Uganda Recalls Guardianship Orders

In late July, Uganda announced that it is planning to “recall” guardianship orders issued to non-Ugandans after the June 2, 2016 effective date for amendments to the country’s Children’s Act. At press time, the U.S. Embassy in Kampala was still seeking clarification on this recall. If you are in the process of adopting from Uganda, please stay in close contact with your adoption agency and monitor adoption.state.gov to stay up to date.

The amendments stated that intercountry adoption “shall be considered as the last option” for Ugandan children, though it also shortened the residency requirement for foreign prospective adoptive parents from three years to one.

Romania Will Release Adoptees’ Birth Certificates

Romania’s Central Authority has announced that it would allow adoption service providers (ASPs) to release the adoptee’s birth certificate and documents approving initiation of the adoption process to prospective adoptive parents. The prospective parents must confirm in writing that they understand that the documents may only be used for the purpose of reviewing the matching proposal and filing the Form I-800.

Haiti Has Compiled List of Hague Transition Cases

In late July, Haiti’s Central Authority sent USCIS a list of families that had filed dossiers on or before February 15, 2016. These families had been or will be provisionally matched with children and can continue as Hague transition cases if they have filed a Form I-600 petition. If you are in the process of adopting from Haiti, please stay in close contact with your adoption agency and monitor adoption.state.gov to stay up to date.

Ethiopia’s Court Set to Adjourn for Summer Recess

Parents in the process of adopting from Ethiopia should take note that the country’s First Instance Court Adoptions Bench will adjourn for its annual summer recess from August 5 until September 30. No adoption cases will be adjudicated during this period.