Colorado, Oklahoma, & New York Adoption & Surrogacy Attorney

CORONAVIRUS PASSPORT UPDATE: October 16, 2020

Starting this week Intended Parents can go in-person to their local Passport Agencies in non-emergency situations within 10 days of departure from the States.

Their guidelines are as follows:

1. International travel must take place no more than 10-business days from the date of the online application or call to the National Passport Information Center (NPIC) 1-877-487-2778

2. The appointment will be set no more than 3 business days from the date of international travel

3. The applicant must have a flight itinerary

4. The parent/s and newborn MUST appear in person at the Passport Agency

5. Expedited fees will apply

CORONAVIRUS PASSPORT UPDATE: September 29, 2020

The Department of Consular Affairs updated their website stating expedited passports now have a 4-6 week turnaround. The standard passport processing time, which has also been updated, is taking between 10-12 weeks.

Personal appearances at Passport Agencies continue to be banned unless there is a life or death emergency situation however, the State Department is planning to resume in-person, third-party submissions around mid-November.

CORONAVIRUS OKLAHOMA BIRTH CERTIFICATE UPDATE: August 18, 2020

For Oklahoma birth certificates, the turnaround time from when your child is discharged and you leave the hospital, until receiving the new birth certificate is having an average of approximately 3-4 weeks due to COVID-19.

CORONAVIRUS INFORMATION UPDATE: August 11, 2020

Department of Consult Affairs announced Passport offices will be reopening in 3 phases:

• Phase 1: 40-50% of the passport related workforce returns to work
• Phase 2: 80-90% of the passport related workforce returns to work
• Phase 3: 100% of the passport related workforce is at work and passport expediting resumes

To date, of the 26 passport agencies in the U.S., 12 agencies are operating at Phase 1 and 6 agencies are operating at Phase 2. Passport agencies will not move to Phase 3 until all 26 passport agencies are operating at Phase 2.

Passport agencies are hopeful to return to normal operations within the next 6-8 weeks however, applications will still be delayed.

U.S. Travel Advisory:

The following 4-level advisory system is in place to inform travelers from the U.S. of the issues found in other countries:

• Level 1: Exercise normal precautions
• Level 2: Travel with caution
• Level 3: Reconsider travel
• Level 4: Do not travel

Currently, every country in the world, except for Taiwan and Macau, remain at Level 4 however, the U.S. State Department is working on returning to normal travel.

Based on the CDC's recommendation, there is a travel ban for entering into the U.S. for those who have been in following countries in the past 14 days:

• China
• Iran
• European Schengen Area: (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City)
• United Kingdom
• Ireland
• Brazil

International clients still need to inquire with their home countries embassy to see what the process is for obtaining travel documents after birth for your newborn child.

There are some exceptions to travel. Exceptions include but are not limited to: "certain family members in the U.S. or lawful permanent residents including; spouses, children under 21 years of age, parents (provided that his/her U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident child is unmarried and under 21 years of age), and siblings (provided that both the siblings and the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident are unmarried and under 21 years of age) More information can be found here.

Please be advised the State Department is now working on a 3-business day rule for emergency passports. For example, for international travel on Thursday, the phone call to the National Passport Information Center (NPIC) must be made no earlier than Monday.

The NPIC has also stated "legal guardian" was added to the list of immediate family members who could be eligible for applying for an emergency passport. The NPIC stated "legal guardian, as well as parents, children, siblings, spouses, and grandparents of the Intended Parent or newborn can apply for an emergency passport in the right set of circumstances." Please be aware that if the Intended Parent is not listed on the child's birth certificate, the court judgement declaring parentage must be provided.

CORONAVIRUS INFORMATION UPDATE: June 29, 2020

“Safer at Home” and “Shelter in Place” orders are still in effect in many States. Many of the States who previously reopened are now closing again due to a resurgence of COVID-19. Please be aware that you will need to wear a mask and take social-distancing precautions while picking up your child.