daily basis was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. My kids needed me there as my foreignness did give them some level of protection and the alternative would have been a manager of his choice, but I couldn't rock the boat too much- he had threatened to kill a previous volunteer and she had to leave the country.

Corruption in Nepal creates this culture of impunity which allows traffickers to operate."

See also:

Lt. Col. Philip Holmes explains why his charity rescued Nepali girls from the Michael Job Centre (video) -- PEAR Nepal:

http://pearadoptinfo-nepal.blogspot.com/2011/11/lt-col-philip-holmes-explains-why-his.html

"After the girls' return to Nepal the trafficker who had been involved, DB Phadera, orchestrated a vicious media campaign against the charity."

The Indian preacher and the fake orphan scandal -- Daily Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/8856050/The-Indian-preacher-and-the-fake-orphan-scandal.html

On the Western supporters of the Michael Job Centre (Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India).

Long journey home -- The Nepali Times:

http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/issue/2011/09/30/ThisIsIt/18594

On The Esther Benjamins Trust's rescue of 23 Nepali girls (Tamil Nadu -- September 2011).

A trafficker remains scot-free -- The Kathmandu Post:

http://pearadoptinfo-nepal.blogspot.com/2011/07/trafficker-remains-scot-free-kathmandu.html

On trafficker D.B. Phadera & the Michael Job Centre.

Paper Orphans documentary posted on the web -- PEAR Nepal:

http://pearadoptinfo-nepal.blogspot.com/2011/10/paper-orphans-documentary-posted-on-web.html

The Terre des Hommes/Image Ark documentary on adoption trafficking in Humla (the NCO/Bal Mandir kidnappings). Some Humli children ended up in India -- others in the inter-country adoption trade.

How our media helps sell children (by asking the wrong questions) -- Ushaft's Blog:

http://ushaft.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/how-nepali-media-helps-sell-children/

Andrew Undershaft on the media allies of trafficker Dal Bahadur Phadera.

Adhocism and the culture of press-release journalism (part one) -- Ushaft's Blog:

http://ushaft.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/adhocism-and-the-culture-of-press-release-journalism-part-1/

Andrew Undershaft on Anuradha Koirala's curious support of the traffickers.

---

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

Nepal -- Paper Orphans documentary posted on the web

Nepal -- Paper Orphans documentary posted on the web:

Part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B5QiFFxAu4

Part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0adJdVBPvto

Part 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsUWaToRWuQ

Part 4:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95Fyy3UY_U0

It would be useful if the FBI and Interpol took a good look at the Western organizations that worked with these homes.

Some background to the TDH/Image Ark documentary Paper Orphans.

The Terre des hommes/Image Ark documentary Paper Orphans was a major reason so many receiving countries suspended adoptions from Nepal.

Paper Orphans focuses on three NGOs -- Nepal Children's Organization (NCO/Bal Mandir), the Helpless Children Protection Home (HCPH), and the Education Centre for Helpless Children (ECHC).

For background to the documentary, see the following links.

The Nepal premier at Patan Museum (March 2010):

Paper Orphan\Kishan Sharki (Kantipur Daily):

http://pearadoptinfo-nepal. blogspot.com/2010/03/paper- orphankishan-sharki-kantipur. html

and

Paper Orphans on the Screen (Voice of Children):

http://pearadoptinfo-nepal. blogspot.com/2010/05/draft- agenda-for-special-commission- on.html

The Hague screening (June 2010):

2010 Special Commission of the Hague Releases its Conclusions and Recommendations:

http://pearadoptinfo-nepal. blogspot.com/2010/07/2010- special-commission-of-hague. html

and

Nepal skips the Hague meet on adoption (Republica):

http://pearadoptinfo-nepal. blogspot.com/2010/06/nepal- skips-hague-meet-on-adoption. html

Nepal Children's Organization (NCO/Bal Mandir):

Victims of Balmandir:

http://poundpuplegacy.org/ node/43654

and

Corruption at Nepal Children's Organization (NCO/Bal Mandir):

http://poundpuplegacy.org/node/48144

(Also discusses NCO/Bal Mandir's new alliance with the Mitrataa Foundation.)

and

Prachanda Raj Pradhan -- head of the Child NGO Federation Nepal (CNFN):

http://pearadoptinfo-nepal. blogspot.com/2010/03/ prachanda-raj-pradhan-head-of- child-ngo.html

The Helpless Children Protection Home (HCPH):

Paper Orphans & The Helpless Children Protection Home:

http://poundpuplegacy.org/ node/43603

and

Dalit Couple Foils Adoption Of Offspring (Republica):

http://pearadoptinfo-nepal. blogspot.com/2010/02/dalit- couple-foils-adoption-of.html

and

Adopted Children always in disputes! (Voice of Children):

http://pearadoptinfo-nepal. blogspot.com/2010/04/adopted- children-always-in-disputes.

Uttar Tamata (interviewed in Paper Orphans) owns the Children's Home (Bal Griha) -- a home at the center of Al Jazeera's recent adoption documentary:

Nepal: Children for sale (Al Jazeera):

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/101east/2011/09/2011920125119853524.html

Also worth reading (for general background on Nepali adoptions):

Trade of Children (Voice of Children):

http://pearadoptinfo-nepal. blogspot.com/2010/06/trade-of- children-voice-of-children. html

and

Orphaned or Stolen? The U.S. State Department investigates adoption from Nepal, 2006-2008

Exclusive State Department internal cables from Freedom of Information Act requests

The Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ schuster-institute-for- investigative-journalism/ orphaned-or-stolen-the-us_b_ 825451.html

and

Swiss National Radio on Nepali adoptions (English translation):

http://pearadoptinfo-nepal.blogspot.com/2011/10/swiss-national-radio-on-nepali.html

---

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

Nepal: Children for sale (Al Jazeera)

Nepal: Children for sale (Al Jazeera)

With weak law enforcement, can foreigners adopting children from Nepal be sure that they are really orphans?

Video:

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/101east/2011/09/2011920125119853524.html

Orphaned, abandoned or trafficked? That is the question facing foreigners who wish to adopt Nepali children.

International adoption services have provided a lucrative business to poverty-stricken Nepal. But in 2007, Nepal stopped adoptions for two years as it investigated claims of child trafficking.

After adoptions resumed, law enforcement remained weak.

By the end of 2010, many countries including the US, stopped granting visas to children from Nepal. This was in response to unscrupulous agents falsifying children's status as orphans so they could be adopted overseas.

Today, loopholes remain in Nepal's adoption processes and the government has been slow to formulate new policies, creating more problems for children in orphanages.

101 East investigates the scam behind an industry borne from the desire to love a child.

Al Jazeera -- 101 East

---

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

Media Focuses Attention on China Adoptions

The effects of China's scandals and in intercountry adoption are now being felt by the families and children adopted from China as they attempt to come to grips with unanswerable questions of identity and corruption. The New York Time's ran an article September 16th quoting PEAR board member, Karen Moline. Karen will also appear on MSNBC today at 12:30 to discuss this topic.

NYT Article: For Adoptive Parents, Questions Without Answers, by John Leland:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/nyregion/chinas-adoption-scandal-sends-chills-through-families-in-united-states.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all%3Fsrc%3Dtp&smid=fb-share

---

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

Media: Government Plans Fresh Changes In Armenian Child Adoption Rules

A leading Armenian media outlet has reported continued corruption in Armenian adoption and has fingered two US adoption Agencies, Hopscotch and Adopt Abroad as participating in corrupt practices. The information came from a governmental report released on intercountry adoption in Armenia.

Government Plans Fresh Changes In Armenian Child Adoption Rules:

The Armenian government is planning to make fresh and potentially far-reaching changes in its rules and procedures for international adoptions of children from Armenia following an RFE/RL report suggesting that they may still be riddled with corruption.

Article, in English, may be found here: http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/24333430.html

---

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/