A review team comprised of representatives of the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) (part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) will travel to Nepal from November 16-20, 2014. The purpose of the trip is to learn about the Government of Nepal’s progress towards reforming its adoption system, including implementing new intercountry adoption safeguards. The review team will meet with government officials, representatives of foreign missions, and nongovernmental adoption stakeholders to discuss Nepal’s child welfare and adoption systems.

While in Nepal, the Department of State and USCIS will jointly host a public town hall meeting tentatively scheduled for November 19, 2014. If you are interested in attending this meeting, please refer to the pre-registration information on the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu’s website.

By way of background, on August 6, 2010, the U. S. Department of State and USCIS suspended processing of new adoption cases from Nepal involving children claimed to have been found abandoned because of concerns regarding the unreliability of documents presented in support of the abandonment of these children in Nepal. Cases involving relinquishment by known birth parent(s) were not affected by the suspension.

We will continue to keep you updated as additional information is received.