Recent Events in Russian Adoption

I have been collecting some news items over the past month, none of which was urgent, to share with you in a single post. Now is as good a time as any, so here they are:

1. The Russian-Italian bilateral adoption treaty was ratified by the Russian State Duma on October 21, 2009, and signed into law by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on November 9. It is now in force for all adoptions between Russia and Italy. As I reported earlier, this treaty is the first enactment of what the Russian authorities hope is a model for treaties with other countries to which Russian children are adopted.

2. USA prospective adoptive parents (PAP) hoping to adopt a child in Russia must file a form I-600A (advanced processing of an orphan petition) as part of the process. In years past, this form was always filed with a local field office of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Recently, USCIS changed their policy to require the I-600A to be filed by mail or courier to a central office in Texas, regardless of where the PAP lives in the United States. PAP living overseas may continue to file the I-600A at an office near them. The details can be found in an official posting on the USCIS website.

3. On December 1, 2009, the Russian federal Ministry of Education and Science issued ministerial order No. 689, which grants a Permit for Adoption Activity to Americans for International Aid and Adoption, an adoption agency based in Troy, Michigan, USA. It has been several months since the federal MoE issued a new permit, so this is good news for all of the agencies still in the application process. My congratulations to AIAA on their new permit!