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Agency successfully meets 60-day implementation date

Media Note

 Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC

July 2, 2012

Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Ambassador Susan Jacobs is visiting Guatemala from July 1-3 as part of a Congressional Delegation led by Senator Mary Landrieu. The delegation, which includes officials from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), is meeting with Guatemalan officials to discuss progress in resolving the remaining intercountry adoption transition cases.

On July 1, 2012, Montenegro became a party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention). However, the Department of State (DOS) has determined that Montenegro does not yet have a fully functional Convention process in place. DOS consular officers are unable to certify that adoption decrees or custody orders obtained in Montenegro for a child habitually resident in Montenegro have been issued in compliance with the Hague Adoption Convention. Without this certification, U.S.

USCIS interim policy memo for comment on amending the Adjudicator's Field Manual to provide further guidance on whether an “adoption” is valid for immigration purposes.

The bilateral adoption agreement between the United States and Vietnamexpired on Sept. 1, 2008.  Both nations have agreed to cease processing new adoption cases until the United States and Vietnamsign a new bilateral agreement.

Question:   Now that Sept. 1 has passed, what is the status of adoptions from Vietnam?

CBP memo concerning the exercise of prosecutorial discretion with respect to individuals who came to the U.S. as children.

Please check attached document to read CBP Memo.