Families adopting internationally face more hurdles with Trump’s latest travel bans

Washington — Hundreds of American families and the children they’re in the process of adopting from abroad are in a wait-and-see mode after President Trump’s latest travel ban and visa freeze covering dozens of countries — unlike past travel bans — made no blanket exceptions for international adoption visas, advocacy groups and bipartisan lawmakers say.The State Department circulated new guidance Wednesday saying children being adopted by U.S. citizens may qualify for an exception under the National Interest Exception on a “case-by-case” basis. The department “will consider such requests on a priority basis,” according to guidance obtained by CBS News.The new guidance, adoption groups and families say, is a step in the right direction, but they’re also asking for adoptions to be exempt automatically. “Intercountry adoption remains a high priority for the administration, and adoption-related visas will continue to be processed as expeditiously as possible,” the not-yet-released State Department guidance reads. “Additionally, because overall visa volumes have decreased following the [visa freeze], many consular offices now have increased capacity to assist with adoption cases.”Still, members of Congress from both parties who sit on the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Caucus and adoption nonprofit groups are urging the administration to make categorical exemptions for adoptions, rather than case-by-case allowances. Mr. Trump expanded his travel ban in December, barring or heavily restricting travel to the U.S. from 39 countries. A month later, the administration indefinitely froze immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries, including Somalia, Yemen and Jamaica, because it said people from those countries are deemed likely to rely on public assistance.Unlike past restrictions that have exempted visas for international adoptions so children can join their new families in the U.S., Mr. Trump’s superseding travel ban and visa freeze don’t grant exceptions for adoption-related visas — IR-3, IR-4, IH-3 and IH-4 visas. The National Council for Adoption estimates the latest restrictions are halting the cases of more than 1,000 children in over 40 countries.Adoption advocacy groups like the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute and the National Council for Adoption have been encouraging Americans to call their representatives and push for a solution, although the National Council for Adoption thanked the Trump administration for the updated guidance. The Trump administration didn’t offer an explanation for the lack of a categorical adoption exemption when the travel restrictions were issued. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The co-chairs of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Caucus — Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer, Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Republican Rep. Robert Aderholt and Democratic Rep. Danny Davis — wrote a letter last week to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Assistant Secretary of State Mora Namdar. They requested immediate guidance for families on how to move forward, as well as permanent visa exemptions for adoptions. “In June 2025, the administration placed travel restrictions on several countries with explicit exemptions for adoption visas,” the bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote in the letter. “On December 16, 2025, a new order was issued, superseding the previous directive and no longer including these exceptions for adoption visas. This has introduced uncertainty for children and American parents who have waited years for their adoptions to be completed and were preparing to bring their children home.” “These children have already waited a long time for a permanent, safe and loving family, and we are concerned about additional time they will be separated from the parents who have committed to love and care for them. We are hopeful — in line with the administration’s previous policy — you can move expeditiously to address this situation to ensure these children are united with their adoptive parents.” Kenton and Heidi Snyder of Illinois are one of the many sets of waiting parents. For six years, they worked and waited to bring the girl they were matched with in China back to the U.S. to join them and their three boys. But the COVID-19 pandemic and China’s subsequent decision to end adoption programs in 2024 meant they didn’t get to pick her up at the orphanage and bring her home. In 2024, they began the process to adopt a now-3-year-old girl from Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa, hoping that they could bring both girls to the U.S. They’ve named the 3-year-old girl Eden. After all the setbacks in the adoption process, Heidi Snyder thought acquiring a U.S. visa for her at the U.S. Embassy in Côte d’Ivoire would be the easy part. They were almost through all of the logistical and legal hurdles. But Côte d’Ivoire is one of the 75 countries affected by the visa suspensions the president announced earlier this month. “We heard about it but we both kind of blew it off and said, ‘Well that won’t apply to adoptions,'” Heidi Snyder said. “We just couldn’t believe that it would.”It did. “That brought a whole tornado of emotions,” she added. “But I think all along we’ve been hopeful that maybe this was just kind of an oversight, because the administration has always been very supportive of foster care and adoption.”The Snyders said Wednesday’s guidance was encouraging. “I think we can speak for all of the families that have been waiting with bated breath that we are just really grateful that they have responded quickly and that it’s apparent that they recognize the importance of adoption to American families,” Heidi Snyder said. “And we look forward to getting all the details.”Kenton Snyder is optimistic, but cautious, after nearly seven years of waiting. He said it was a “huge relief” to receive positive news. “But also just being maybe a little bit hesitant,” he said. “Not wanting to speculate too much on what it is and what it is not.””I think if there is one thing that we could ask for, we would love for there to be a categorical exemption listed on the proclamation so that there is no doubt,” Heidi Snyder said. “The adoption visas should not be included or bundled with all of these other visa bans or pauses. And we respect the administration’s desire for national security and all those things, but it doesn’t apply to adoptions.”

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