March 6, 2007

The Department of State is pleased to announce publication in today’s Federal Register of a final rule entitled, Intercountry Adoption – Reporting on Non-Convention and Convention Adoptions of Emigrating Children (22 CFR Part  99). Publication of this rule followed an open 60-day public comment period that closed on November 13, 2006 on the proposed rule. No public comments were received, and the final rule is published with only very minor technical changes. The rule is issued jointly by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in accordance with technical requirements in the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (the IAA). This rule adds a new section to the State Department’s 22 CFR Convention regulations but no amendments or additions are required to DHS regulations, and DHS will not have a role in Convention adoptions that involve emigrating (outgoing) cases. The rule is available from the Department of State website at www.travel.state.gov or may be accessed from Regulations.gov under final rules using the search terms "Department of State" and "Intercountry Adoption." Publication of this rule in final is an important step toward ratification of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention) and is one of the remaining regulatory requirements needing to be met before the United States can become a Convention country.

When the Convention enters into force, the rule requires adoption service providers, including State governmental authorities that provide adoption services, to report on adoptions of children who will be emigrating from the United States as a result of the adoption.  When the Convention enters into force in the United States, submission of specific reporting data will be mandatory for all outgoing intercountry adoptions, regardless of whether the adoption or grant of custody for purpose of adoption abroad is subject to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. 

There are three sections of the IAA relating to the rule:  Section 102(e), Section 303(d) and Section 104. Section 102(e) requires the State Department and DHS to establish a Case Registry of all adoptions involving both immigration of children into the United States and emigration of children from the United States regardless of whether the adoption occurs under the Convention. Section 303(d) requires all adoption service providers, including governmental authorities, who provide adoption services in outgoing cases that are not subject to the Convention to file information required under regulations issued to implement the Case Registry.  Section 104 requires the Department to submit annual reports to Congress on all intercountry adoptions and specifies what information must be included in these reports.  These three sections of the IAA provide the Department with the legal authority to collect the data outlined in this rule.