Please help with Haitian adoptions

Bureaucracy Stops Adoptions in Haiti

A CALL TO ACTION

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Dear friends of Haiti,

A bureaucratic nightmare has forced the stoppage of Haitian children from
receiving their U.S. visa and joining their forever families here in the
U.S. A simple phone call from the U.S. Department of State to the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security would quickly and easily resolve this
situation. To date, no such phone call has occurred and Haitian children
continue to suffer needlessly. We are asking everyone with a heart for
Haitian children to rally together, make some noise and help our children
find their permanent, safe and loving families.

What can you do? Make four simple phone calls.

1. Call your U.S. Senator.
o You can find your Senators' phone numbers at www.senate.gov
o Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff

2. Call your second U.S. Senator.

3. Call your representative to the U.S. House of Representative.
o You can find your representative at www.house.gov
o Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff

4. Call the Congressional Coalition on Adoption
o Their number is 202-544-8500

When should you call? Today, Thursday or Friday

o For maximum affect, we are asking you to make these calls within the
next 72 hours - sometime before the end of the day Friday.

What should you say? Speak from your heart and give them the following
information.
o The Department of State has stopped issuing visas to Haitian
orphans.
o The problem behind the stoppage was fixed by the Department of
Homeland Security.
o BUT, no one told the Department of State.
o Your office must get involved and make the Department of Homeland
Security communicate with the Department of State.
o Your office should contact the Office of Children's Issues at the
Department of State. Their number is 202-736-9090

Can you explain the problem behind the stoppage? Here is some additional
information...
o The U.S. Department of State (the consular office in Haiti) is
ruling that visas can not be issued to legally adopted children due to the
absence of the words 'irrevocable and unconditional' in the Haitian parental
relinquishment documents. The Department of State is incorrect. USCIS has
already resolved this issue and has been approving orphan status since June
2007. Sadly, USCIS has not communicated the resolution to the Department of
State. USCIS has already written a legal opinion that orphan status can
legitimately be granted to these cases, but the Department of State and
USCIS have thus far failed to communicate the information that will release
the children.


We need to send the same concise message to each of these offices: there are
legally adopted children in Haiti who cannot get Visas and come home due to
the lack of communication between DOS and USCIS.

Please act on this message yourself, and pass it along to anyone you know
who has children waiting, has adopted in the past, or just has a heart for
Haiti. Each adult member of your household can call separately.

We need to depend upon sheer volume to get our point across so please call
today!