DOS Withdraws Proposed Rule from September 2016 on Hague Convention Regulations

On September 8, 2016, the Department of State (DOS) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding amendments to DOS regulations implementing the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intracountry Adoption and the Intracountry Adoption Act of 2000 [see 81 FR 62322].

The rule proposed several changes to the process for accrediting adoption service providers and for preparing prospective parents seeking to adopt a child from a Hague Convention signatory.

However, on April 4, 2017, the DOS published a notice in the Federal Register withdrawing the proposed rule previously published at 81 FR 62322 [see 82 FR 16322]. The DOS states in its withdrawal notice that it will take the public comments received with regard to 81 FR 62322 into account in drafting a new rule on the same issues. The DOS states that the new rule will likely be published in the Federal Register later this year.

We will update the site with further information once the DOS publishes a new rule to replace the now-withdrawn rule published at 81 FR 62322. Please see our full article to see a list of Hague Convention countries [see article].