Center for Adoption Policy

March 4, 2011

John “Wally” Bird

Deputy Chief, International Operations Division Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate US Citizenship and Immigration Services US Department of Homeland Security Wally Bird March 4, 2011 1

Vietnam

Prior to the suspension of the bi-lateral agreement on Sept 1, 2008, there were several factors that caused difficulty in the adjudication of Form I-600 petitions in Vietnam: 

Inability of USG to Perform the Necessary Investigation

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Irregularities Reported to GVN with No Action

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Verification of Identify of Birth Parents (DNA)

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Case Specific Problems:

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Misleading birth parents

   

Birth parent paid Falsified Disappearances Inability to Pay Hospital Bills Abandoned at Orphanage

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Children Returned to Birth Parent(s)

Wally Bird March 4, 2011 2

Guatemala

 USCIS Role in Guatemalan adoptions  Current numbers from USCIS Guatemala City  Grandfathered cases Wally Bird March 4, 2011 3

Nepal

 Background on August 2010 suspension and new filing procedures  Main concerns  USCIS role  Current numbers from USCIS New Delhi Wally Bird March 4, 2011 4

Ethiopia

 USCIS participation in January 2011 site visit to the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa  Site visit observations  Examples of irregularities found in the documentation of cases that generate serious concern  Increased USCIS role in Ethiopian adoptions Wally Bird March 4, 2011 5

Useful Resources

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Department of State’s Adoption Website:

www.adoption.state.gov

 Country specific information  Role as the US Central Authority for the Hague Adoption Convention  Statistics Wally Bird March 4, 2011 6

Useful Resources

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USCIS’ Adoption Website

: www.uscis.gov

 Adoption webpages include:        Before You Start Before Your Child Immigrates to the US Immigration through Adoption (Orphan, Hague & Form I-130 processing) Limited Country Information Background Checks Home Study Information After Approval Wally Bird March 4, 2011 7