DOS Strongly Advises Against Adoptions from Democratic Republic of the Congo For Time Being

On June 21, 2018, the U.S. Department of State issued an adoption alert strongly recommending against the adoption of children at this time from the Democratic Republic of the Congo [PDF version].

According to the notice, adoption service providers and prospective adoptive parents have been contacted by individuals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo encouraging adoption service providers to resume processing intercountry adoptions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, the DOS reports that Democratic Republic of the Congo adoption authorities have confirmed to it “that the suspension on issuing exit permit[s] in adoption cases has not been lifted.” Thus, the DOS “strongly recommends against initiating an adoption in the [Democratic Republic of the Congo] at this time.” Additionally, the DOS continues to ask that adoption service providers not refer new Congolese adoption cases to U.S. prospective adoptive parents at this time.

Furthermore, the DOS confirmed that the Democratic Republic of the Congo does not require post-adoption reports by U.S. parents for children previously adopted from that the country. However, parents in certain states or with certain adoption service providers may be obligated to provide reports to those authorities.

Prospective U.S. adoptive parents should work closely with a reputable adoption service provider and an immigration attorney who is experienced in the area of international adoption when seeking to initiate and complete an intercountry adoption. It is important to stay abreast of updates and developments regarding adoption from the country in question, as highlighted by the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To learn more about international adoption, please see our growing selection of articles on site [see category].