Final Date to File the 1-600 in Haiti

Information our agency sent out to all Haiti Families:

March 14, 2016

Dear Haiti waiting families, 

I am sending you all the notice that I received from the US Department of State in regards to adoptions in the country of Haiti. The notice is for families who have filed the I-800A and/or the I-800 or plan to file the I-800. As we all know the final date to file the I-600 in Haiti is March 31. The department of state has started receiving I-800 applications for Haitian adoptions and they are now trying to interpret Haitian laws in regards to approving the I-800 applications, as of right now the Department of state has put all I-800 approvals on HOLD. From what we (all the agencies approved to work in Haiti) can see is DOS is making their own interpretation of the Haitian laws, those interpretations would not make it possible for any of the I-800’s being processed at this time to be approved, and would limit if not stop completely the approval of any I-800’s in the future. We believe that DOS is causing an unlawful halt of adoptions from haiti at this time (again, this is for all families that have filed the I-800a/I800 or will be required to file it).  This is an urgent situation!!

As you can see from the notice below DOS will host two conference calls this week, one is tomorrow for the Adoption service providers and one will be on Wednesday for the adoptive families. I invite everyone who might be affected by this to be on the call.

I also want you to be aware that I am working with all the adoption service providers registered to work in Haiti, and NCFA (National Council for Adoption).  We have had a conference call and have a plan in effect, we are working with an amazing adoption attorney who works with NCFA and has a lot of international adoption experience and has experience with getting congress to help with issues that involve children, she is helping us to approach/work with (fight) DOS on their current interpretation of Haitian law.  In a tiny nutshell what DOS is basically saying is that US agencies cannot have a working relationship with orphanages in Haiti, that we cannot request that referral’s come from a certain orphanage and that the orphanage cannot make suggestions to IBESR on behalf of a child to a specific family. You can read below and see some of the wording. There is actually no Haitian law that substantiates this and we have asked DOS to provide where they are getting this information and what law supports it, but we have yet to get that from DOS. We know that all referrals/matches must come from IBESR (the Haitian central authority under adoptions), that no match is official until IBESR “Makes” it, but Haitian law does support IBESR asking orphanages for suggested matches for families, they do not have to accept the suggestion, but truthfully, IBESR does not really have any other system to make matches. 

The issue that DOS is having is that they are thinking that the US ASP’s are making matches, when in fact all we as agencies are doing is suggesting to IBESR that a match/referral come from a certain crèche/orphanage, again this is just a suggestion and there is no Haitian law that would prevent it.  The crèche is then making a suggestion of a referral/match that they feel would be in the best interest of the child and be the best fit for a family. There is no way for an agency to have an adoption program in Haiti and not have a relationship with the orphanages, how would we help families to travel to Haiti and visit their child and have their socialization visit, we have to arrange this with the orphanages, this is part of the agreement that agencies signed with IBESR.

Of course there are other issues that will need to be addressed in regards to approval of the I-800, which many of you fall under, some of you may have filed the I-600A and then have now had to switch to the I-800A, and some of you may have prior knowledge of a child because of this, we have heard that DOS will process these files on a case by case basis and look at all the circumstances surrounding your case.

The attorney with NCFA who is working with all of us agencies working in Haiti, is drafting an open letter to DOS to address all the issues I have listed above (in greater detail) she will also be sending it on to Congress. I am certainly hopeful this will get some positive action from DOS.

I know that the Hague was put into place to look out for the best interest of the children through-out the world and I am hopeful that the Department of State will remember this and look out for the best interest of the children in Haiti and not cause the doors of adoption to be closed.

Those of you who have filed the I-600 in Haiti should not have any issues completing your adoption, those of you who have filed the I-600 in Haiti and are waiting for the official referral I hope will be okay to proceed under the I-600, we have not received any information from USCIS to indicate that you will not. 

Everyone that is through IBESR and just waiting to complete the rest of the adoption should not have any issues in regards to the I-600 or I-800, please just be sure to keep your fingerprints and forms up-dated.