Families Across Borders | law, policy, news and views
Intercountry Adoption Developments in the US
The US State Department has released its Annual Report on Intercountry Adoption for Fiscal Year 2012, showing that visas were issued for a total of 8668 children, down from a total of 9,319 for FY 2011. The most frequently represented countries of origin are China (2,967 children), Ethiopia (1,568), Russia (748), South Korea (627), Ukraine (395), [...]
New International Adoption Legislation
On November 30, President Obama signed the International Adoption Simplification Act (S. 1376), which makes a number of amendments to federal immigration law to restore immunization and sibling age exemptions for children adopted under the Hague Adoption Convention. On December 1, Congress approved the Help HAITI Act (H.R. 5283), which provides for adjustment of status (to [...]
Implementing Legislation for Child Support Convention
Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced S.3848 on September 28, 2010. The bill, which was co-sponsored by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), would enact various amendments to the federal child support program under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, including changes needed to implement the Hague Child Support Convention. If enacted, S.3848 would require all states to enact [...]
Senate Approves Child Support Convention
In the late hours last night before adjourning for its pre-election break, the Senate gave its advice and consent to ratification of the 2007 Hague Child Support Convention. Responding to an objection by Senator Jim DeMint, the resolution of ratification was amended to incorporate an additional understanding, which reads: “The United States is not a [...]
House Resolution Calls on Japan to Address Child Abduction Cases
Before adjourning yesterday (until after the November elections), the House of Representatives approved House Resolution 1326, “Calling on the Government of Japan to address the urgent problem of abduction to and retention of United States citizen children in Japan, to work closely with the Government of the United States to return these children to their [...]
Congress Watch: Pending Legislation
As the U.S. Congress approaches the end of its 111th Session, a number of international family law matters are pending. These include the 2007 Hague Child Support Convention, which was reported to the full Senate by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in January 2010 with a recommendation that the Senate give its advice and consent to ratification. [...]
Child Abduction and Japan: House Resolution Introduced
Six members of Congress have introduced HR 1326, calling on the government of Japan to address the problem of abduction to and retention of U.S. citizen children in Japan and to adopt the Hague Abduction Convention. The resolution was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Hague Family Maintenance Convention Sent to the Senate
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has transmitted the 2007 Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance to the Senate with its recommendation that the Senate give advice and consent to ratification, subject to several reservations and declarations that are permitted by the treaty. Details are included in [...]
Child Migrants as College Students
Children who arrived in the United States as undocumented immigrants would have a special path to permanent residence status under the “Dream Act” sponsored in the Senate by Richard Durbin (S.729) and in the House by Representative Howard Berman (H.R. 1751). The bills would “permit States to determine State residency for higher education purposes and . . [...]
Hearings on International Child Abduction
The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the U.S. Congress will hold hearings on Wednesday, December 2 on International Child Abduction and Parental Access with a list of witnesses that includes left-behind parents in several high-profile U.S. abduction cases. The hearings are scheduled for 10:30 am in the Longworth House Office Building. In addition to a [...]
