GREENFIELD — A Greenfield family is continuing their plea to help bring their adopted children home from Haiti.
The ongoing violence in Haiti is halting the adoption process for families across the country.
"All we want, all we’re begging them to do is bring our children home," said Melissa Tennant.
Melissa and her husband, John, finished the adoption process for their two boys, ages 13 and 15, just over a year ago, but gang violence there is pushing back their arrival here in Indiana.
The situation is making it harder to get the final paper work done.
The Tennant's thought they were one step closer at the end of March when their adoption agency got a letter from the U.S. Department of State.
"They stated that the documents would be waived. They were going to try and make a way for the children to leave, the adopted children to leave," said Melissa.
But just last week, the Tennant's say the Department of State backtracked and there will be no waivers. The kids need medical exams and passports.
"And go to immigrations and travel to all these dangerous areas and risk their lives in order to get the paperwork," said Melissa.
They're not the only ones in this situation. There are families in Indiana and across the country, including the Edgerly's in California.
The Edgerly's are trying to bring their four-year-old daughter home.
"Heart wrenching, horrific," said Angela-Howell Edgerly.
"Knowing you’re literally only one piece of paper away from bringing her home and the violence the children are having to endure while you can’t get that one piece of paper," said Christopher Edgerly.
Both families are pleading with the Department of State and Homeland Security to grant humanitarian parole.
"Waive these final immigration documents, get our children safely home and then we will do whatever is needed to finish it up state side," said Melissa.
WRTV reached out to the Department of State about the situation. They issued the following statement:
For U.S. adoptive families undergoing the intercountry adoption process:For U.S. adoptive families in Haiti undergoing the domestic adoption process:
- The Department of State is working as quickly as possible to identify options for continued case processing and assisted departure for Haitian children in the intercountry adoption process, while meeting U.S. laws, regulations, and our Hague Convention obligations as well as minimizing the risk of Haitian children coming to the United States with no clear path to legal status.
- We are working with Haiti’s child welfare authority, the Institut du Bien-Être Social et de Recherches (IBESR) and the Department of Homeland Security on solutions for cases at all stages of the intercountry adoption process.
- Prospective adoptive parents should remain in regular contact with their adoption service providers in the United States.
- The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince is accepting requests to expedite nonimmigrant visa interviews in the case of a life or death medical emergency or for children with confirmed appointment dates from USCIS for a naturalization interview in the U.S. based on a N-600K application. This is appropriate only for children who do not intend to reside in the United States.
- Families able to depart Haiti for a third country may apply for nonimmigrant visas for their children at any U.S. embassy or consulate overseas where they are physically present.
- We encourage U.S. citizens who want to leave Haiti to reach out to the Department of State using the crisis intake form on our website if they have not yet done so.
