WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Roy Blunt (R-MO), co-chairs of the Congressional Adoption Caucus, led a letter to the Secretaries of Homeland Security and State regarding the Administration’s decision to close the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) international offices. Recently, the Administration announced that USCIS is closing its international field offices and transferring those services to existing State Department personnel at Embassies and Consulates. In the letter, the senators expressed concern over the potential negative impact these closures would have on processing intercountry adoptions and asked that the Departments take action to ensure that adoptive children waiting to join permanent families in the United States are not hurt by the decision to close international offices.

Joining Klobuchar and Blunt on the letter were Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), John Boozman (R-AR), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Tina Smith (D-MN).

“Currently, USCIS operates field offices in countries around the world and offers a range of services—including helping to enable adoptive children to join permanent families in the U.S. In fiscal year 2018, 4,059 children from other countries were adopted by parents in the United States—655 fewer than the year before. On average, these adoptions took more than a year to process. We are concerned that the Administration’s decision to close these offices could exacerbate already long processing times for intercountry adoptions, lengthening stays in orphanages, and potentially denying children critical time with their future families,” wrote the senators.

The full text of the letter can be found below:

Dear Secretaries Nielsen and Pompeo:

We write in response to the Administration’s decision to close the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) international offices and transfer responsibility for facilitating intercountry adoptions to existing State Department personnel at embassies and consulates.

Currently, USCIS operates field offices in countries around the world and offers a range of services—including helping to enable adoptive children to join permanent families in the U.S. In fiscal year 2018, 4,059 children from other countries were adopted by parents in the United States—655 fewer than the year before. On average, these adoptions took more than a year to process. We are concerned that the Administration’s decision to close these offices could exacerbate already long processing times for intercountry adoptions, lengthening stays in orphanages, and potentially denying children critical time with their future families.

We understand that USCIS plans to transfer the work currently being done by its international offices to existing State Department personnel. We are also concerned that these additional requirements could result in lengthier processing times in light of the fact that significant cuts have been proposed to the State Department’s budget. In addition, it is unclear if State Department personnel have the necessary authorities and dedicated resources to complete the same tasks as effectively as the current USCIS staff.

We respectfully ask that your Departments take action to ensure that adoptive children waiting to join permanent families in the United States are not negatively impacted by the decision to close international offices. Thank you for your attention to this issue, and we look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

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