Ethiopia Suspension Update
The following was a statement made by the U.S. Department of State regarding the recent suspension of adoptions from Ethiopia. Please continue to pray for the children who wait, the families who are waiting and that the suspension would be lifted.
Good afternoon,
Below are the most recent updates from the Department of State Office of Children’s Issues regarding Ethiopia’s suspension of intercountry adoptions.
• State Department officials have continued to engage with the Ethiopian government at every opportunity to strongly advocate for a way forward for cases in process.
• On June 1, an official from the Ministry of Woman and Children’s Affairs (MOWA) told the Embassy MOWA will issue Vital Signature letters on June 1 for the cases with Federal First Instance Court (FFIC) approval prior to April 25. It remains unclear whether immigration authorities will resume issuing passports for adopted children.
• The Ethiopian government has yet to release an official statement of policy about the suspension.
• The State Department continues to advocate for the continued processing of all cases in process. The Government of Ethiopia has not indicated how it will handle cases with FFIC approval granted after April 25, or those that have not received FFIC approval.
• The U.S. Embassy continues to conduct regular communication with prospective adoptive parents who are in Ethiopia throughout the suspension, including holding several meetings at the Embassy. Useful mutual information-sharing has resulted.
• To mitigate the Embassy’s workload during this time, the Office of Children’s Issues asks that communication from waiting families in the United States, adoption service providers and Congressional offices be directed to our office. If you have a specific question that requires additional information, please forward the inquiry to the Office of Children’s Issues at adoption@state.gov. We ask that you write to adoption@state.gov.
We trust this information is useful. If you have any questions about the information in this update, please email the Office of Children’s Issues at adoption@state.gov.
Sincerely,
Trish Maskew
Division Chief
Office of Children’s Issues
Below are the most recent updates from the Department of State Office of Children’s Issues regarding Ethiopia’s suspension of intercountry adoptions.
• State Department officials have continued to engage with the Ethiopian government at every opportunity to strongly advocate for a way forward for cases in process.
• On June 1, an official from the Ministry of Woman and Children’s Affairs (MOWA) told the Embassy MOWA will issue Vital Signature letters on June 1 for the cases with Federal First Instance Court (FFIC) approval prior to April 25. It remains unclear whether immigration authorities will resume issuing passports for adopted children.
• The Ethiopian government has yet to release an official statement of policy about the suspension.
• The State Department continues to advocate for the continued processing of all cases in process. The Government of Ethiopia has not indicated how it will handle cases with FFIC approval granted after April 25, or those that have not received FFIC approval.
• The U.S. Embassy continues to conduct regular communication with prospective adoptive parents who are in Ethiopia throughout the suspension, including holding several meetings at the Embassy. Useful mutual information-sharing has resulted.
• To mitigate the Embassy’s workload during this time, the Office of Children’s Issues asks that communication from waiting families in the United States, adoption service providers and Congressional offices be directed to our office. If you have a specific question that requires additional information, please forward the inquiry to the Office of Children’s Issues at adoption@state.gov. We ask that you write to adoption@state.gov.
We trust this information is useful. If you have any questions about the information in this update, please email the Office of Children’s Issues at adoption@state.gov.
Sincerely,
Trish Maskew
Division Chief
Office of Children’s Issues
Categories
Ethiopia