Alert: Government of Ghana Suspends Intercountry Adoptions May 13, 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. The U.S. Embassy in Accra is seeking further clarification of the scope and duration of this temporary suspension by the Government of Ghana and how this suspension …
Category: DOS Alerts/Notices
Department of State Alert: Serbia
Alert: Serbia Adoption Reports of Misleading Guidance on Intercountry Adoptions from Serbia This Adoption Alert is a follow up to the Alert of March 29, 2013. The U.S. Embassy in Belgrade has received reports that one or more U.S. adoption service providers may be providing prospective adoptive parents misleading information about the Serbian adoption process. Specifically, there may be misleading information …
DOS Notice: U.S. – Ireland Operating Arrangement
Notice: U.S. – Ireland Operating Arrangement for Outgoing Adoptions of U.S. Children by Irish Prospective Adoptive Parents 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 …
Department of State Alert: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Alert: Democratic Republic of the Congo Immigration Authorities Suspend Issuance of Exit Permits to Adoptees May 2, 2013 Democratic Republic of Congo On April 29, the Congolese Ministry of Interior and Security, General Direction of Migration (Direction Generale d’Immigration, DGM) informed the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa that the DGM has temporarily suspended issuance of exit permits to adopted Congolese children …
Notice: Malian Law Restricts Intercountry Adoptions
Department of State Notice for Mali Mali May 1, 2013In December 2011, the Malian National Assembly passed a new Code of Person and the Family. The Code includes a provision that only Malian citizens will be able to complete intercountry or domestic adoptions from Mali. In the case of couples planning to adopt, both members of the couple must be …
Department of State Notice for Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo April 30, 2013 Notice: Clarification regarding Embassy Kinshasa adoption-related immigrant visa procedures This notice is intended to clarify the recent procedural changes in processing adoption related immigrant visas and their impact on pending and future adoptions from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We appreciate the patience of families and all those involved in adoptions …
DOS Adoption Notice: Bolivia/Procedural Barriers to Hague Adoptions
Bolivia April 26, 2013 Notice: Procedural Barriers to Hague Adoptions The Office of Children’s Issues and the U.S. Embassy in La Paz have received numerous inquiries from prospective adoptive parents interested in adopting children from Bolivia. Bolivia is a Party to the Hague Adoption Convention. Therefore, in order to adopt a Bolivian child, prospective adoptive parents are required to work …
DOS Adoption Alert: Haiti authorizes U.S. adoption service providers
Haiti April 24, 2013 Alert: Haiti authorizes U.S. adoption service providers Haiti’s adoption authority, Institut du Bien-Être Social et de Recherches (IBESR), has authorized a limited number of U.S. adoption service providers (ASPs) to provide adoption services in Haiti pursuant to its new administrative adoption procedures, which became effective on November 5, 2012. Although these new procedures are part of …
DOS Adoption Notice: Health Concerns in Ethiopia
Ethiopia April 2, 2013 Notice: Health Concerns in Ethiopia On March 14, 2013, U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa released an important message for U.S. citizens via email to U.S. adoption service providers and a notice on the U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa website about a recent increase in suspected meningitis cases in Ethiopia. The suspected cases are primarily in the Southern Nations, …
DOS Adoption Alert: Serbia Adoption
March 29, 2013 Alert: Serbia Adoption U.S. Embassy Belgrade has received reports that one or more U.S. adoption agencies may be giving prospective adoptive parents misleading information about the process of adoption in Serbia. Serbia places a priority on domestic adoption. The only children who are generally available for intercountry adoption are children with special needs. There are no adoption …