American families that are adopting internationally will benefit from this important piece of legislation.
The Adoptive Family Relief Act is a bill that amends section 221 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. It provides relief for adoptive families from immigrant visa fees in certain situations. The bill was passed by Congress on October 6th, 2015 and goes to the President next. The text of the bill can be found here.
Once a U.S. immigrant visa is issued for a child, the family is expected to renew the visa every 6 months while they wait for final permission to bring their child to the United States.
The Adoptive Families Relief Act will relieve some American families from the burden of paying extra renewal fees during the immigration process where the cause of delay is out of the child’s or parents’ control.
For a news article that nicely illustrates just how important this is for some families, please click on the following link: Local family celebrates passage of federal adoption measure