June 2014

June 16, 2014. Important Information for Potential/ Adoptive Parents with Children in the DRC. Families who are in the process of adopting children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo must look at the important alert sent by the Department of State yesterday. DOS reports that the Congolese officials (DGM) have agreed to review documents for children whose cases appear to meet the requirements for exceptions set out in DOS's October 23, 2013 Adoption Alert. For a case to be reviewed, the family must provide the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasha with a long list of documents by June 25, 2014. Families should immediately go to the website below and follow the very specific instructions given. Click here.

June 5, 2014. DACA Renewal Process. USCIS has created a renewal process for people with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. The relevant form is revised Form I-821D which is what individuals should use for both initial and renewed DACA requests. USCIS urges individuals who currently hold DACA status to submit their requests for renewals approximately 120 days before the expiry date of their DACA and employment authorization. More Information.

June 3, 2014. British Scientists Call on Government to Allow Three-Parent Babies. The British government's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) reports that after examining "voluminous" information, it had concluded that the techniques of using three genetic parents for babies was "not unsafe" and potentially useful." This procedure involves taking donor DNA for a second woman's egg which is then implanted into the intended mother's egg to prevent children from suffering serious illnesses such as muscular dystrophy and mitochondrial disease. Many people are eager to be candidates for this procedure but HFEA cautions that experiments on human embryos are needed as the next step. More Information.

June 2, 2014. USCIS Provides New Information on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. USCIS has now posted new educational resources on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status or (SIJ) which is a unique immigration classification that under certain circumstances presents a way that foreign-born children in need of humanitarian protection who are in the United States can immediately apply for lawful permanent resident status. These resources are:

• Special Immigrant Juvenile Status: Information for Child Welfare Workers
• Special Immigrant Juvenile Status: Information for Juvenile Courts
• Immigration Relief for Abused Children: Information for Juvenile Court Judges, Child Welfare Workers, and Others Working with Abused Children