Little Miracles Adoption News: Hague Adoption Convention

Showing posts with label Hague Adoption Convention. Show all posts

The Republic of Korea Signs the Hague Adoption Convention

LMI Admin | Thursday, May 30, 2013 | 0 Comments

May 28, 2013

On May 24, 2013, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) signed the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention). This is the first step for South Korea in becoming a Convention partner. Adoptions between the United States and South Korea, however, are not yet subject to the requirements of the Convention and relevant implementing laws and regulations. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which will be designated as South Korea’s Central Authority, there is no set date when South Korea will deliver its instrument of ratification or when the Convention will enter into force with respect to South Korea.

LMI Announces Hague Accreditation Renewal

Little Miracles International | Friday, October 12, 2012 | 0 Comments

Little Miracles International, Inc. is thrilled to announce that we have received notification that we have achieved the honor of Hague Re-Accreditation through the Council on Accreditation (COA) as authorized by the U. S. Department of State, according to an announcement made to Lori Scott, Executive Director on 10/12/12. We thank our Board Members and Staff for their tireless hours and devotion to our accreditation process. Our current Hague countries are: Bulgaria, Colombia, Hungary, Kazakhstan. We look forward to our continual service to families and children in these and other countries.

Adoption Notice: Rwanda

LMI Admin | Tuesday, July 03, 2012 | 0 Comments

Notice: The Hague Adoption Convention Enters into Force for Rwanda

On July 1, 2012 the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Convention) entered into force for Rwanda. However, the Government of Rwanda has notified the U.S. Embassy in Kigali that the current suspension on intercountry adoptions will remain in effect until the country has a fully functional Convention process in place. The Government of Rwanda believes implementation will take several months.

We caution adoption service providers and prospective adoptive parents that important steps to ensure intercountry adoptions from Rwanda comply with the Convention must take place before intercountry adoptions between the United States and Rwanda resume. Adoption service providers should neither initiate nor claim to initiate adoption programs in Rwanda until the Department of State notifies them that the Government of Rwanda has lifted its suspension on intercountry adoptions and that Rwanda’s procedures meet the requirements of the Convention.

The Department of State will provide updated information on adoption.state.gov as it becomes available. If you have any questions about this notice, please contact the Office of Children’s Issues at 1-888-407-4747 within the United States, or 202-501-4444 from outside the United States. Email inquiries may be directed to AdoptionUSCA@state.gov.

Colombia Adoption Teleconference June 7!

Anne Bentley | Wednesday, May 23, 2012 | 0 Comments

Join us June 7 to hear all about our wonderful Colombia adoption program! We are thrilled to offer this program to families wanting to adopt from Latin America. We'll discuss the children available, parent requirements, timelines and paperwork. To receive information and sign up just send and email to info@littlemiracles.org with the subject line COLOMBIA TELECON.

Little Miracles Receives Kazakhstan Accreditation

LMI Admin | Thursday, May 03, 2012 | 0 Comments

Little Miracles is pleased and overjoyed to announce that we have received Accreditation in Kazakhstan on May 2, 2012! We will be updating the website and will be taking applications for this program immediately. Once we receive new details they will be posted on our website.

All of the rules, fees, parent criteria, child criteria, travel etc. will be changed to Hague compliance. Families can get in the queue with your application. We will be releasing more information as we learn the new protocols and criteria. Thank you all for your support and most of all patience. This has been a very long couple of years in the making of the Hague transition for Kazakhstan.

This is an honor and privilege to have been chosen by Kazakhstan to begin processing adoptions again. Although we don't have a start date yet, or know the exact details of the program under the Hague, we feel these details and the start of families through the process will be coming very soon.

Little Miracles has been working in Humanitarian Aid and Placing children from Kazakhstan since 1999, Three of our Adoption Coordinators that assist our families through the program, have adopted from Kazakhstan. They bring their own experience to your process to partner with you throughout your journey. Nina, Our Russian speaking communication specialist works daily with Kazakhstan and will prepare you for your travels.

Please join us in our celebration today!

For more information on the application process please call (806) 351-1100 or write info@littlemiracles.org

LMI Adoptive Families in Kazakhstan

Vietnam ratifies the Hague Adoption Convention

LMI Admin | Tuesday, November 15, 2011 | 0 Comments

Vietnam: US Department of State Adoption Notice – Vietnam ratifies the Hague Adoption Convention

Rrom the US Department of State:
Notice: Vietnam ratifies the Hague Adoption Convention

The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption will enter into force in Vietnam on February 1, 2012, following Vietnam’s ratification on November 1, 2011.

The United States recognizes Vietnam’s initiatives leading to this significant development and applauds the Government of Vietnam’s renewed commitment to strengthen its child welfare system and the integrity of its domestic and international adoption process. We continue to caution adoption service providers and prospective adoptive parents that, to ensure that adoptions from Vietnam can be compliant with the Convention, important steps must still take place before intercountry adoptions between the United States and Vietnam resume. We further caution adoption service providers against initiating, or claiming to initiate, adoption programs in Vietnam until they receive authorization from the Government of Vietnam.

The Department of State will provide updated information onwww.adoption.state.gov as it becomes available. If you have any further questions about this notice, please contact the Office of Children’s Issues at 1-888-407-4747 within the United States or 202-501-4444 from outside the United States.

Kazakhstan Adoption Update

LMI Admin | Thursday, June 02, 2011 | 0 Comments

We got this news from Kazakhstan this morning and wanted to share with you!

The new law on Marriage and Family was finally approved by Parliament (Mazhilis). The Next step will be approval of the law by Senate. Very good news and means for us that Kaz is one step close to starting the Hague Accreditation process.

Adoption Alert: Kazakhstan

Little Miracles International | Tuesday, October 26, 2010 | 1 Comment

After several months of waiting, families in the Kazakhstan Adoption Program and those still considering Kazakhstan Adoptions will be pleased to know that information has been officially released.

LMI understands there are also some key legislation pieces that need to be voted on and put into place as well before adoptions can commence. All in all we feel this is great news!

The Dept of State, Office of Children's Issues has issued the below notice regarding adoptions from Kazakhstan. This notice can also be viewed on their website.

Kazakhstan will become a party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Convention) on November 1, 2010.

Government of Kazakhstan stated it will not accept any new intercountry adoption dossiers until it completes adoption reforms, which is expected to be March 2011, at the earliest.

Processing of Convention adoptions from Kazakhstan

Until the Government of Kazakhstan becomes a party to the Convention, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will not process a Form I-800A (Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country), that indicates an intention to adopt a child from Kazakhstan. For this reason, prospective adoptive parents should not attempt to initiate any new adoptions in Kazakhstan at this time. On or after November 1, 2010, a U.S. citizen seeking to complete a Convention adoption of a child habitually resident in Kazakhstan may file a Form I-800A as specified in the Form I-800A instructions.

Prospective adoptive parents and adoption service providers should be aware that the Government of Kazakhstan continues to revise its intercountry adoption regulations, including those that will establish the number of and requirements for foreign adoption service providers. The Government of Kazakhstan stated it will not accept any new intercountry adoption dossiers until the adoption reforms are complete and its intercountry adoption process meets Convention standards. The Government estimates these reforms will be in place and that new intercountry adoptions may resume in March 2011. Prospective adoptive parents are warned not to enter into any agreement, implied or stated, regarding the prospective adoption of a child in Kazakhstan until such a time as the Government of Kazakhstan establishes the requirements and regulations governing the intercountry adoption of its citizens. The United States Central Authority cautions adoption service providers that they should not offer or appear to offer adoption services in Kazakhstan (other than for those transition cases still being processed under the former regulations) until the Government of Kazakhstan authorizes specific adoption service providers

Transition (orphan) cases

Prospective adoptive parents who may already have filed a Form I-600 or Form I-600A should also be aware of the Government of Kazakhstan’s position on “transition” cases. The Government of Kazakhstan announced that cases will qualify as transition only if the Kazakhstani Embassy or Consulate General sent the dossier to the Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on or before May 25, 2010. These transition cases will be processed under the former procedures. Hague implementing measures will not affect the processing of these adoptions. Thus, prospective adoptive parents who filed a Form I-600A or Form I-600 before November 1, 2010, may need to file a Form I-800A, if the dossier was not sent by May 25, 2010.

Information regarding adoption requirements and procedures in Kazakhstan will be posted as soon as it is made available.

Kazakhstan Adoption Alert

Little Miracles International | Friday, September 10, 2010 | 0 Comments

Kazakhstan Adoption Alert

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Office of Children's Issues

September 9, 2010

A new Kazakh passport requirement has created a processing delay for all passports of about three months. This delay directly affects inter-country adoptions since adoptive children must acquire a passport before they can travel to the United States. Although applicants could previously pay a fee to expedite processing, this service is no longer available. Adoptive parents should anticipate this delay and discuss appropriate arrangements with their adoption service providers.

Previous Kazakhstan Adoption Alert:

June 29, 2010

In May 2010, the Kazakhstani Embassy in Washington and Consulate General in New York stopped accepting new intercountry adoption dossiers. The Kazakhstani government said this policy on new Kazakhstan adoption cases will remain in effect until the Hague Adoption Convention (the Convention) enters into force for Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has indicated that it intends to enact its implementing legislation by September 2010. Kazakhstan will then need to issue Convention regulations before the Convention enters into force, so it is unclear when new adoptions will be processed there.

The Kazakhstani government has informed the Department of State that it will continue to process any cases for which the Kazakhstani Embassy or Consulate General had sent the prospective adoptive parents’ dossiers to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by May 25, 2010. These will be considered transition (“non-Hague” or Form I-600) cases; the policy on new cases will not affect the processing of these adoptions. For more information, you may wish to check the Kazakhstani Embassy’s adoption Web pages.

At this time, prospective adoptive parents should not attempt to initiate any new adoptions in Kazakhstan. The Kazakhstani government will not process any new “non-Hague” or Form I-600 cases. Additionally, since the Convention has not entered into force for Kazakhstan, USCIS cannot process a Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, where the applicants indicate their intention to adopt a child from Kazakhstan.

Little Miracles International will be in prayer for any families caught up in either of these situations.

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