NEW HARTFORD – Senator Chuck Grassley today said that some families who have faced roadblocks to bringing home children they adopted from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are now receiving the proper immigration travel documents that will allow them to take their children home.
“Through no fault of their own, these families have been separated from their adopted children. It’s been a heart-wrenching experience as they have waited both at home and in the Congo, so it’s wonderful to see some of them finally get some good news,” Grassley said. “I continue to pray for the families who still await the necessary documents from the Congolese government.”
More than 350 children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been successfully adopted by American families, including several Iowa 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.
Grassley chaired a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee about the problems some families faced in international adoptions from certain countries. He then led through the committee a bill to allow U.S. 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 was signed into law on Oct. 16, 2015.
In addition, Grassley and other members of the Senate met with the Congolese ambassador to the United States to discuss the adoption issue and a way forward for these families.
Grassley has championed several other policy initiatives that help families overcome some of the roadblocks that make it difficult to bring a child into a permanent home. His work includes the expansion of the federal adoption tax credit, which is now permanent and indexed to inflation, as well as authorship of several pieces of legislation that improve the ability of children to secure permanent homes.
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