Adoption Notice: Russian President Vladimir Putin Signs Legislation to Ban Intercountry Adoption by U.S. Families into Law

Editor’s Note: This notice was originally posted here on the U.S. Department of State website.December 28, 2012

On December 28, President Vladimir Putin signed Federal Law No. 186614-6 which prohibits the adoption of Russian children by U.S. families. This law will go into effect on January 1, 2013.

The Department of State remains actively engaged with the Russian government to determine how this will impact the resolution of adoptions by U.S. families in various stages of the adoption process. In keeping with the spirit of the current U.S.-Russia adoption agreement, we have urged the Russian government to ensure that U.S. families in the process of adopting a child from Russia will be able to complete their adoptions so that these children may join permanent loving families.

The Department continues to encourage U.S. families in the process of adopting a child from Russia to provide information regarding where they are in the adoption process to the Office of Children’s Issues using the subject line “Intercountry adoption in Russia – family update.” An email address has been set up for this correspondence: Russiaadoption@state.gov. 

Those families that have already provided information to AskCI@state.gov do not need to resend their information. As more information is obtained we will reach out directly to families that have provided their contact information. Further information regarding intercountry adoption from Russia will also be posted on
adoption.state.gov.