DOS Adoption Alert: The Hague Adoption Convention Enters into Force for Lesotho

Lesotho

December 5, 2012

Alert: The Hague Adoption Convention Enters into Force for Lesotho

On December 1, 2012 the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Convention) entered into force for Lesotho.  However, the Government of Lesotho notified the U.S. Embassy in Maseru that the Government of Lesotho is suspending receipt of new adoption applications from all receiving states until March 1, 2013, to give the country time to put a fully functional Convention process in place. 

Adoptions initiated prior to December 1, 2012 may be considered transition cases, and therefore will be able to complete the pre-Convention adoption process.  Transition cases are defined as those in which:

• Prior to December 1, 2012, a prospective adoptive parent filed a Form I-600A with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services identifying Lesotho as the country of origin, filed a Form I-600, or completed the adoption; and
• The child was “officially matched” with prospective adoptive parents prior to December 1, 2012.  The Ministry of Social Development defines an official match as one in which the match was made during a matching meeting chaired by a Ministry official, and involving representatives of Lesotho childcare facilities and adoption service providers.

We caution adoption service providers and prospective adoptive parents that intercountry adoptions between the United States and Lesotho will not resume until steps are taken to ensure that intercountry adoptions from Lesotho comply with the Convention.  Adoption service providers should neither initiate nor claim to initiate adoption programs in Lesotho until the Department of State notifies them that the Government of Lesotho has lifted its temporary suspension of intercountry adoptions and that Lesotho’s procedures meet the requirements of the Convention.

The Department of State will provide updated information on adoption.state.gov as it becomes available.  If you have any questions about this notice, please contact the Office of Children’s Issues at 1-888-407-4747 within the United States, or 202-501-4444 from outside the United States.  Email inquiries may be directed to AdoptionUSCA@state.gov. 

http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=alerts&alert_notice_file=lesotho_1

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

DOS Adoption Alert: Senegal Suspension of New Applications to Adopt

Senegal

March 05, 2012
Alert: Suspension of New Applications to Adopt

The Government of Senegal has announced that it is temporarily suspending all new intercountry adoptions while it focuses on implementing the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention). The Convention entered into force for Senegal on December 1, 2011.

U.S. Embassy Dakar officials met with Senegalese adoption officials on February 9, 2012, to clarify which cases would be included in pipeline processing. The Government of Senegal has stated that transition cases where a Form I-600A or Form I-600 was filed with the U.S. government prior to December 1, 2011, will be allowed to finish under the previous “orphan” process. However, the Government of Senegal will not accept dossiers for new adoption cases until Senegal finishes implementing the Convention.

The U.S. Embassy in Dakar has not been provided with an expected date by which the Convention will be fully implemented. Please continue to monitor adoption.state.gov for updated information.

http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=alerts&alert_notice_file=senegal_1

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

USCIS Update on I600a Renewals for Hague Transition Cases

Finally, some good news for Hague Transition applicants!

The USCIS published a new FAQ on October 14, 2008 containing an update and reversal of it's previous stance on I600a renewals for Hague Transition cases. Transition applications will now be fully grandfathered, meaning that families may file one free 18 month extension AND, if their transition adoption has not been completed by the expiration of the free extension, they may file another I600a and fee to renew approval.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Families with a transition case MUST keep their underlying I600a from expiring. If they allow the I600a to expire without filing for renewal, the case will have to be processed under Hague Convention rules (I800a).

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=b1131c48aabfc110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

Tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/I-600infofromPEAR

Thank you to all adoptive and prospective adoptive families, adoption advocacy groups, and friends who took the time to contact government officials on this issue, our voices were heard!

USCIS Posts FAQ on Intercountry Adoption

The USCIS published an updated list of FAQ on Intercountry adoptions dated
9/29/08. The New FAQ can be found at:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=0dc16c30c3fac110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

Tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/3zr4qb

If either link gives you trouble, just go to: http://www.uscis.gov/ and click on "Press Room" in the upper righthand corner.

The FAQ address some frequent concerns stated by PAPs in process of adopting from Hague and Non-Hague countries and I600a vs. I800a issues.

Noticeably missing is a clear statement as to the number of times a PAP can renew an I600a filed before April 1, 2008 in a Hague Country. DOS informed PAPs who were in process last spring that if they filed the I600a before April 1, 2008, they would be grandfathered into the I600a pre-Hague process (see DOS statement: "Transition cases will continue to be processed in accordance with the immigration regulations for non-Convention adoptions which were in effect at the time the case was filed. Non-Convention procedures differ from the new Convention adoption procedures." http://travel.state.gov/pdf/AdoptionFactSheet_TransitionCases4-09-2008.pdf).

The Immigration regulations on renewals which were in effect on April 1, 2008 can be found in the Final Rule on I600a renewals published in the Federal Register in February 2007. Read in its entirety, the Final Rule states that PAPs may receive one free renewal and subsequent renewals must be accompanied by a fee.(see: http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/FinalRule.pdf) We at PEAR read this as meaning there is more than one opportunity to renew the I600a, but only one renewal is free. From what we understand, however, USCIS is interpreting this to mean that only one renewal is permitted. PEAR continues to press USCIS on a final statement that is consistent with the intent and letter of the law. We encourage PAPs and APs to call or write to the USCIS, DOS and their Congressmen requesting that USCIS permit more than one renewal of I600a applications in Hague transition cases as well as non-Hague cases.

Some helpful contact information:

USCIS
1-877-424-8374

DOS
AdoptionUSCA@state.gov

Gerry W. Fuller,
Intercountry Adoptions
FullerGW@state.gov


Gina Pollock
President
PEAR
http://www.blogger.com/www.pear-now.org