April 14, 2010 - Special Humanitarian Program for Haitian Orphans Closes Today

The Haitian Government has requested a final list of orphans being considered under the Special Humanitarian Parole Program for Haitian Orphans. In response, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has stopped accepting new requests for consideration under the special program as of today, April 14, 2010. After today, USCIS will resume processing of inter-country adoptions.

More than 1,000 orphans have been authorized parole under the special program since January 18, 2010. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, 340 more cases are currently being considered. This program included provisions to protect the children. In particular, it ensured that each child granted parole was truly available for adoption and was matched to a suitable U.S. citizen for adoption.

In the aftermath of the January 12 earthquake, the Department of Homeland Security authorized parole for two specific and limited groups of Haitian children: (1) Children who either had full and final adoptions completed by their U.S. parents before the earthquake and who were legally confirmed as eligible for inter-country adoption by the government of Haiti and (2) Children who were far enough along in the adoption process that both the U.S. and Haitian governments could verify the identity and eligibility of the children for adoption and the U.S. government could confirm the suitability of the adoptive parents.

From today onward, every inter-country adoption case involving Haitian orphans will be processed through normal channels. The Haitian government has begun accepting new documents for adoption cases and the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince has resumed regular processing.

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