Intercountry Adoption-Department Issuance of Certifications in Hague Convention Adoption Cases

Résumé

The Department of State (the Department) is issuing a final rule to implement the certification and declaration provisions of the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention) and the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (the IAA) with respect to adoption and custody proceedings taking place in the United States, after review of public comments received in response to the Department's June 16, 2006 issuance of a proposed rule. This final rule governs the application process for Hague Adoption Certificates and Hague Custody Declarations in cases involving emigration of a child from the United States. It also establishes a process for seeking certification, for purposes of Article 23 of the Convention, that an adoption done in the United States following a grant of custody in a Convention country of origin was done in accordance with the Convention.