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Intercountry Adoption Regulations

The U.S. Department of State has proposed changes and additions to the existing regulations on Intercountry adoptions to and from the U.S.

The U.S. rulemaking process allows the public to comment on proposed regulations. Your voice can influence and shape public policy that impacts the future of intercountry adoption!

What are Regulations? In basic terms, the regulations are the rules that govern intercountry adoptions to and from the U.S. They are set forth and interpreted by the Department of State, as required by the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000.

Why do Regulations matter? These rules impact everyone involved in an adoption, from agencies and immigration authorities, to adoptive parents and the children waiting for a permanent family. The cost and complexity of the adoption process is heavily shaped by the regulatory standards. We want regulations that protect ethical processes and lead to permanency for as many children as possible. We do not want regulations that make it harder to find permanent families for children and lead to other unintended negative consequences. We do not want regulations that increase the cost for adoptive parents when such regulations have no significant public benefit. 

What can I do? Share from your own personal experience and expertise what you believe the impact of the proposed regulations will be on intercountry adoptions. You do not have to be a professional or an expert in the regulations to comment, nor do you have to be prepared to comment on all of them. You can select specific issues to respond to.

Learn more about the proposed regs and how to comment with our tips below.

Tips for Submitting a Comment

  1. Explain your connection to adoption and expertise or experience with the issues at hand.
  2. Wherever possible, state the specific issue and rule you are addressing.
  3. If you feel comfortable and able to do so, offer suggestions for improvement and/or explain why you believe your suggestion would be more beneficial. You can also ask for current regulations to be dropped or retained rather than changed. Remember, you do not need to be a policy expert to give your opinion or state your concern.
  4. Your comments may be in a narrative form, but aim to be constructive and issue focused.
  5. Click HERE to view a helpful, in-depth guide for submitting comments.

More Harm than Good

While we support some of the changes, and believe that in some cases improvement can be made through minor revision and technical clarifications, it is NCFA's position that, on balance, the proposed regulatory rules, if implemented as proposed, will result in more harm than good, creating more problems than they solve, including:

How to Submit a Comment

  1. Click HERE to read the proposed regulations and access the comment form.
  2. You may also write your comments in a separate document and attach to the comment form.
  3. Submit your comments no later than 11:59pm on Tuesday, January 19, 2021.