U.S. EMBASSY BEGINS IMMIGRANT VISA PROCESSING FOR ADOPTED UKRAINIAN ORPHANS

Today, Monday, April 19, U.S. Ambassador John Herbst issued the first immigrant visas processed in Kyiv to orphans adopted in Ukraine by U.S. citizens. U.S. immigrant visas were issued to children adopted by five American families from the states of Texas, Virginia, Florida and Pennsylvania.

Until today, upon completion of a Ukrainian adoption, all American families had to travel to the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, for issuance of the immigrant visa to their children. Ambassador Herbst congratulated the families on their successful adoptions, and thanked them for helping inaugurate orphan immigrant visa processing in Kyiv.

“We are pleased to be able to issue orphan immigrant visas here at the U.S. Embassy because we know this represents a significant savings in terms of time and resources for American families,” he said.

The processing of immigrant visas for adopted children is the first stage in the phased transfer of all immigrant visa processing for Ukrainian nationals from Warsaw to Kyiv. At this time, the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, will continue to process immigrant visas for children adopted in Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, as well as other types of immigrant visas for Ukrainian citizens, other than orphans.

The U.S. Embassy also is among the first worldwide to obtain the most recent immigrant visa technology – machine-readable immigrant visas – which are placed directly into the passport.

Additional information on U.S. immigrant visa processing for adopted children is available at http://kyiv.usembassy.gov/amcit_adoptions_eng.html.

Attached is the photo of U.S. Ambassador John Herbst issuing the immigrant visa processed in Kyiv to Meredith Nadyana, adopted by the American family of Jamie and Stacy Lejcar. Print-quality high-resolution picture is available for download at http://kyiv.usembassy.gov/images/adoption_photo.jpg.