Liberia Begins Issuing Exit Clearances on Pending Adoptions

From Adoption Today Magazine (http://www.bluetoad.com/publication/?i=29697&p):

Liberia recently informed the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia that it will soon issue exit clearances, on a case-by-case basis, to children whose full and final adoption was completed prior to Jan. 26, 2009 and approved by Liberia’s Ad-hoc Central Adoption Authority. Prospective adoptive parents who believe their case might fall into this category should contact the Consular Section at adoptionsmonrovia@state.gov  to discuss next steps in the visa process. Prospective adoptive parents and adoption service providers are reminded that a consular officer is required, by law, to complete a Form I-604 (determination of orphan status) before issuing a visa in all IR-3 and IR-4 adoption cases. In some cases this may require only a conversation with the birth parent, but in others it may require a full field investigation possibly lasting several weeks. Because verifying the parent-child relationships in Liberia is difficult, the State Department also expects that in most cases where the child was relinquished by the birth parent, DNA testing will be recommended in order to establish a blood relationship between the adopted child and claimed birth parents.