On September 16, 2016 Ghana deposited its instrument of accession to the Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption Convention (Hague Adoption Convention) with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Convention will enter into force for Ghana on January 1, 2017. We will post additional information as soon as it is available. At this time, adoption cases which have completed processing with the Ghanaian Department of Social Welfare, and are either before a Ghanaian court or have a completed adoption order, are unaffected by the suspension.  Urgent or emergency cases subject to the suspension can be referred directly to the Ghanaian Director of Social Welfare in Accra for consideration.

The U.S. Embassy will continue accepting orphan petitions and approving qualified visa applications of those cases not subject to the suspension.

The Department of State will continue providing updated information on adoption.state.gov as it becomes available. If you have any questions about this notice, please contact the Office of Children's Issues at 1-888-407-4747 within the United States, or 202-501-4444 from outside the United States. Email inquiries may be directed to AdoptionUSCA@state.gov.