International Adoption Statistics

US Department of State informs on its website here that on February 5, the Cambodian Embassy notified the Department of State that Cambodia intends to recommence intercountry adoptions. There are no further details at this time as to how or when the resumption of intercountry adoptions will go into effect. At this time, intercountry adoptions from Cambodia to the United States are still not possible. The United States suspended processing adoptions from Cambodia in 2001, due to fraud and irregularities in the adoption process in Cambodia. The United States reconfirmed the suspension in 2013.

The US Dept of State says it welcomes all efforts by Cambodia to strengthen its child welfare system and to improve the integrity of its domestic and intercountry adoption processes. The Department says it looks forward to receiving additional information from the Cambodian government on their internal intercountry adoption process in order to be able to determine whether Cambodia has a fully functional Hague Convention process in place that would allow the United States to process Convention adoptions with Cambodia.  

For more info on previous notices about Cambodia, please click here.

US Department of State informs on its website here that on February 10, 2021 that:

The U.S. Embassy Freetown has discontinued issuing all immigrant visas for Sierra Leonean citizens and nationals applying in Freetown, with limited exceptions, as of September 11, 2020. This action was taken pursuant to section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). 

Applicants who are applying for an immigrant visa for their adopted child should work directly with Embassy Freetown’s consular section to request the waiver. To qualify for an exception to the order, the consular officer must determine that the applicant’s entry would not pose a threat to the national security or public safety of the United States and that the applicant’s entry would be in the national interest of the United States. Further, the Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs must determine that not issuing a visa at this time would cause the applicant exceptional hardship.  

More information can be found at the U.S. Embassy Freetown website: Immigrant Visas | U.S. Embassy in Sierra Leone.

he Cambodian Embassy notified the Department of State that Cambodia intends to recommence intercountry adoptions. There are no further details at this time as to how or when the resumption of intercountry adoptions will go into effect. At this time, intercountry adoptions from Cambodia to the United States are still not possible. The United States suspended processing adoptions from Cambodia in 2001, due to fraud and irregularities in the adoption process in Cambodia. The United States reconfirmed the suspension in 2013.

The US Dept of State says it welcomes all efforts by Cambodia to strengthen its child welfare system and to improve the integrity of its domestic and intercountry adoption processes. The Department says it looks forward to receiving additional information from the Cambodian government on their internal intercountry adoption process in order to be able to determine whether Cambodia has a fully functional Hague Convention process in place that would allow the United States to process Convention adoptions with Cambodia.

For more info on previous notices about Cambodia, please click here.

US Department of State informs on its website here that on January 11, 2021 that the Latvian Cabinet approved changes in the Adoption Regulations No.667 of October 30, 2018. The new post-adoption reporting provisions outlined below will apply only to those families who apply to adopt with the Ministry of Welfare (MOW) on and after January 1, 2021.

• Post-adoption monitoring continues until the child is 18;
• Post-adoption reports shall be submitted to both the Ministry of Welfare (MOW) and to the child’s orphan court;
• Post-adoption reports should be prepared as required by Annex 4 of these regulations (form for post-adoption reporting) and should include at least one photo of the child;
• Post-adoption reports are required twice each year for two years after adoption; starting from the third year after adoption only one annual post-adoption report is required;
• Adoption service providers should ensure that the child’s orphan court is able to contact the child via telephone or a video call until the child is 18;
• Adoption service providers should inform the MOW in three (3) business days when: the child is taken out of their adoptive family; the social services, judiciary, or law enforcement agencies are notified about the child; and when there is other essential information to establish that the child’s future stay with their international adoptive parents is affected.

Adoption Service Providers who currently have a valid authorization from the MOW need to submit a certification stating that they are able to comply with the amended post-adoption reporting requirements by January 31, 2021.

The amended regulations require that the MOW contact all families who adopted before December 31, 2020 (and the child is still below the age of 18) and ask the following:

1. Has the child been removed from the adoptive family?
2. Has the child appeared before social services, court or law enforcement authorities?
3. Is there any other relevant information that may further affect the child’s stay in the adoptive family?

If you have any questions about the new post adoption reporting requirements, adoption service providers and adoptive families should work directly with the Latvian Central Authority.

US Department of State informs on its website here that on January 4, 2021 that:

“Information about FSP agreements was previously disseminated and posted on our website on October 5, 2018. That guidance is repeated below with one clarification in bold italics. 

In mid-May 2018, the Department of State and India’s Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) discussed the obligations of U.S. accredited adoption service providers (referred to as ASPs in the United States and as AFAAs in India) under applicable U.S. and Indian Regulations. Topics included the registration of ASP representative(s) or agent(s) with CARA, ASP contact with orphanages, ASP foreign supervised provider agreements, and fees paid by adoptive families in India.

CARA’s guidelines require an ASP to obtain CARA’s approval if the ASP intends to use a representative/agent to work on its behalf in India. Failure to obtain CARA’s approval before using a representative/agent may lead CARA to terminate the ASP’s authorization to work in India.  To comply with 22 CFR § 96.46(b), the ASP must have a foreign supervised provider agreement with its representative/agent unless they are an employee of the agency.

CARA informed the Department that ASPs should not have contact with orphanages in India before a referral of the child to the Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) is reserved for acceptance by the ASP through CARINGS (CARA’s database for adoptions in India). However, once a referral is reserved, the ASP may have contact with the orphanage.

The Department and CARA are continuing discussions on supervised provider agreements between ASPs and orphanages in India. CARA expects ASPs to follow their recent circular on fees in addition to all applicable laws and to stay current on India’s Adoption Regulations. U.S. regulations for ASPs also provide that ASPs are to comply with the laws of the countries in which they operate, and failure to adhere to India’s laws could affect an ASP’s accreditation or approval under U.S. law.

CARA would like to remind ASPs that review and approval of home studies as well as post-adoption reports performed by exempted providers in the United States will be the responsibility of the ASP and that it will hold the ASP responsible for any failure on the part of the exempted provider to adequately assess the PAPs or provide all available information about the eligibility or suitability of the PAPs. If CARA determines that the ASP failed to adequately review and approve home studies or post-adoption reporting, it may withdraw the provider’s authorization to work in India.”

US Department of State informs on its website here that on January 4, 2021 that: 

“Based on recent discussions with Embassy Bogota and the Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familia (ICBF), ASPs are not required to have foreign supervised provider agreements with the private orphanages designated by ICBF to facilitate intercountry adoptions in Colombia when they follow ICBF’s normal process for adoption. If an ASP has a case that falls outside of ICBFs standard process, the ASP will need to determine if a foreign supervised provider agreement is necessary with an orphanage, entity, or person based on the adoption services provided in that case.”