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US Embassy Ethiopia letter to Agencies - extra requirements

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Joined on 07-19-2009

Atlanta, GA

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The forgotten children of Romania

The orphanages were overcrowded and filthy, the living conditions unworthy. beginning of

The orphanages were overcrowded and filthy, the living conditions unworthy. At the beginning of the 1990s, Romanian children were redeemed through adoptions - so it seemed. But what actually became of them is uncertain. The fear: Many could have fallen into the hands of human traffickers.

BUCHAREST. When twins Zoe and Mikaela Radford were left by their birth parents in a maternity ward in the small Romanian town of Puciosa in 1991, they were only a few days old. They were adopted and moved to Canada with their foster parents - it is said. Little Jonathan Yourtee was probably taken to a hospital in Constanta by his parents. In 1991 he was taken over by a family from the United States. Later, the new parents also adopted Jonathan's brother Matthew. In 1995 he left home, the destination is unknown.

Reporters from the Romanian newspaper "Romania Libera" tried in vain to find out what became of Zoe and Mikaela, Jonathan and Matthew. They are just four of thousands of cases, of whom nobody knows how they ended up growing up and where exactly they live. Today they would have to be young adults - Romania's forgotten children who disappeared from the country's overcrowded orphanages after the collapse of communism over 20 years ago. At that time, trading in children became an international business.

Anyone could "pick up" a child in Romania if they wanted to. Without a lot of bureaucracy and long waiting times, as is usually the case with adoptions. However, as soon as the children left the Romanian border, their tracks were lost. Quite a few, it is feared, could have fallen into the hands of human traffickers and been forced into prostitution.

The forgotten children of Romania

The orphanages were overcrowded and filthy, the living conditions unworthy. beginning of

The orphanages were overcrowded and filthy, the living conditions unworthy. At the beginning of the 1990s, Romanian children were redeemed through adoptions - so it seemed. But what actually became of them is uncertain. The fear: Many could have fallen into the hands of human traffickers.

By Andreea Pocotila

and Dan Alexe

BUCHAREST. When twins Zoe and Mikaela Radford were left by their birth parents in a maternity ward in the small Romanian town of Puciosa in 1991, they were only a few days old. They were adopted and moved to Canada with their foster parents - it is said. Little Jonathan Yourtee was probably taken to a hospital in Constanta by his parents. In 1991 he was taken over by a family from the United States. Later, the new parents also adopted Jonathan's brother Matthew. In 1995 he left home, the destination is unknown.

Russian officials call for suspension of adoptions to U.S. parents after death of Dillsburg-area boy

Russian officials call for suspension of adoptions to U.S. parents after death of Dillsburg-area boy

By LARA BRENCKLE, The Patriot-News

March 05, 2010, 12:00AM

Provided by ITAR-TASS News Service

Nathaniel Craver and his twin sister pose in this undated photograph.

Change in Processing Timeline for Adoption Cases

Change in Processing Timeline for Adoption Cases

March 5, 2010

The Department of State shares families’ concerns about recent media reports alleging direct recruitment of children from birth parents by adoption service providers or their employees. In response to these reports, the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa has implemented some changes to adoption visa processing. Adoptive parents should be aware that an I-604 (Determination on Child for Adoption, sometimes referred to as “orphan investigation”) must be completed in connection with every I-600 application. Depending on the circumstances of the case, this investigation may take up to several weeks or even months to complete. Therefore, adoptive parents should not plan to travel to Ethiopia until they have confirmed with their adoption agency that their visa interview appointment has been confirmed.

Adoption agencies submit case paperwork to the U.S. Embassy for review before the Embassy schedules the immigrant visa appointment. In some cases the I-604 determination could take several weeks or more from the time a case is submitted to the U.S. Embassy to the scheduling of a visa interview appointment. We understand that in such cases this will result in a longer period before parents are able to bring their adopted children to the U.S. However, this additional scrutiny is required to ensure that the adoption is legal under both U.S. and Ethiopian law. The U.S. Embassy will work with adoptive parents and their adoption agency to ensure that each case is processed in the most expeditious manner possible in accordance laws and regulations. Families should continue to work through their agency to schedule immigrant visa appointments and answer questions regarding pending cases.

If families have concerns about their adoption, we ask that they share this information with the Embassy, particularly if it involves possible fraud or misconduct specific to your child’s case. The Embassy takes all allegations of fraud or misconduct seriously.

INDIA - MC nuns struggle to give babies for adoption

INDIA - MC nuns struggle to give babies for adoption

Published Date: March 5, 2010

Missionaries of Charity nuns and volunteers at a home for ‘unwanted’ children

RAIPUR, India (UCAN) — A bureaucratic tangle is delaying attempts by Missionaries of Charity (MC) nuns to give orphan babies up for adoption.

On Aug. 31, 2009, the Chhattisgarh state government allowed the nuns to give babies up for adoption, listing the nun’s center as a licensed agency for promoting domestic adoption.

Caution About Pursuing an Adoption in Nepal

Adoption Alert

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Bureau of Consular Affairs

Office of Children’s Issues

Caution About Pursuing an Adoption in Nepal

Future of the Ethiopia–Australian Intercountry Adoption Program

Future of the Ethiopia–Australian Intercountry Adoption Program

The Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McClelland MP, has decided to lift the suspension of the Ethiopia–Australia intercountry adoption program. The program will recommence accepting new referrals of children in need of intercountry adoption and matching these children with prospective adoptive parents as at 6 April 2010.

The Ethiopia–Australia program was suspended in November 2009 due to concerns that Australia could no longer conduct intercountry adoptions in Ethiopia in a manner consistent with its obligations under the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption.

In January 2010 an Australian delegation travelled to Ethiopia to discuss the current suspension with the Ethiopian Government and to investigate options for the future of the program. The delegation obtained additional information about the requirement for Australia to provide development assistance and how this might be done in a manner consistent with the Hague Convention. The visit also provided the Department with an enhanced understanding of the practical challenges facing the program.

Information gathered during the delegation visit was incorporated into the Department’s formal review of the program, which has been underway since June 2009. The Department received over 400 submissions about the program, which were also considered in the review process.

Deutschland verweigert indischer Leihmutter die Einreise

Deutschland verweigert indischer Leihmutter die Einreise

Artikel Bilder (1) Kommentare (2)

Neu Delhi/Ulm. Seit zwei Jahren kämpft eine deutsche Familie darum, ihre in Indien geborenen Kinder nach Deutschland bringen zu dürfen. Weil eine Leihmutter die Buben ausgetragen hat, verweigern die Behörden ihre Zustimmung.

Es ist ein nicht enden wollender behördlicher Albtraum, mit dem das Ehepaar aus Bayern wohl nicht gerechnet hat: Seit zwei Jahren streitet das Paar mit den Behörden darum, seine in Indien geborenen Zwillinge nach Deutschland holen zu dürfen. Doch die deutschen Behörden wollen den Kindern keinen Pass ausstellen. Das Problem: Eine Leihmutter hat die Jungen geboren. Dies ist aber nach deutschem Recht verboten. Indien - wo Leihmutterschaft legal ist - hält die Kinder wegen ihrer Eltern für deutsche Bundesbürger. Reisedokumente für sie gibt es deshalb auch in Indien nicht. Die zweijährigen Buben sind somit staatenlos. Nun drängt die Zeit, denn dem Vater, der seit der Geburt bei den Kindern lebt, droht nach Ablauf seines Visums die Abschiebung - ohne die Zwillinge.

Gestern äußerte sich der 47-jährige Kunsthistoriker, der anonym bleiben will, gegenüber der ARD. Die rechtliche Lage in Deutschland hätten er und seine Frau gekannt, sagte der Mann. Weil die Kinder im Ausland zur Welt kamen, habe er darin aber kein Problem gesehen: "Wir haben eine Woche nach Geburt der Kinder mit der Botschaft telefoniert und denen gesagt, dass es eine Leihmutterschaft ist." Die Botschaft habe daraufhin mitgeteilt, dass man die Familie nicht unterstützen könne. "So saßen wir dann allein in einem fremden Land fest."

Woman Denies Trying to Sell Baby for Dh8,500 Mary Nammour

Woman Denies Trying to Sell Baby for Dh8,500 Mary Nammour

4 March 2010, DUBAI — A woman cook denied in court on Wednesday that she had surreptitiously tried to sell another woman’s newborn baby boy to undercover police officers for Dh8,500 in October.

The 24-year-old Indonesian cook claimed before the Court of First Instance that she had only wanted to give away the baby for adoption with his biological mother’s consent. Denying that she asked for any money in exchange, she pleaded not guilty to the human trafficking charge against her that was read out by the presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir.

However, according to court records, the cook had initially offered the baby for Dh10,000 before settling for Dh8,500. She told the baby’s biological mother that the baby was being given away to an Emirati family for adoption.

An woman sergeant from the Anti-Organized Crime Department’s Human Trafficking Section told the prosecutors that on October 30 she had received a telephone call regarding the case. She added, “I was informed that the defendant was about to sell a newborn (baby boy) for Dh10,000. I was given her number.”