Adoption Is Not Cancelled

USCIS June 4 Extension of Closure: Now For The Good News – Adoptions Are Still Being Processed by The USCIS Texas Lock Box Location

On March 18, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services temporarily suspended in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices, and application support centers (ASCs) to help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). USCIS is readying offices to re-open in compliance with local and state orders, on or after June 4. Employees in these offices are continuing to perform mission-essential services that do not require face-to-face contact with the public while the offices are temporarily closed. During this time, individuals may still submit applications and petitions to USCIS. Online filing remains the most convenient and interactive way to submit forms, check the status of your case, and receive notices.

Field Office and ASC Appointments, Naturalization Ceremonies, InfoPass
USCIS field offices will send notices to applicants and petitioners with scheduled appointments and naturalization ceremonies impacted by the extended temporary closure. When USCIS again resumes normal operations, USCIS will automatically reschedule ASC appointments due to the temporary office closure. Individuals will receive a new appointment letter in the mail. Those who had InfoPass or other appointments must reschedule through the USCIS Contact Center once field offices are open to the public again.

Asylum Office Interviews
USCIS asylum offices will send interview cancellation notices and automatically reschedule asylum interviews. When the interview is rescheduled, asylum applicants will receive a new interview notice with the new time, date and location of the interview.

Please check to see if the respective office has been reopened before calling the USCIS Contact Center.

In-Person Public Engagements
Additionally, USCIS is postponing all in-person public engagement and outreach events for the duration of the temporary office closure. Please contact public.engagement@uscis.dhs.gov if you have an immediate engagement question during this time.

For More Information
USCIS will provide further updates as the situation develops and will continue to follow CDC guidance in response to this situation. Please visit uscis.gov/coronavirus for updates.

Education and precautions are the strongest tools against infection. Get the latest facts by visiting the CDC’s COVID-19 website. Continue to practice good health habits, refrain from handshakes or hugs as greetings, and clean hands and surfaces appropriately.

Spread The Word: FREE Live Webinar Resource!

Would My Child Benefit From Medication?

While families are home practicing social distancing during this COVID-19 health crisis, they can still rely on Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) for guidance, support and virtual educational resources like our upcoming live stream webinar.

Spread the Word! Thursday, April 23, from 1:00pm-2:30pm EST, C.A.S.E.’s live stream webinar, “Would My Child Benefit From Medication?” will be presented by Consulting Psychiatrist Dr. Lisa Cullins. Parents will learn what to consider and what questions they should ask of their treatment providers when making decisions about appropriate use of medication for their child.

Thanks to our partnership with Jockey Being Family, the first 600 registrants are FREE! Certificates of Attendance are provided for all webinar participants who attend the live or extended access. This month’s webinar registration details are below.

We hope you would find this resource as a useful tool to share with your network of families in the adoptive, kinship and foster care community.

Live Stream Strengthening Your Family Webinar – April 23, 2020

Register Now

Would My Child Benefit From Medication?

WHEN: Thursday, April 23, 2020, 1:00 – 2:30 pm EST

COST: Thanks to Jockey Being Family, the first 600 registrants are FREE with code MEDICATION*

PRESENTER: C.A.S.E. Consulting Psychiatrist Dr. Lisa Cullins

Extended access will be available from April 24 – May 24

*For professionals only, CEU’s are available with a $15 paid registration. Learn more.

Heart of the Matter Education: A Different Kind of Discipline Now Offered @ $35.00

This 1 hour course guides participants through key principles related to discipline and also provides concrete tools that parents can utilize in their own homes.

It discusses how families can provide firm, fair and loving discipline in away that is compatible with the science of child development.

Learn more & register>

Adoptive Families Still Stranded Abroad

Under normal circumstances, Americans adopt an average of 300 foreign children every month. But as the novel coronavirus spreads across the globe, American adoptive families have found themselves stranded overseas.

While it’s difficult to collect exact numbers, the National Council for Adoption (NCA) said members of dozens of families are marooned in places like China, India, Ukraine, South America, and various African countries, struggling to obtain paperwork or transportation to make it to the US safely.

“These are families that have completed their foreign adoptions and are waiting on the US Department of State to complete their visa process,” NCA vice president Ryan Hanlon told Insider. “Before the pandemic hit, processing visas was taking too long. Now with borders being shut down and threats of violence in foreign countries, these need to be more urgently prioritised.”

Continue reading>

A Huge Selection of FREE Books for Kids and Teens, Thanks to Audible Books!

From our great friends, #CreatingaFamily, how about another wonderful resource to entertain kids/teens without a screen and without parental involvement?  Audible Books has made a huge selection of their books for preschoolers to teens available for free during the coronavirus shutdown.

#Adoption #HopscotchAdoptions #SpecialNeeds #DownSyndrome #ForeverFamily #HelpUsAdopt #AudibleBooks

Please do not hesitate to reach out if your family is in need of support.  Hopscotch is here for you!

Couple Told By Administration To Ditch Adopted Child!

Last month when the World Health Organization dubbed the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, State Department officials gave Robin Gallite and her husband Alli, both 41, a choice: Return to the U.S. from Lagos, Nigeria, quickly before the country’s airports closed and the health-care system deteriorated, or stay with their 16-month-old daughter, Nike, and risk getting stuck in the country.

After applying for her adoption in 2018, Robin and Alli took home Adenike-Rae—“Nike” for short—in August from Cross River, a Nigerian state bordering Cameroon. The couple planned to stay with Alli’s family in Lagos for several months while they waited for Nike’s adoption to be finalized by local officials and until they received a U.S. visa for their daughter. They had wanted to spend time with Alli’s family before returning home to the U.S. so Robin could introduce Nike to her own mother. The couple had heard from other parents that obtaining a visa for adopted Nigerian children took months, but they were optimistic about being able to fly back to the U.S. with their daughter in the spring of 2020.

That confidence quickly faded.

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Trapped Overseas, Adoptive Families Beg The U.S. To Let Them Return

As the COVID-19 pandemic began engulfing the globe last month, the U.S. State Department issued a Level 4 travel advisory for Americans — its strongest warning. Besides advising U.S. citizens “to avoid all international travel,” the State Department said, “U.S. citizens who live abroad should arrange for immediate return to the United States.”

That’s exactly what Lyndsey Voss is trying to do. The 30-year-old Florence, Alabama native has been living in Uganda for nearly two years, pursuing the adoption of a young boy we’ll call “Alex.” As many other Americans have evacuated and Uganda has closed its borders, it’s been the U.S. State Department keeping Lyndsey and her 7-year-old son from going home.

Continue reading>

USCIS Temporary Office Closure Extended until at least May 3

On March 18, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services temporarily suspended in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices, and application support centers (ASCs) to help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). USCIS offices will begin to reopen on May 4 unless the public closures are extended further. Employees in these offices are continuing to perform mission-essential services that do not require face-to-face contact with the public.

USCIS will continue to provide limited emergency services. Please call the Contact Center for assistance with emergency services.

USCIS field offices will send notices to applicants and petitioners with scheduled appointments and naturalization ceremonies impacted by the extended temporary closure. USCIS asylum offices will send interview cancellation notices and automatically reschedule asylum interviews. When the interview is rescheduled, asylum applicants will receive a new interview notice with the new time, date and location of the interview. When USCIS again resumes normal operations, USCIS will automatically reschedule ASC appointments due to the temporary office closure. You will receive a new appointment letter in the mail. Individuals who had InfoPass or other appointments must reschedule through the USCIS Contact Center once field offices are open to the public again. Please check to see if the office in your jurisdiction has been reopened before reaching out to the USCIS Contact Center.

Education and precautions are the strongest tools against infection. Get the latest facts by visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 website. Continue to practice good health habits, refrain from handshakes or hugs as greetings, and wash hands and clean surfaces appropriately.

USCIS will provide further updates as the situation develops and will continue to follow CDC guidance. Please also visit uscis.gov/coronavirus for updates.