Plea for Prayer

We heard through our agency two important things are happening this week.

One, the staff of adoption agencies in Ethiopia are meeting to discuss how to handle the situation with the Embassy and what to do.

Two, the USCIS is holding a meeting to discuss what is happening with the US Embassy in Ethiopia. Our agency will be a part of this meeting.

This year, the US Embassy in Addis Ababa has made some changes in the way they are processing adoption cases and the visa applications related to them.  The evidence that has always been acceptable to prove a child's orphan status and need to be adopted has suddenly come under scrutiny and is often not acceptable anymore.  The way Ethiopia processes cases is no longer being trusted and the Embassy has decided they need to do their own investigations, re-interview birth parents, request documents that are not generally issued in Ethiopia like death certificates, and even gone to the length of requesting police reports and court decrees to be re-worded, for the US Embassy's sake.

There are reasons behind this, but they do not justify this kind of overall demand by the Embassy, and the slow down that has resulted in bringing children home.  Before this year, parents were waiting about two months after their adoption was legal and finalized to bring their children home.  This is an excruciating wait already.  Now, parents are waiting at least four months usually before the Embassy allows them to come and pick up their child with the necessary American visa in hand.

I understand if the program in Ethiopia needs more accountability.  There definitely have been cases of adoptions that did not happen in the most upright or legal manner.  But after the adoption is finalized is not the time to be checking into all these things.  Once the Ethiopian court rules, the adoption is final.  This is the point where the Embassy has decided to investigate whether the child is truly adoptable.  Um, too late.  Already adopted.

Please pray with me that this situation would resolve for the good of all the children.  Our agency right now has 30 babies in the baby room. 30.  Lots of these are already adopted, but can't go home yet because the Embassy is not issuing the American visas quickly.  And that's not even taking in to account the older children that are there, wondering if those Americans who came and loved them for a week months ago are ever really going to come back...

Please join me in praying this week that these meetings would result in moving mountains and getting these kids home.

If you want to do something, consider writing your Congressman or the US State Department about this situation. Contact me for more information!