Alert: Russian President Vladimir Putin Signs Legislation to Ban Intercountry Adoption by U.S. Families into Law
On December 28, President Vladimir Putin signed Federal Law No. 186614-6 which prohibits the adoption of Russian children by U.S. families. This law will go into effect on January 1, 2013.
The Department of State remains actively engaged with the Russian government to determine how this will impact the resolution of adoptions by U.S. families in various stages of the adoption process. In keeping with the spirit of the current U.S.-Russia adoption agreement, we have urged the Russian government to ensure that U.S. families in the process of adopting a child from Russia will be able to complete their adoptions so that these children may join permanent loving families.
The Department continues to encourage U.S. families in the process of adopting a child from Russia to provide information regarding where they are in the adoption process to the Office of Children’s Issues using the subject line “Intercountry adoption in Russia – family update.” An email address has been set up for this correspondence: Russiaadoption@state.gov. Those families that have already provided information to AskCI@state.gov do not need to resend their information. As more information is obtained we will reach out directly to families that have provided their contact information. Further information regarding intercountry adoption from Russia will also be posted on www.adoption.state.gov.
In Russia, U.S. citizen adoptive parents who completed an adoption, received a Russian passport for their child, and have filed or are ready to file Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, and apply for the immigrant visa at U.S. Embassy Moscow should call +7-495-728-5000 or email the Moscow U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Field Office at Moscow.dhs@dhs.gov to request assistance. Absent additional information about the impact of the law, families who have received immigrant visas for their children should make every effort to depart Russia before January 1.
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