WASHINGTON – Bipartisan legislation cosponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley to help families facing challenges with international adoptions was signed into law late Friday. Grassley moved the Adoptive Families Relief Act through the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year. 

“Hundreds of American families who have opened their homes to vulnerable children overseas now face roadblocks to bringing those children home. Through no fault of their own, American families remain separated from their adopted children, but are still responsible for their care. The Adoptive Families Relief Act will help minimize the financial strain on these families as they wait to be united with their children.  I am grateful for the work of my colleagues in Congress to support these families and their adopted children along their journey home,” Grassley said.

The bill provides financial relief to families who have adopted children from other countries, but who are unable to bring them home because of factors beyond their control. Specifically, it allows the State Department to waive visa renewal fees for adopted children whose entry into the United States has been delayed.

Delays could be caused by foreign governments’ decisions to stall the adoption process.  For example, more than 350 children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been successfully adopted by American families, but since 2013 the government there has refused to issue exit visas necessary for the children to be united with their families in America. As a result, the adoptive families face challenges and added expenses of caring for the children while they remain stuck in a foreign country. In the meantime, the child’s U.S.-issued visa needed to enter the United States expires after six months. Families must then continually renew the American visas, a process that can cost up to $550 each time.  The bill allows the visa fees to be waived or refunded for families facing adoption delays in any foreign nation for any reason beyond the family’s control.

The bill, which was introduced by Senators Dianne Feinstein and Ron Johnson, passed the Senate by unanimous consent in July and cleared the House of Representatives by voice vote earlier this month.

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