I am writing this letter today - at roughly my six-month mark as Consul General in Kyiv - to introduce myself, update the American adoption community on some significant changes with regard to Ukrainian adoptions, and renew to American parents the Embassy's commitment to providing you with the best possible service as you pursue your adoption.
The State Department and U.S. Embassy Kyiv consider the welfare and protection of American citizens as its highest priority. This includes Americans adopting children internationally. The Embassy's Consular Section is dedicated to assisting American adopting parents in any way that we can. Although consular officers are prohibited by law from acting on behalf of individual American citizens with regard to their private legal matters, such as an adoption, there are ways we can help - most notably in the area of communication.
In order for intercountry adoptions to work for the benefit of children, birth parents and adopting parents, procedures need to be transparent. My staff and I are in regular contact with Ukrainian officials on adoption matters. We also confer regularly with our colleagues from other embassies whose citizens also adopt in Ukraine. We know that adoption procedures are complex and often do not seem clear, and we are dedicated to publishing as much information as we can to help clarify the process for the benefit of the American adoption community.
In this regard, we ask for your help. Although we try to stay ahead of the information curve, and to publish information on changes in Ukrainian adoption laws and regulations just as soon as we receive it, sometimes the first notice we get of a new requirement or problem is when it is brought to our attention by a member of the American adoption community. We welcome your input, and hope you will feel free to e-mail us at kyivadoptions@state.gov.
And now for news on recent developments: We are very pleased to announce that on April 19, 2004 the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv is scheduled to begin processing orphan immigrant visas (IVs). This means that American parents who adopt in Ukraine on or after that date will no longer have to travel to the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw to complete the IV process. This should represent a significant savings in time and resources for American families, and is something we have been working toward for some time. For more information, see our website (http://kyiv.usembassy.gov). Also coming soon to our website will be an updated flyer on Adoptions in Ukraine. Look for it in early April.
In anticipation of absorbing the orphan immigrant visa workload, we are working closely with the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw to make sure that all files are transferred quickly and smoothly. Each family should allow at least three working days when requesting an appointment at U.S. Embassy Kyiv for the orphan visa interview and final visa processing. Appointment requests can be made by e-mail at kyivadoptions@state.gov or via phone at 38-044-490-4079. (Please note that an e-mail or voicemail request from you does not constitute a confirmed appointment. We will contact you to confirm the date and time.) At the time you request your appointment, we will double-check to make sure that your file is complete. You may also contact us after you receive your NAC appointment letter, before you depart the U.S. for Ukraine - if you wish to be certain before you begin your travels that your file has been received in our office.
February and March were active months in the adoptions arena. I attended two roundtables hosted by Ukrainian government officials and non-governmental organizations regarding Ukraine's possible accession to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions. The United States strongly supports the Hague Convention, whose goal is to protect the children, birth parents and adopting parents involved in intercountry adoptions and to prevent child-trafficking and other abuses. You can read more about the Convention at http://travel.state.gov/hagueinfo2002.html.
In mid-February the U.S. Embassy hosted a seminar for Ukrainian facilitators/translators who assist American families with adoptions. The purpose of the seminar, which was also attended by the Director of the National Adoption Center (NAC) of Ukraine, was to educate Ukrainian facilitators on how they can best serve American families during the adoption process, as well as to solicit feedback from the facilitators about how we can improve our services. A readout of that meeting is attached to this letter.
At the end of February, the Embassy hosted an adoptions roundtable for consular officers and adoption assistants from the other embassies in Kyiv whose citizens adopt in Ukraine. (After the United States, Italy and Spain are the most active countries in Ukrainian adoptions.) This recent roundtable was only the latest in a regular series of conversations that we have to discuss adoption issues of mutual interest - including brainstorming on approaches to common problems faced by all of our citizens. By comparing notes, we were able to confirm that the NAC seems to apply their regulations evenly to all embassies, and does not appear to give any advantage to one country's citizens over another's.
Thank you for taking time to read this letter. If you are interested in receiving our adoption e-mail updates, please contact kyivadoptions@state.gov to be put on our e-mail list. Please also remember to register with the Embassy prior to traveling to Ukraine. Registration facilitates communication in the event of a personal or wide-scale emergency.
Let me confirm to you again that we in the Embassy are committed to providing a high level of service to all American citizens in Ukraine, including those who are adopting Ukrainian children. We look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
(signature)
MaryKay Carlson
Consul General