Call to Action - U.S. Families

The following request has been made my several Adoption Agencies that process adoptions in Haiti....this pertains U.S. Families only:

"A bureaucratic nightmare has forced the stoppage of Haitian children fromreceiving their U.S. visa and joining their forever families here in theU.S.

A simple phone call from the U.S. Department of State to the U.S.Department of Homeland Security would quickly and easily resolve thissituation. To date, no such phone call has occurred and Haitian childrencontinue to suffer needlessly.

We are asking everyone with a heart forHaitian children to rally together, make some noise and help our childrenfind their permanent, safe and loving families.What can you do?

Make four simple phone calls.

1. Call your U.S. Senator.o You can find your Senators' phone numbers at www.senate.govo Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff

2. Call your second U.S. Senator.

3. Call your representative to the U.S. House of Representative.

You can find your representative at www.house.govo Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff4. Call the Congressional Coalition on Adoptiono Their number is 202-544-8500

When should you call? Today, Thursday or Fridayo For maximum affect, we are asking you to make these calls within thenext 72 hours - sometime before the end of the day Friday.

What should you say? Speak from your heart and give them the followinginformation.o The Department of State has stopped issuing visas to Haitianorphans.

o The problem behind the stoppage was fixed by the Department ofHomeland Security.
o BUT, no one told the Department of State.
o Your office must get involved and make the Department of HomelandSecurity communicate with the Department of State.
o Your office should contact the Office of Children's Issues at theDepartment of State. Their number is 202-736-9090

Can you explain the problem behind the stoppage? Here is some additionalinformation.

The U.S. Department of State (the consular office in Haiti) isruling that visas can not be issued to legally adopted children due to theabsence of the words 'irrevocable and unconditional' in the Haitian parentalrelinquishment documents. The Department of State is incorrect. USCIS has already resolved this issue and has been approving orphan status since June2007.

Sadly, USCIS has not communicated the resolution to the Department ofState. USCIS has already written a legal opinion that orphan status canlegitimately be granted to these cases, but the Department of State andUSCIS have thus far failed to communicate the information that will release the children.

We need to send the same concise message to each of these offices: there arelegally adopted children in Haiti who cannot get Visas and come home due tothe lack of communication between DOS and USCIS.

Please act on this message yourself, and pass it along to anyone you knowwho has children waiting, has adopted in the past, or just has a heart forHaiti. Each adult member of your household can call separately.We need to depend upon sheer volume to get our point across so please call today!"