DoS Alert on Post-Placement Reports in Russia Adoptions

Russia requires post-placement reports to provide information regarding the welfare of children adopted by U.S. families.  Reports should be prepared in accordance with the requirements established by the Russian government and as agreed to during the adoption process.  All reports should be translated into Russian.  Reports may be submitted to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation directly at the address included below or can be sent to the regional authorities where the adoption was completed.  More information regarding post-placement reports can be found on the Russia country information sheet.

Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Department of State Policy for the Protection of Children’s Rights
51 Lysinovskaya St.
Moscow, 117997

We strongly urge you to comply with the requirements established by the Russia government and complete all post-adoption requirements in a timely manner.  Your adoption agency may be able to help you with this process.

http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=alerts&alert_notice_file=russia_11

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

DoS Notice: U.S. – Ireland Operating Arrangement for Outgoing Adoptions of U.S. Children by Irish Prospective Adoptive Parents

June 7, 2013

The Department of State and the Adoption Authority of Ireland have concluded discussions on an operating arrangement for Irish prospective adoptive parents to adopt children who are eligible for intercountry adoption in the United States and who will emigrate from the U.S. to Ireland under Hague Adoption Convention (Convention) procedures.   The operating arrangement includes eligibility standards for prospective adoptive parents and prospective adoptive children in accordance with Irish and U.S. Convention procedures.  In order to ensure that Ireland will be able to issue an Article 17 letter, adoption service providers should comply with the provisions listed here.

The Department of State will host a conference call with the Adoption Authority of Ireland and interested U.S. accredited adoption service providers who are accredited to provide outgoing adoptions service from the U.S. on June 20 2013 to address any questions and facilitate guidance on the arrangement.  The Department of State will provide further details on the conference call in the near future.

http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=notices&alert_notice_file=ireland_2

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

DOS Notice re China: New Location for Consulate General Guangzhou

June 7, 2013

The U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou, which processes all U.S. immigrant visas in China, will be moving to the Zhujiang New Town area of Guangzhou.  This spacious and modern facility will house consular services for visa applicants and for U.S. citizens.  The Consulate General will suspend operations on or about July 15, and will resume adoption-related visa services by appointment on July 24. 

In order to complete timely processing of current cases and to ensure that services continue smoothly, the Consulate General’s Adopted Children’s Immigrant Visa Unit (ACIVU) will maintain the following schedule of services:

• July 5—Last day for Letter Seeking Confirmation submissions until resumption of services.  All LSCs submitted by this date will be returned on July 12.
• July 11—Last day for adopted children’s immigrant visa interviews until resumption of services.
• July 12—Last day to pick up issued visas, Article 5 packets, and other processed documents until resumption of services.
• July 24—Adoption-related visa services resume at new facility.

Families and Adoption Service Providers are advised to incorporate this schedule into their planning for submitting documents, scheduling visa interviews, and determining travel dates.

For updates, please check the U.S. Consulate Guangzhou web site oradoption.state.gov.  You may also contact the ACIVU staff atGuangzhouA@state.gov if you have any questions.

http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=notices&alert_notice_file=china_3

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

DoS Alert on El Salvador: Adoption Delays and Complications

El Salvador and the United States are parties to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption ("Convention").  Therefore, all adoptions between El Salvador and the United States initiated after April 1, 2008, must meet the requirements of the Convention and the U.S. and Salvadoran laws implementing the Convention.

The U.S. Embassy in San Salvador continues to work with the Salvadoran Central Authority – the Public Defender’s Office (Procuradoria General de la Republica - PGR) – to ensure that intercountry adoptions comply with the requirements of the Convention and U.S. and Salvadoran law.  However, the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador continues to see both out-of-order and incorrectly processed intercountry adoption cases that are not in compliance with these requirements or valid for U.S. immigration purposes.  Adoptive families have encountered serious delays, additional expenses, uncertainty, and unexpected difficulties.  The Department of State therefore advises U.S. citizens to proceed with caution when deciding whether to adopt from El Salvador.

All U.S. citizens and Adoption Services Providers (ASPs) should consult with the U.S. Embassy prior to beginning the adoption process in El Salvador.  Those with adoption cases already underway should likewise consult with the U.S. Embassy.  The U.S. Embassy can provide background on the common problems that arise so that both ASPs and prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) can monitor their adoption case carefully to ensure that it is compliant with Convention requirements and valid for immigration purposes. 

Most adoptions in El Salvador take at least two years to finalize, and some have taken as long as eight years.  PAPs and ASPs should be prepared to work closely with the Public Defender’s Office for Adoptions (Oficina Para Adopciones – OPA) to ensure that their adoption case is following the correct path and meeting all legal requirements so that it will be valid for immigration purposes once the adoption process is finalized. 

To contact the Immigrant Visa Unit at the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador regarding a pending or future adoption case, please send an e-mail to adoptsansal@state.gov.

http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=alerts&alert_notice_file=el_salvador_1

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

Update on Intercountry Adoptions in Guatemala

Joint USCIS-State Delegation to Guatemala

During the week of May 13, 2013, Special Advisor for Children's Issues Ambassador Susan Jacobs traveled with USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas to Guatemala for meetings with Guatemalan government officials of agencies directly involved in adoptions, including the Procuraduría General de la Nación (PGN) and the Guatemalan National Council on Adoption (CNA). They also met with members of the Supreme Court, the Ministerio Publico (MP), the Ministry of Social Welfare, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).  Their visit provided an important opportunity to meet recently-appointed Guatemalan officials and emphasize that the timely and transparent resolution of all the remaining pending transition adoption cases in the best interests of the children remains a top priority for the United States.

The meetings were also an opportunity to review the progress on completion of these remaining cases following recent administrative and personnel changes in the Government of Guatemala. In the last several months, the Guatemalan government has accelerated its completion of cases, and fewer than 100 pending transition adoption cases are awaiting resolution as of the date of this notice.  Since January 1, 2012, 28 cases have moved to CNA's Acuerdo process, and nine cases have concluded with the immigration of the adopted children to the United States with their U.S. citizen parent(s).  Fourteen cases have concluded with the child's reunification with a biological family member in Guatemala.

Officials at the PGN, which has the authority to complete the investigations in the pending cases, report having 52 cases in various stages of investigation.  The PGN has received renewed funding for its investigators, allowing them to continue their work with a goal of completing these investigations within two months.  PGN will then send any cases that cannot continue to completion under the notarial procedures to the Guatemalan courts for either adoptability decrees or family reunification.  According to the Guatemalan Supreme Court, there currently are no backlogs at the courts, so that legal process should proceed without delays.  The cases with court decrees will go to the CNA for completion of the adoptions through the Acuerdo process. 

The USCIS and Consular staff of the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City are in constant communication with the Guatemalan officials responsible for adoption procedures.  U.S. Embassy staff monitor and promote Guatemalan progress in resolving the remaining cases by attending the semi-weekly meetings of the technical group where these authorities work through the cases. Prospective adoptive parents may contact USCIS directly at Guatemala.adoptions@dhs.gov, and the Immigrant Visa Unit of the Consular Section directly at AdoptGuatemala@state.gov, in order to inquire about the status of individual adoption cases.

http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=notices&alert_notice_file=guatemala_11

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