Letter from the Vice Consular

My mom received the following email from our Congressman, who had contacted the Embassy in Kampala over the issues of the US refusing to issue families here to pick up their children under Legal Guardianship, visas. Bear in mind that in the affidavits it is ALWAYS clearly spelled out that the child will be taken to and adopted in the States. The judges KNOW this, they just don't choose to put it in their Rulings.

Needless to say, I'm still not impressed with the US decision. By requiring the adoptions to be complete they are slamming the doors to Americans in the States adopting from Uganda. So SAD for all the Ugandan orphans who have been finding homes in the US!

Dear Ms. Price,

Thank you for forwarding this information. This is the information I’ve been giving prospective adoptive parents and other stakeholders:

On Wednesday, February 3^rd, the Vice Consul at U.S. Embassy Kampala met with Ugandan government officials to discuss adoption in Uganda. During the meeting, the Vice Consul was informed that legal guardianship orders issued by the High Court of Uganda are issued with the understanding that American citizens will not adopt Ugandan children in the U.S. and that Ugandan children will not change their citizenship.

Part of IR-4 immigrant visa eligibility requires that the prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) obtain custody of the child for the purposes of emigration and adoption abroad. While guardianship orders need not contain specific language stating that the guardianship is granted with the court’s understanding that the guardians may depart Uganda with the child in order to complete a full and final adoption abroad, it must at a minimum allow the PAPs to fix the abode of the child. Guardianship orders that merely indicate that the guardians are permitted to travel outside of Uganda with the child and do not permit them to fix the abode of the child would not meet the requirements of U.S. immigration law. The U.S. Department of State does not have a visa category that would allow PAPs to foster a child in the U.S.

We are currently working on obtaining official language from the Government of Uganda that states explicitly what the legal guardianship order allows. Our office has sent diplomatic notes to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice on Constitutional Affairs and the Chief justice of the Supreme Court to request a clear definition of what the legal guardianship order states.

These are the options we are giving to PAPs:

1. Consult with your Ugandan attorney to seek and obtain a full and final adoption.
2. Wait until our office receives a response from the Government of Uganda and then we can provide guidance on our processing of cases.

It may be likely that all U.S. PAPs may have to obtain a full and final adoption in Uganda in order to obtain an immigrant IR-3 visa. When we have more information from the Government of Uganda, we will be sure to inform PAPs. Please continue to monitor our website and www.adoption.state.gov for updates on this issue.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Regards,

Ms. Sahar Hussain

Vice Consul

U.S. Embassy Kampala

Uganda