|
Country Status
Ukraine
is currently
OPEN to adoptions by foreign
citizens
For a list of Joint
Council agencies working in Ukraine, please consult our
Country Programs page.
|
January 16, 2007
The U.S. Department of State has issued the
following public notice regarding adoption quotas in Ukraine:
On December 18, 2007, the Ministry for Family, Youth and Sports issued
Decree # 4939 approving the number of new adoption dossiers from foreign
citizens that can be accepted by the Ukrainian State Department for
Adoption and Protection of the Rights of the Child (SDAPRC) during
calendar year 2008.
According to this Decree, the total number of the
dossiers that can be accepted from all foreign citizens during calendar
year 2008 is 1,453 dossiers. This number is a grand total and will not
be subdivided by country or by specific categories of children.
Decree # 4939 cancels Decree # 4137, which was the
basis for the Embassy’s public notice on December 12, 2007.
We understand that your local Power-of-Attorney
must show a complete adoption dossier to sign up with the SDAPRC.
December 27, 2007
The Ukraine SDAPRC has issued the quota for intercountry adoptions to
the United States for calendar year 2008 at 460 (dossier submissions).
Additionally, specific quotas have bee n set for five categories:
-
children under 6 years old (with no siblings) - 32 dossiers
-
children from 6 to 9 years old (with no siblings) - 83 dossiers
-
children 10 or more years old (with no siblings) - 115 dossiers
-
sibling groups (in which one of the children is younger than 6 years) -
92 dossiers
-
sibling groups (in which all siblings are 6 or more years old) - 138
dossiers
It is Joint Council's understanding that the quota was set based on the
SDAPRC's goal of finding families for older children and on the
continued issue of post-placement compliance rates.
September 5, 2007
The U.S. Department of
State recently posted a notice regarding updated procedures for
submission of visa documents for adopted children in Ukraine. For more
information, please visit the State Department's website by clicking
here.
August 1, 2007
The U.S. Department of
State recently posted a notice regarding the possible delays of issuance
of new Ukrainian passports. The full text of this notice may be
accessed
here.
April 16, 2007
On April 16, 2007 the State Department for Adoptions and Protection of
the Rights of the Child resumed acceptance of new adoption applications
from U.S. citizens. All the rules and requirements have remained in
place.
April 6, 2007
On March 20, 2007, the
SDAPRC Director
Ludmyla Volynets, her First Deputy Ludmyla Balym, Deputy Director Inna
Savchuk, and Head of the Intercountry Adoption Unit Olena Remen
resigned. Due
to their resignation, SDAPRC is not accepting any new dossiers from
foreign citizens. Dossiers that have already been submitted are being
processed. This temporary suspension will last until April 16,
2007. The suspension will not affect the adoptive families with
scheduled appointments. The full text of the notice can be viewed at the
website for the
US Embassy in Kyiv.
March 26, 2007
Joint Council would
like to provide some additional information on the bill # 2562
On Legislative Amendments to Ukraine's Laws (regarding
adoptions), based on
clarification we have received from the State Department for Adoption
and Protection of the Rights of the Child.
-
The age
requirements apply to
both parents in the family (if at least one of the
adoptive parents does not comply with these requirements, the family
cannot be approved for adoption).
-
The law is
not retroactive. Those adoptive parents, whose
dossiers have already been approved and scheduled for appointments,
will not be affected by this law and should be able to complete the
adoptions until the date this law becomes fully effective.
According to Ukrainian
officials, this law will not become effective as soon as was initially
expected. Its final text will require additional consideration and
approval by the Parliament before it can be submitted for President’s
approval. Most likely, the law will not become fully effective until
May or June of this year.
Please see the March 23, 2007 posting below for more information on bill
# 2562.
Also, on February 24,
2007 the State Department for Adoption and Protection of the Rights of
the Child (SDAPRC) issued the Decree #16. This Decree approves the
numbers of the new adoption dossiers from foreign countries, which can
be accepted by the SDAPRC during the calendar year 2007. The result of
the decree is that the 558
dossier submissions have been allocated to parents from the U.S. for
calendar year 2007. This number was arrived at using a complex
mathematical formula devised by the SDAPRC. The U.S. remains on top of
the list of foreign countries adopting from Ukraine, followed by Italy
(494 dossiers) and Spain (380 dossiers).
.
March 23, 2007
As Joint Council
shared with the membership in November 2006, Ukraine would be
introducing a bill that would implement changes to current Ukrainian
adoption legislation. On Tuesday, March 20, 2007, the Parliament of
Ukraine passed
bill
#2562 On Legislative Amendments to Ukraine's Laws (regarding adoptions).
The bill will come into effect after President
Yuschenko’s
approval
and its publication in the official newspaper of Ukraine's Parliament.
This process can take at least one week. This bill introduces the
following major changes to current Ukrainian legislation:
-
The minimum age of
prospective adoptive parent must be at least 21 years old;
-
The maximum age
difference between adoptive parents and adopted children cannot exceed
45 years;
-
Unmarried foreign
citizens cannot adopt Ukrainian children.
The final
text of this bill will be available on the Joint Council website after
its official publication.
.
March 08, 2007
On February 25, 2007 the Decree #313, issued by Minister for Family,
Youth and Sports Victor Korzh, became effective. This Decree approves
the Regulations on Acceptance of Adoption Documents from Foreign
Citizens, an official document that describes current intercountry
adoption procedures and requirements of the central adoption authority
of Ukraine - the State Department for Adoption and Protection of Rights
of the Child (SDAPRC). The entire notice can be viewed at the website
for the
U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.
.
January 29, 2007
Joint Council
staff and Board of Directors met with the U.S. Department of State and
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services last Monday in conjunction
with our quarterly Board meeting. The following update was supplied to
us by DOS:
As the caucus is
aware, the Ukrainian State Department for Adoptions and Protection of
the Rights of Children (SDAPRC) began accepting new adoption dossiers
from American families on December 19, 2006, two weeks ahead of
schedule. DOS is pleased that despite the resignation of former
Minister of Family, Youth & Sports, Pavlenko, this reinstatement of
American adoptions stayed on track. Lyudmila Volynets, the Chief of the
SDAPRC, was reported several weeks ago to have resigned as well, but DOS
now understands that she has agreed to stay in her position under the
new Minister, Viktor Korzh. The Ukrainian government continues to be
concerned about what it views as an insufficient level of compliance
with American parents’ post-placement reporting obligations, and DOS is
hoping to launch another strong push for PPR compliance in the coming
weeks, so that these concerns on the Ukrainians’ part do not derail the
forward progress of the new applications. Meanwhile, the SDAPRC is
continuing to work through legacy cases left over from the period of the
former National Adoption Committee (NAC).
Embassy Kyiv had a
very successful, pro-adoption program in honor of National Adoption
Month in November, and Assistant Secretary Maura Harty addressed a
number of Ukrainian news reporters via DVC. DOS office director, Ellen
Conway, is traveling to Ukraine in February. We look forward to her
update and will continue to make new information available to the caucus
as it is received by our office.
November 6, 2006
Public Notice on
Voluntary Registration of Foreign Organizations in Ukraine
On October 16,
2006 the Ukrainian State Department for Adoption and Protection of
Rights of the Child (SDAPRC) approved Official Resolution #48
introducing voluntary registration for foreign organizations that have
local personnel representing prospective adoptive parents in Ukraine.
All foreign organizations wishing to register with the SDAPRC can do so
by submitting an application and a set of documents for registration.
Below is an unofficial translation of the list of required documents.
All of these documents must be legalized (have apostilles in the case of
the U.S. organizations) and be accompanied by certified Ukrainian
translations. The voluntary registration does not impose any
obligations or other legal consequences for the SDAPRC.
The documents for
the voluntary registration can be submitted every Tuesday and Thursday
from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at: #14 Desiatinna Street, Kyiv, at the
public inquiries room of the State Department for Adoption and
Protection of Rights of the Child. The voluntary registration will
take place until December 1, 2006.
Any questions
regarding this registration should be addressed directly to the SDAPRC.
List of Documents Required for Voluntary Registration of Foreign
Organizations in Ukraine (Unofficial translation)
1. Copies of
the statutory documents of the foreign organization, including
information regarding its non-profit status, organizational structure
and personnel.
2. A copy of
a registration paperwork with the central national adoption authority or
a copy of the license, issued by a competent governmental authority from
the state of location of the foreign organization, that confirms that
the organization is authorized to provide intercountry adoption
services.
3. A
referral letter from the central adoption authority or another competent
governmental authority of the state where the organization is located,
indicating that it can provide adoption services in Ukraine.
4. List of
services for prospective adoptive parents provided by a foreign
organization.
5.
Commitment from the foreign organization to provide control over
compliance with post-adoption registration requirements according to
Ukrainian legislation, including searching for adoptive parents and
children if the post-adoption reports are not submitted on time.
6. A sample
of a standard contract from the organization with prospective adoptive
parents, certified by the organization. This contract must include
provisions on responsibility (penalties) for the adoptive parents in
case they breach the adoption rules and procedures of Ukraine.
7. An
informational letter about the foreign organization’s activities in
Ukraine, indicating the period they have been working here, the number
of completed adoptions and post-adoption reports.
8. Information about the individuals, authorized by the foreign
organization to represent prospective adoptive parents (their full
names, contact information) and a copy of the Power of Attorney,
certified by the foreign organization.
September 26, 2006
The transition to the new State Department for
Adoptions and the Protection of Children (SDAPRC) is continuing. This
month, SDAPRC has interviews scheduled for 25 American families whose
cases originated under the former National Adoption Center (NAC);
another group of families will be interviewed in October. The Ministry
of Family, Youth & Sport (of which the SDAPRC is a part) continues to
stand by the position Minister Pavlenko announced on July 3 that no new
U.S. applications will be accepted until at least January 1, 2007.
On the political front, the Ombudswoman of the Ukraine Parliament,
Nina Karpachova, has been calling for a complete moratorium on
intercountry adoption but she has not introduced legislation that would
do this and we believe that any legislation would fail. The key issue
for Ukrainians, including Ms. Karapachova, continues to be
missing/delinquent post-placement reports (PPRs). In August, JCICS
proactively sent a letter to Ms. Ludmyla Volynets, Director of the State
Department for Adoption and Protection of Rights of the Child in the
Ministry of Family, Youth & Sports offering our assistance. The
State Department has very much appreciated JCICS' partnership and leadership within the U.S. adoption community to get out the pro-PPR
message, and they look forward to continuing their work with JCICS.
The new U.S. Consular General in Kiev, Kandon Taylor, arrived in August
and has already met multiple times with SDAPRC director Ludmyla Volynets
to explore ways to move forward. Chris Lamora, Chief of the Intercountry
Adoption Unit with the Office of Children's Issues, met last week with
the newly arrived Ukrainian consul in Washington, Olena Brezhneva, to
further brainstorm on the situation.
July 3, 2006
On July 3, 2006 the Minister for Family,
Youth and Sports, Yuriy Pavlenko, held a press conference to announce
the official opening of the new adoption authority, to be known as the
State Department for Adoption and Protection of Rights of the Child (SDAPRC),
and to outline his ministry’s policies related to the protection of
children’s rights.
Minister Pavlenko reported that the
previous central adoption authority (the National Adoption Center under
the Ministry of Education) had been dissolved, and stressed that the
SDAPRC is completely separate from the previous system. He underscored
that Ukraine has no intent to impose any restrictions or moratorium on
intercountry adoptions; nonetheless, he made clear that promoting
domestic adoptions will be the first priority and the main focus of the
new adoption authority.
On the basis of Minister Pavlenko’s
statements, the U.S. Embassy in Kiev has assembled information for
Americans who wish to adopt in Ukraine. This information can be found at
http://kiev.usembassy.gov/amcit_adoptions_notice_0703_eng.html.
June 14, 2006
The US Embassy in Kiev has received a diplomatic note dated June 6,
2006 from the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Ukraine noting the new adoption authority, the State Department for
Adoption and Protection of Rights of the Child will open in July 2006.
Please see the following notice from the US Embassy in Kiev:
http://kiev.usembassy.gov/amcit_adoptions_eng.html
May 17, 2006
The US Department of State estimates that the transition to the new
Ukrainian adoption authority will be complete by mid to late June 2006.
At this time, no appointments for US families in the process of adopting
have been set up with the new office in Ukraine.
Please note that Ukrainian adoptions are not closed for US
families. Families currently in the process of adopting will
experience delays and may not be able to obtain an appointment for
several weeks. Parents initiating the process should be advised
that children must still fall into one of the three categories specified
above in order to be eligible for adoption.
April 3, 2006
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved
Resolution #367 which officially recognizes the new adoption authority
under the Ministry of Family, Youth, and Sports. The new Ukrainian
adoption authority will be called the State Department for Adoption
and Protection of Children’s Rights. The original posting of
this information and the text of the official resolution are available
on the website of the
US Embassy in Kiev.
JCICS does not have additional information about
the status of adoptions between Ukraine and the United States at this
time. We will post more information on this site as it becomes
available.
February 3, 2006
Ukraine suspends inter-country adoptions until U.S. families
comply with post-placement reporting requirements.
Click
here
to read the joint
press release between JCICS and NCFA.
February 1, 2006
President Yushchenko has signed the
legislation granting interim authority to the Ukrainian NAC to process
adoptions until May 1. Please see the following notice from the US
Embassy in Kiev:
http://kiev.usembassy.gov/amcit_adoptions_notice_0201_eng.html
January 30, 2006
Instructions for Submitting Post Placement Reports
According to the
Consular Section of the Ukrainian Embassy, post-placement reports
"should be submitted once a year for the first three years after
adoption, and then once every three years until the child reaches the
age of 18. The Consular Office of the Embassy of Ukraine will
be grateful for your detailed reports about adopted child's (children's)
living conditions and development and pictures of your family."
Click the link below to download and complete the post-placement report
form provided by the Embassy of Ukraine.
Please note: The US Department of State has also confirmed that a
letter from the parents which includes 10-15 photos will also suffice.
Post-Placement Report Form
(Word doc.)
The reports
should be
sent by mail to the appropriate consular office or consulate for the
region where the child and family reside (e.g. a Virginia family would
send its report to the consular office at the Embassy, a California
family to the Consulate General in San Francisco, an Illinois family to
the Chicago Consulate General, etc). For a complete list
of which states are
covered by which Consulate, please visit
http://www.ukraineinfo.us/consular/consular.html.
If you have additional
questions, please contact the Consular Office of the Embassy of Ukraine
in Washington, DC at
(202) 333-7510 or by email at
adoption@ukremb.com.
More information and a
message regarding the importance of these reports can be found at
http://www.ukraineinfo.us/consular/openletter.html.
January 27, 2006
Important Message on Post Placement Reports
Currently the
Ukrainian government is citing that they are missing post placement
reports for approximately 900
children who were adopted to the United States between
1996 and 2004. Ukrainian adoption officials have indicated
that unless families submit their missing reports, it is possible
that Ukraine
will not continue to allow Ukrainian
children to be adopted in the US.
It is possible that
many families are not aware of their failure to comply with post
placement reporting or of the impact that their failure to comply could
have on children who continue to wait in Ukraine. JCICS
does not have a list of adoptive families that are missing post
placement reports nor the agencies which assisted them in their
adoptions. The Department of State cannot contact families directly or
distribute any list, due to the Privacy Act in the US. At this point in
time word of mouth and agency assistance is our best resource in
reaching out to families. We are working with the Department of State,
the US Embassy in Kiev and other NGOs to explore other solutions.
It is important that
parents understand that submitting post placement reports does not, in
any way,
jeopardize their finalized adoption. Equally critical is that they
understand that submitting annual reports was a commitment they made to
the Ukrainian government at the time of adoption.
We
are asking that any families who have adopted from Ukraine since 1996
review their records to confirm that they have sent post placement
reports.
If you know of any families who have questions or may need assistance in
submitting their reports, please have them contact the JCICS office
directly at
jcics@jcics.org.
Thank you in advance
for your assistance and support in this critical effort.
January 9, 2005 -
The following is an announcement from the US Embassy in Ukraine:
On December 20, 2005, President Yushchenko signed the law
transferring authority over adoptions from the Ministry of Education to
the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports. This law came into effect on
December 22, 2005, upon its publication in Parliament"s official
newspaper "Holos Ukrainy".
According to the new law, the Family Code of Ukraine will be amended
to give authority over domestic and international adoptions to the
Ministry for Family, Youth and Sports. The new central authority will be
called the State Department for Adoption and Protection of Children,
under the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports.
According to information from the National Adoption Center (NAC),
although the NAC under the Ministry of Education has not yet been
dissolved, the Ukrainian Supreme Court has determined that the NAC no
longer has legal authority to process adoptions. This decision
effectively creates a processing gap, with no Ukrainian ministries’
having the authority to handle adoptions at this time.
The Embassy has raised the U.S. Government’s concern about the sudden
stoppage of adoption processing and has asked the Government of Ukraine
to take steps so that families already in Ukraine can conclude their
adoptions and return home. Although officials at the Ministry of Family,
Youth and Sports have indicated that they wish to find an interim
solution for the families caught in the balance, any such resolution
will likely not be approved until mid-January of 2006, after the
Ukrainian holidays. (All Ukrainian governmental organizations will be
closed from January 1 to January 10, 2006, for the New Year and Orthodox
Christmas holidays.)
The Embassy also has asked for clarification on the status of the
referral appointments that the NAC had scheduled for January 2006. As
soon as the Ukrainian authorities respond, the Embassy will issue a
follow-up notice with that updated information. Please monitor the
Embassy’s web page for the current status of adoption processing in
Ukraine:
http://kiev.usembassy.gov/.
This is a follow-up to our December 28 notice regarding the sudden
stoppage of adoption processing in Ukraine. As we reported earlier, on
December 22, 2005 the National Adoption Center lost its legal authority
to process adoptions as a result of the new law transferring authority
over adoptions from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Family,
Youth and Sports.
Despite numerous representations by the U.S. Government at many
levels to the Government of Ukraine, an interim resolution to address
families caught in various stages of the adoption process in Ukraine has
not yet been approved. According to recent communication from senior
Ukrainian government officials, an interim resolution requires a change
in legislation whose processing may take up to one month.
The NAC advised that they will provide an official letter explaining
the current situation to all adopting parents. The NAC further advised
that it will then contact all prospective parents who are registered
with the NAC within ten days after the legislative changes are approved.
American prospective adoptive families who have January appointments
should not travel to Ukraine until the Government of Ukraine
officially confirms that you can complete the adoption process and
return to the U.S. with your children in a timely manner.
The Embassy will continue to track this and other adoption-related
issues closely, and provide updates as appropriate. American
adopting parents who are currently in Ukraine and are affected by this
abrupt closure are requested to e-mail the Embassy at
adoptionskiev@state.gov and
provide your points of contact.
This official notice can be found at
http://kiev.usembassy.gov/amcit_adoptions_eng.html
JCICS will continue to follow this situation very closely. We will
post new developments and information as it becomes available.
November 23, 2005 -
The
State Department has just confirmed information regarding adoptions from
Ukraine. First, the legislation that will officially move adoption
processing to the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports has passed
through the Ukrainian Congress. It is now awaiting presidential
signature to go into effect. There is no time frame for when the transition will be complete or when
the Ministry will be prepared to accept dossiers.
Currently, the NAC has agreed to accept dossiers for children who fit
into one of the following three categories:
1) the child is older than 10 years of age
2) the child has an identified handicap
3) the child has biological siblings who have been adopted by the family
pursuing his or her adoption
Visit
the US
embassy in Kiev website
to read the official
announcement.
November 1, 2005 -
The Government of Ukraine stated that it will not allow
cases to be processed that were received after September 19, when
announcements were first made regarding delays for intercountry
adoptions. They again emphasized the importance of receiving
post-placement reports from families before adoptions can continue.
Ukraine has indicated that they will not be re-opening for
post-September 19 cases until they see a significant increase in
registrations and reporting.
September
21, 2005 -
Ukraine - Adoption Suspension on New Dossiers (09/21/05)
On September 21, 2005 the Government of Ukraine informed the U.S.
Embassy in Kiev that the National Adoption Center (NAC) of Ukraine was
suspending the acceptance of new adoption dossiers from U.S. citizens
and citizens of several other countries. According to the NAC, the
decision to stop accepting certain dossiers as of September 19 was based
in large part on the past non-compliance of some families with
post-adoption reports, which are required by Ukrainian law.
The Embassy has asked for further explanation from the Government of
Ukraine regarding the premise behind this decision. The Embassy has
also expressed concern about the abrupt nature of the decision and the
fact that it was taken with no advance notice to, or consultation with,
the countries affected.
According to the NAC, the new procedures do NOT affect dossiers that
have already been accepted, unless the prospective adopting parents have
failed to register and provide reports about a previously adopted
Ukrainian child.
The Embassy will continue to track this issue closely and is discussing
next steps with the State Department. Updates will be posted on the
Embassy's webpage at <http://usembassy.kiev.ua>.
July 28, 2005
-
J CICS
met with Consul-General MaryKay Carlson from the US Embassy in Kiev
and representatives of the US Department of State to discuss
upcoming changes in the Ukraine system.
Presently adoption cases are being processed and new dossiers are being
accepted.
However, it will be necessary for the Ukrainian government to call a
suspension on adoptions while making the transition to a new processing
system within the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports. This suspension
may occur as early as the end of September or as late as the Spring of
2006. The Ukraine government has said that they will try to keep
the suspension to a minimum. It is important that families be aware of
the potential for delays in the processing of adoptions occurring
throughout the next year or more. JCICS will continue to follow
the situation. When we obtain more information on when the
suspension will begin, we will post it on this website.
July 20, 2005 -
The Department of State recently issued the following notice. JCICS
sent a letter to President Yushchenko last week.
Click here to
read the letter.
---------------------
Ukraine - Government
Announces Priority on Children’s Issues
On July 11, 2005,
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko signed a decree ordering all
executive bodies of the Government of Ukraine to place the highest
priority on state policy for improvement of the child protection system,
with special focus on orphaned children and those deprived of parental
care. According to the decree, by September 1, 2005, Ukraine’s Cabinet
of Ministers should submit draft legislation with proposals for review
by the Ukrainian Parliament, including a proposal for the transfer of
adoption authority from the Ukrainian Ministry of Education to the
Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports and the creation of a new central
authority for adoptions and children’s issues.
The current National
Adoption Center is continuing to accept new dossiers from American and
other families at this time.
Pending submission and
approval of specific proposals and draft legislation, it remains unclear
what impact the transition process will have on pending adoptions. The
U.S. Government has urged the Government of Ukraine to allow pending
adoptions to be completed during this transition period, and to
implement planned changes as quickly as possible to minimize disruption
to intercountry adoptions. The Department of State will continue to
engage the Government of Ukraine on this issue and provide updates as
new information becomes available.
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/notices/notices_2544.html
June 15, 2005 -
Ukraine’s Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports has announced that the
Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers is expected to issue a resolution in the
near future that will dissolve the present National Adoption Center
under the Ministry of Education, and establish a new center for
adoptions and children’s services in the Ministry of Family, Youth and
Sports. During this transition period, Ukraine will temporarily suspend
intercountry adoptions.
It is not yet clear when these changes will go into effect following
issuance of the resolution, or what the impact on pending adoptions will
be. The U.S. Government has urged the Government of Ukraine to allow
pending adoptions to be completed during this transitional period, and
to institute the planned changes as quickly as possible to allow for a
prompt resumption of intercountry adoptions. The Department of State
will continue to engage the Government of Ukraine on this issue, and to
provide updates as new information becomes available.
Ukraine Public Announcement
November 24, 2004
This Public Announcement is being
issued to alert U.S. citizens to the potential for civil unrest and
disturbances, with resultant traffic disruptions in Ukraine, following
Ukraine's November 21, 2004, disputed presidential elections. This
Public Announcement expires on December 7, 2004.
The American Embassy in Kiev has urged
American citizens resident in Ukraine to remain alert to the
possibility of election-related rallies, demonstrations, and
disturbances following Ukraine's presidential election held Sunday,
November 21, 2004. The election results are in dispute and a large
number of police forces have assembled around the rallies in Kiev.
Expectations of counterdemonstrations make the potential for disorder
even greater.
American citizens resident in Ukraine
have therefore been urged to avoid areas affected by demonstrations
and political rallies and to exercise caution if within the vicinity
of any demonstrations. Citizens have also been urged to assess the
impact of these demonstrations might have on personal traffic and
transportation needs. There are reports that certain inter-city travel
in Ukraine is now restricted, and that buses and trains to Kiev have
been canceled. Tickets are not being sold for certain scheduled
departures. The Department reminds American citizens that even
demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and
possibly escalate into violence. Given the fluidity of the situation
in Ukraine at this time, and the difficulties reported with inter-city
travel, the Department urges American citizens both within Ukraine and
without to defer all discretionary travel plans, particularly to and
within Kiev. The U.S. Embassy in Kiev will continue to monitor
developments and will, as appropriate, provide for the resident
American citizen community in Ukraine periodic updates on the
situation on its website.
Americans traveling to Ukraine despite
this Public Announcement are strongly urged to register with the U.S.
Embassy in Kiev or through the State Department's travel registration
website,
http://travelregistration.state.gov, and to obtain updated
information on travel and security within Ukraine. Americans without
Internet access may register directly with the U.S. Embassy's Consular
Section in Kiev.
The Embassy's Consular Section is
located at #6 Mykola Pymonenko St., 01901 Kiev, Ukraine. The telephone
number is 38-044-490-4422. The fax number is 39-044-490-4040. American
citizens who need to contact the Embassy may do so during working
hours by calling the main Embassy telephone number at 38-044-490-4000.
The Embassy's duty officer may be reached after hours for emergencies
via this same number, or by contacting 38-050-311-1796.
Travelers should consult the Department
of State's latest Consular Information Sheet for Ukraine and the
Worldwide Caution Public Announcement at
http://travel.state.gov. American citizens may also obtain
up-to-date information on security conditions by calling
1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada, and
317-472-2328 from overseas. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m.
to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal
holidays).
U.S. EMBASSY IN KIEV TO BEGIN IMMIGRANT VISA PROCESSING FOR ADOPTED
UKRAINIAN ORPHANS ON APRIL 19, 2004
Beginning April
19, 2004, the U.S. Embassy in Kiev will start processing immigrant visas
for orphans adopted by U.S. citizens in Ukraine (immediate relative
visas – IR-3 and IR-4). Previously, upon completion of the Ukrainian
adoption, all American families had to travel to the U.S. Embassy in
Warsaw, Poland, for issuance of the immigrant visa to their child(ren).
The opening of adoption immigrant visa processing in Kiev should
represent a significant savings in terms of time and resources for
American families.
This change does not alter the nature of the immigrant visa process for
adopted orphans, which is initiated by an American citizen filing a
petition I-600A (Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition)
with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.
The U.S. Embassy
in Kiev will be among the first U.S. Embassies worldwide to obtain the
most recent immigrant visa technology – machine-readable immigrant
visas. Although the documentary requirements for the orphan immigrant
visa will remain virtually unchanged, the actual immigrant visa will be
put in the child’s passport. Accompanying documents will be hand-carried
in a separate packet for presentation to immigration inspectors at U.S.
ports of entry. The only change for parents will be that a frontal
facial photo of the child will now be required in addition to the
three-quarter photo.
Prospective
adoptive parents who plan to complete an adoption in Ukraine after April
19 should contact the U.S. Embassy in Kiev to confirm that the I-600A
approval notice (a Visas 37 cable) has been transferred from Warsaw to
Kiev. Telephone numbers: (38-044) 490-4422; (38-044) 490-4079; fax:
(38-044) 236-4892; email:
adoptionskiev@state.gov.
The U.S. Embassy
in Warsaw, Poland, will continue to process immigrant visas for children
adopted in Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
Additional information on U.S. immigrant visa processing for adopted
children is available at
http://www.usembassy.kiev.ua/amcit_adoptions_eng.html.
October 2003
Starting October
1, 2003, Poland will require visas for Ukrainian citizens traveling to
Poland. This means that the U.S. adoptive parents will need to obtain
Polish visas for their adopted Ukrainian children before traveling to
Warsaw, Poland.
Click here
for more information.
June 2003
The Consular Office of the Embassy of Ukraine has
issued the following memo
on June 12, 2003 asking for agencies assistance in providing
information about Ukraine adoptees.
Summary of memo:
The Consular Office of the Embassy of Ukraine would like assistance in
promoting the registration of Ukrainian children adopted by US
Citizens and to provide the Consular Office with post placement
reports from 1996 onwards. According to Ukrainian law, the
Embassy shall supervise the registration of adopted children and
maintain a database of the post placement reports. Registering allows
the adopted child to be added to the list of Ukrainian citizens
residing in the United States. This is a legal requirement that
all adoptive parents vowed to obey during the adoption process.
Through the regular post placement reports the Ukrainian Government is
informed of the children's development with their adoptive parents.
The Embassy would also like pictures. This is a formality and in
no way endangers the finalized adoption that has been sanctioned by
both the Ukrainian and United States governments.
Consular registration of
Ukrainian adopted children is available online at
http://www.ukraineinfo.us/consular/adoption-registration.html.
A sample of the post placement report is available online at
http://www.ukraineinfo.us/consular/adoption-report.html.
To facilitate communication, the reports can be forwarded via e-mail
to: adoption@ukremb.com or can be sent by mail to the Consular Office
of The Embassy of Ukraine at 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007.
Starting May 1, 2003, the agencies that handle adoption cases must
include a Ukrainian-language translation of the background report
(home study). Home study translations are necessary to compile a
unified database of adoption cases. The requirement to include a Ukrainian-language translation of the
background report will be waived for those agencies that provide the
Consular Office with the post placement reports, who assist in the
registration of adopted children in a clear and timely fashion.
Please be aware that the requirement of a Ukrainian translation of
home study is not mandatory for prospective adoptive parents who
submit their home study and other documents concerning adoption in
person at the Embassy of Ukraine.
The US Embassy in Ukraine's website recently posted
the following announcement:
Attention: On June 21, 2001
Parliament of Ukraine amended the Civil Law of Ukraine changing the
time for appeal of court decisions from ten to thirty days. This means
that you might need to wait thirty days after the court hearing before
you can continue the adoption process.
With the growing number of
adoptions by American citizens in Ukraine, we now must require notice
of at least three (3) business days to schedule an appointment for
preparation of the necessary documents needed at the immigrant visa
interview in Warsaw. Please do not schedule your travel to Poland or
your appointment at the US Embassy in Warsaw until you have received
an appointment date with us. We cannot guarantee an appointment date
that will accommodate your travel plans. Please review Part X of this
document for instructions on how to schedule an appointment.
Please make sure you do not
travel to Ukraine to process the adoption without first receiving
official invitation from the National Adoption Center of Ukraine (see
Part VII for details).
Visit the
US Embassy
in Ukraine's website for more information about adopting a child
from Ukraine.
Consult the
U.S. Department of State's website regarding adopting from Ukraine
for more information.
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