Nepal Accepting InterCountry Adoption Applications UPDATED

Nepal’s MoWCSW announced this on November 17, 2011 and is pasted below:

In accordance with the Article 8 of Terms and Conditions and Process for Granting Approval for Adoption of Nepali Child by Alien, 2008, Inter Country Adoption Management Committee invites applications from the prospective adoptive parents through all the concerned embassies/diplomatic missions or international adoption agencies, for the year of 2012. In this regard, the Committee would like to request all to take the following notes:

1. Application for orphan and relinquished children should be submitted within 90 days being effective from 17 November, 2011 and no time restriction for the children with special needs.
2. Application includes-

• Consent letter from concerned authority of the home country of adoptive parent/s,
• Guarantee letter from the concerned authority (Government or Embassy) of the home country specifying that adopted children will be treated as biological children,
• Birth certificate of applicant/s,
• Documents proving the marital status of the applicant/s,
• Family status including the birth certificate/s of biological/adoptive child (if any),
• Health certificate of applicant/s issued by licensed medical practitioner,
• Character certificate of applicant/s issued by government authority,
• Documents proving properties and income sources of the applicant/s,
• Photocopy of passport of applicant/s,
• Social, psychological and home study report of applicant/s,
• Covering letter of the embassy/ diplomatic mission/adoption agency,
• Photographs depicting exteriors and interiors of living apartment/residence,
• Commitment of the applicants to comply with post adopting requirements,
• Prospective adoptive parent’s sheet.

3. Application without valid and complete documents shall not be entertained
4. Application exceeding the quota shall not be entertained.
5. Application should be attached with the proof of bank transfer of an advance payment (non- refundable) of US $300 (three hundred) to the following bank accounts :
Name of the Bank: Everest Bank Limited, Singh durbar, Kathmandu
Name of Account: Inter Country Adoption Management Development Committee
Account Number: 00101102200050
Swift Code No: E V B L N P K A”

PEAR Nepal Blog has the entire story here.

DOS statistics FY2010 say that 30 visas were issued. DOS April 2011 announcement said 46 visas were issued of the pending cases and another 9 were approvable.FY2011 statistics say 55 IR-3 visas issued (adoption completed in Nepal) and 10 IR-4 completed in US for a total of 65. Government math. Whatever.

Update: Isn’t it special that they are soliciting adoption agencies directly? $5,000 per child going to orphanage + 90% of children in orphanages are NOT orphans = Disaster 2012.

“Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MoWCSW) has invited applications for inter-country adoption -2012.

The ministry has invited applications through concerned embassies, diplomatic missions and international adoption agencies. Adopting parents must submit documents concerning permission from their respective governments for adoption and apply through registered adoption agencies, according to the ministry.

Sher Jung Karki, member secretary at the Inter-Country Adoption Management Committee, said the ministry has called new applications after pending cases of 2009/10 were finalised.

He said the ministry had not received a single application in 2011 due to the pending applications. About 535 applications were submitted in 2009 and 155 in 2010.

Karki said the number of inter-country adoption applications had gone down after the government imposed new adoption provision in 2008. As per the provision, adoptive parents have to pay $8,000 and the orphanage will get only $5,000 per child. Remaining $3,000 will go to the state and it will be spent for welfare of children.

He added that willing-to-adopt parents would approach the concerned orphanage directly and select a child in the past. They would pay a huge sum to orphanages for children of their choice. But now they can choose only gender and age of children.

The country halted inter-country child adoption indefinitely citing irregularities in 2010. European nations, particularly Italy, France, Spain, the USA are major recipients of adopted children from Nepal.

Before the suspension, the ministry used to receive more than 500 applications each year.

Meanwhile, the ministry has renewed the licence of 29 orphanages for inter-country adoption, whereas seven new orphanages acquired licence this year.”

Applications for inter-country adoption called
[The Himalayan Times 1/14/12 by Himalayan News Service]

Update 2: This latest DOS update gets TWO  . I think they write these weak warnings just so they can appear on this blog!

From http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=notices&alert_notice_file=nepal_4

“Nepal

Notice: U.S. Department of State Continues to Recommend Against Adopting from Nepal

On August 6, 2010, the U. S. Department of State and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) suspended processing of new adoption cases from Nepal involving children claimed to have been found abandoned, because documents presented in support of the abandonment of these children in Nepal were unreliable. Cases involving relinquishment by known birth parent(s) were not affected by the suspension.

Recently, the Government of Nepal informed the U.S. Department of State that there may be a small number of children who will be found eligible for intercountry adoption by the Government of Nepal as relinquishment cases in 2012. The U.S. Department of State continues to strongly recommend that prospective adoptive parents refrain from adopting children from Nepal due to grave concerns about the reliability of Nepal’s adoption system and credible reports that children have been stolen from birth parents, who did not intend to irrevocably relinquish parental rights as required by INA 101(b)(1)(F). We also strongly urge adoption service providers not to accept new applications for adoption from Nepal.

Due to the concerns regarding reliability of Nepal’s adoption system, any future relinquishment cases received by the Embassy in Kathmandu will require complex investigations which may include birth parent interviews and DNA testing. Although we have not yet received these cases, and cannot estimate the amount of time for any investigation, we caution that they may require significant time and expenses that would likely raise the overall costs for prospective adoptive parents.

The U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu continues to encourage the Government of Nepal to work with the international community, including the Hague Permanent Bureau, to implement the Hague Adoption Convention and reform its adoption process to protect children and families.

We will continue to keep you updated through adoption.state.gov as additional information is received. This link will also provide additional information and past adoption notices and alerts on the detailed concerns found in Nepal adoptions.”

 for “strongly recommend that prospective adoptive parents refrain from adopting children from Nepal” instead of BANNING adoptions. If DOS had any desire to stop the money flow into agencies, they would ban adoptions from Nepal, but they do not desire this. Their purview is to assist US businesses in foreign countries which is why corruption continues in country after country.

  for “strongly urge adoption service providers not to accept new applications for adoption from Nepal.” for having no authority to disallow agencies to take money from clueless PAPs. Our own government-state nor federal- has NO authority to stop fraud. When will people “get” this concept!

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Nepal is starting to implement Hague regulations. There is nothing in US federal or state regulations to require agencies to be Hague accredited and no regulation or enforcement or any check of any kind to see if agencies fraudulently advertise programs or take in money knowing there is little likelihood of an adoption completion. DOS accompanies adoption agencies to visit other countries as well to develop relationships. The Federal Trade Commission, FTC, does not appear to take up the truth in advertising for international adoption cause. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/bcpap.shtm says that they are supposed to protect “consumers from unfair or deceptive advertising and marketing practices that raise health and safety concerns, as well as those that cause economic injury. It brings law enforcement actions in federal district court to stop fraudulent advertising practices, coordinates FTC actions with federal and international law enforcement agencies sharing authority over health and safety products and services, and monitors advertising and marketing of alcohol, tobacco, violent entertainment media, and food to children. The Division also brings administrative lawsuits to stop unfair and deceptive advertising.”

It also lists its priorities which do NOT include adoption:

“The Division’s enforcement priorities include:

• combating deceptive advertising of fraudulent cure-all claims for dietary supplements and weight loss products
• monitoring and stopping deceptive Internet marketing practices that develop in response to public health issues
• monitoring and developing effective enforcement strategies for new advertising techniques and media, such as word-of-mouth marketing;
• monitoring and reporting on the advertising of food to children, including the impact of practices by food companies and the media on childhood obesity;
• monitoring and reporting on industry practices regarding the marketing of violent movies, music, and electronic games to children;
• monitoring and reporting on alcohol and tobacco marketing practices. “

Update 3: I guess they didn’t have too many takers on their initial public offering!

“The Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare has extended the deadline for applications from foreigners to adopt Nepali children after it received only a handful of requests.

Foreign parents who want to adopt Nepali children now have two more months to file their application, which was due by mid-February for this year.

“We extended the deadline after we received only around four applications from Indian and Japanese nationals,” said Sher Jung Karki, member-secretary at the Inter Country Adoption Management Committee of the ministry.

Before the system of applying to the government for adopting Nepali children came into effect, interested couples would approach orphanages directly and select children. They would pay huge sums to the orphanages to take away the children of their choice. But now couples can only choose the gender and age of children.

The application has to come through embassies, diplomatic missions and international adoption agencies concerned, said the ministry. Couples seeking to adopt a Nepali child also need to submit documents showing that their government has granted permission to adopt the children.

Karki said the number of foreign nationals, who want to adopt Nepali children, has fallen after the Permanent Bureau of The Hague Conference on Private International Law raised questions over documents of children up for adoption. He said the ministry did not receive a single application for the adoption in 2011 due to pending applications from 2009/10.

The European countries’ baning of adoption of Nepali children after ‘extensive cases of abuse, fake documents and false statements’ has also driven interest in Nepali children down. Italian, French and Spanish nationals were enthusiastic about raising a child from Nepal before the ban. The ministry received around 500 such applications each year from those countries and the US.

Karki informed that the US launched a probe into 65 cases of adoption for a year, but did not find irregularities”
Govt extends deadline for inter-country adoptions
[The Himalayan Times 2/25/12]

Update 4: DOS issued a notice on December 31, 2012.

See here and is pasted below:

Notice: U.S. Department of State Continues to Recommend Against Adopting from Nepal

The Nepali Ministry of Women and Child Social Welfare (MWCSW) informed the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu that as of December 2012, there are seven U.S. adoption service providers authorized to facilitate adoptions in Nepal at this time, and another ten U.S. adoption service providers whose authorization is pending payment of a $5000 fee to the Nepal Child Right Fund.  According to the MWCSW, the authorization of all adoption service providers, including those currently authorized and those with pending authorization requests, expires on December 31, 2012.  The MWCSW is currently soliciting new or renewed accreditation by international adoption service providers for dossiers submitted during a two-year period beginning on January 1, 2013.

Before embarking on an adoption in Nepal, prospective adoptive parents are strongly urged to confirm with the MWCSW that their adoption service provider is authorized to facilitate adoptions in Nepal.  Contact information for the MWCSW may be found on the Country Information Sheet for Nepal.  A copy of the MWCSW’s current list of Nepali authorized foreign adoption service providers may be obtained by writing to the U.S. Embassy at adoptionsnepal@state.gov.

By way of background, on August 6, 2010, the U. S. Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) suspended processing of new adoption cases from Nepal involving children claimed to have been found abandoned because documents presented in support of the abandonment of these children in Nepal were unreliable.  Cases involving relinquishment by known birth parent(s) were not affected by the suspension.  In December 2011, the Government of Nepal informed the U.S. Department of State that there may be a small number of children who will be found eligible for intercountry adoption by the Government of Nepal as relinquishment cases.  The U.S. Department of State continues to strongly recommend that prospective adoptive parents refrain from adopting children from Nepal due to grave concerns about the reliability of Nepal’s adoption system and credible reports that children have been stolen from birth parents, who did not intend to irrevocably relinquish parental rights as required by INA 101(b)(1)(F).  We also strongly urge adoption service providers not to accept new applications for adoption from Nepal.

The U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu continues to encourage the Government of Nepal to work with the international community, including the Hague Permanent Bureau, to implement the Hague Adoption Convention and reform its adoption process to protect children and families.

We will continue to keep you updated through adoption.state.gov as additional information is received.  This link will also provide additional information and past adoption notices and alerts on the detailed concerns found in Nepal adoptions.  Please refer to USCIS.gov for Special Instructions for How and When to File Adoption Petitions on Behalf of Nepali Children.

 

Update 4: Nepal notice issued by DOS on July 7, 2013. See it

http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=notices&alert_notice_file=nepal_6 and pasted below:

”

Notice: No U.S. Adoption Service Providers Currently Authorized to Facilitate Adoptions in Nepal

The Nepali Ministry of Women and Child Social Welfare (MWCSW) informed the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu that as of July 1, 2013, no U.S. adoption service providers (ASP) are authorized to facilitate adoptions in Nepal.  According to the MWCSW, the authorization of all adoption service providers expired on December 31, 2012.  The Ministry also informed the Department that no U.S. ASPs have submitted a new application or an application to renew their authorization for the two-year period beginning on January 1, 2013.

Prospective adoptive parents should also be aware that, on August 6, 2010, the U. S. Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) suspended processing of new adoption cases from Nepal involving children reported as abandoned because documents presented in support of the abandonment of these children in Nepal were unreliable.  Cases involving relinquishment by known birth parent(s) were not affected by the suspension.

The U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu continues to encourage the Government of Nepal to work with the international community, including the Hague Permanent Bureau, to implement the Hague Adoption Convention and reform its adoption process to protect children and families.

We will continue to provide updates through adoption.state.gov as additional information is received.  This link will also provide additional information and past adoption notices and alerts on the detailed concerns found in Nepal adoptions.”