USCIS announced it continues to petitions filed on behalf of a child to be adopted from Cambodia. This stems from the fact that the Department of State has advised USCIS that DOS has determined that Cambodia is not currently meeting its obligations under The Hague Convention on
Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption
Convention). Thus, DOS consular officers cannot issue the required Hague Adoption Certificate or
Hague Custody Declaration.

Certification of compliance with the Hague Adoption Convention and the Intercountry Adoption Act of
2000 is required under the procedures for Hague Convention adoptee cases. Since prospective adoptive parents cannot complete the immigration process for an adopted child from Cambodia at this time, they are strongly urged not to file Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, identifying Cambodia as the country from which they seek to adopt.

The Hague Adoption Convention entered into force for the United States on April 1, 2008. The Hague
Adoption Convention provides important safeguards to protect the welfare of children, birth parent(s) and adoptive parent(s) engaged in intercountry adoptions. Effective April 1, 2008, new intercountry
adoptions between the United States and other Hague Convention countries must comply with the Hague Adoption Convention standards. Cambodia also ratified the Hague Adoption Convention in 2007.

Before the United States and Cambodia ratified the Hague Adoption Convention, Cambodian intercountry adoption cases were processed on USCIS Forms I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, and I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative. However, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, USCIS’ legacy agency, suspended U.S. orphan visa petition processing in Cambodia on Dec. 21, 2001 due to fraud, irregularities, and allegations of child-buying in the Cambodian adoption process. Because these concerns persist, DOS has determined it is not able to issue Hague Adoption Certificates or Hague Custody Declarations in Cambodia. It is important to note that this Cambodian suspension remains in effect for all Form I-600 (orphan) petitions filed before April 1, 2008.

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