Washington, D.C. – The House of Representatives today passed by voice vote the Adoptive Family Relief Act (S.1300). The bipartisan, bicameral bill allows the State Department to waive visa renewal fees for American families adopting children from overseas in circumstances when those children are unable to come to the United States before their visa expires. The Adoptive Family Relief Act, now headed to the President’s desk to be signed into law, will provide immediate financial relief to hundreds of American families who have adopted children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has refused to provide the necessary exit paperwork and bureaucratic approvals to let adopted children leave the country for the past two years. Under current law, an immigrant visa for adoptees expires if it is not used within six months of issuance and it costs $325 to renew. The exit permit ban in the DRC has been in place since September 2013, which means if a visa was issued six months before the ban and the family was unable to use the visa due to circumstances beyond their control, by now they would have had to renew the visa five times to keep it current for a total cost of $1,625 rather than $325. Under the Adoptive Family Relief Act, the State Department is able to waive the renewal fee for visas issued on or after March 23, 2013, and refund visa fees that have already been paid since that time. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Congressman Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), the sponsor of the House companion to S. 1300, issued the statements below praising the passage of this legislation. Chairman Goodlatte: “For no good reason, the Congolese government has for years refused to provide the necessary paperwork to allow legally adopted children to leave the country. As a result, hundreds of children are needlessly waiting in orphanages when they could be at home with their adoptive parents in the United States. Some families from the Sixth District of Virginia have been affected by this stonewalling and their grief is unimaginable. While passage of the Adoptive Family Relief Act does not change the DRC’s policy, it does provide much needed financial relief to the families waiting for their children to come home. I urge the President to sign this bill into law quickly and to put pressure on the Congolese government to change its policies.” Congressman Franks: “Countless families will breathe a sigh of relief knowing their adopted children are a little closer to coming home for good. Passage of this bill is a reminder to these precious families that Congress has not and will not forget their plight, and that we will not cease working on their behalf until their families are finally, permanently united and whole. I am honored to have been part of sending this bill to the President's desk for signature.”