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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 …

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 …

Oklahoma USCIS Notice Field Office Closure

Due to the devastating tornadoes that struck the Oklahoma City area, the following facilities will be closed on May 21: The Oklahoma City Field Office is closed. Oklahoma Application Support Center will be closed due to facility issues.  We will automatically reschedule all applicants to the next available appointment date.  We will process walk-ins on a case-by-case basis. For updates, please …

DOS Alert: All Adoption Cases with the Ghanaian Department of Social Welfare are Subject to Suspension

Ghana  May 20, 2013 The Government of Ghana has temporarily suspended processing of all adoption cases, including intercountry adoptions, pending Ghana’s review of its current adoption procedures. All adoption cases which have not received final approval by the Ghanaian Department of Social Welfare are subject to this suspension. At this time, adoption cases which have completed processing with the Ghanaian …

DOS Notice: Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of CongoMay 16, 2013 Notice for Individuals Seeking Further Information Following the Department of State’s May 14 Conference Call The Department of State has received information that a number of adoption service providers and prospective adoptive families were unable to join the conference call on adoptions from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on May 14, 2013.  …

Ontario suspending DR Congo ASP licensing

Please be advised that the Ontario Ministry’s Private and International Adoption Unit will not issue licenses under the Intercountry Adoption Act for the purposes of authorizing an agency to facilitate adoptions from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This decision is based on concerns raised within the international community dealing with intercountry adoptions.  UNICEF, the United Nations High Commissioner for …

Alert: Update on China

Alert:  Update on ChinaMay 16, 2013  – The U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou to Resume Normal Operations Friday, May 17, 2013.  For more information, please see Guangzhou U.S. Embassy website (http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/adoption.html). http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=alerts&alert_notice_file=china_2 Ethics, Transparency, Support~ What All Adoptions Deserve.http://www.pear-now.org/ People for Ethical Adoption Reform www.pear-now.org

Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Travels to Guatemala

Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Ambassador Susan Jacobs will visit Guatemala from May 16-18 to discuss international children’s issues. Ambassador Jacobs will join Alejandro Mayorkas, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, to meet with government officials and nongovernmental adoption stakeholders. They will continue their discussions from the October 2012 meetings regarding resolution of pending adoption cases. Ambassador Jacobs will …

Catalyst Foundation Status Report:

Child Care Centers in Vietnam  This report summarizes the quality of the orphanage and adoption system in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.  Its intention is to broaden the current data on the children living in the orphanages. The system appears to be exploited because of certain inadequacies.In October 2007, the U.S. State Department became concerned with irregularities in  Vietnamese adoptions. …