Many people consider the route of adoption as a way to extend their family. Colorado had 832 children adopted back in 2020, with many of the parents choosing Denver adoption lawyers to help them through the process. As such, the adoption was smoother, and all the children made their way into loving families.
However, not all adoption cases go as smoothly or have a happy ending. A family from the United States has been struggling to adopt a child for years, and so far, there are no signs of improvement.
The family is now suing the federal government claiming they didn’t handle the adoption properly and blocked it.
The Start of an Adoption Nightmare
Jill and Adam Trower, two spouses from Pike County were ready to welcome a new member to their family through adoption. They have a 9-year-old daughter and thought adoption would be a great way to help their family grow and bring more light and happiness into their lives.
Little did they know that this was the start of problems that would last for years to come. They started communicating with an international adoption agency, which helped them connect with Luke.
Luke was an infant from the Democratic Republic of Congo who was abandoned. When they saw him for the first time in 2018, Adam and Jill fell in love with the little one and wanted him to join their family.
According to Adam, both he and his spouse felt a connection the moment they saw Luke’s picture.
So, the two have started going through the necessary steps for adoption. They needed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s approval for adoption first. So, in November 2018, the family got clearance to adopt up to two children.
Next, the family had to get the DRC to clear Luke’s adoption, which happened in May 2019.
A Long Wait
The Trowers thought that this was it – in a few weeks, they would hold Luke in their arms and have a happy family life. They only needed to get Luke a U.S. Visa.
Unfortunately, things were different in reality. Jill and Adam have been waiting for years without being able to take Luke home, and without even getting an answer as to what is happening.
Before giving a child to a new family, the U.S. Department of State investigates the case, making sure the little one is actually an orphan, and that the adoption process is done correctly. This is to ensure that the children will not be trafficked or abused.
The policy of the U.S. Department of State says that “no investigation should take longer than six months.”
But this did not seem to apply in the case of the Trowers, as it took them almost two and a half years before they finally went to court. They tried to get answers regarding the adoption.
Things did not get any better, though – three days prior to Christmas, a formal notice from the U.S. Department of State regarding Luke’s adoption reached the Trowers family. The notice said that the adoption was denied.
Suing the Federal Government
According to the letter, the adoption was denied for two reasons. One of them would be that the DoS thought Luke may not be an orphan in reality, as they did not know the location of the orphanage or if the orphanage was even real. The other reason would be that the adoption did not meet certain DRC laws – more specifically, a 2016 law that didn’t allow international adoption.
Something was not right, though, as the DRC still approved international adoptions ever since, with Luke’s being one of them. Even after the 2016 ruling, there were at least 46 kids from other countries who received adoption visas.
Adam said that the legal process is broken, and the Trowers decided to sue the federal government. The goal of the lawsuit is to find out why Luke’s adoption was not allowed while so many others from the DRC received approvals.
For now, the Trowers are stuck without Luke, watching him grow away from home and hoping better times will come soon. So far, they paid for his medical treatments for typhoid and malaria. However, they want him home as soon as possible, and we can only wait and see the results of the lawsuit.
Until now, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has not responded to requests for comment, so we still have to wait for more details from their part.
