MARIETTA, Ga. — A metro Atlanta couple’s international adoption has been put on pause indefinitely.
Starting this week, the State Department is no longer issuing visas to people from several countries.
Jess and Shane Orr told Channel 2’s Candace McCowan that they’ve spent a year completing the steps to bring a 13 and 16-year-old from Colombia to their home in Marietta.
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But a pause on processing visas means bringing their children home is also on pause.
“We estimated it would be May or June that we’d actually have them here,” Jess Orr said.
The couple says they always wanted to adopt, so they’ve been working on getting approvals to bring the brother and sister to the U.S.
They were able to bring the siblings to the U.S. last month for a trial visit.
Jess Orr explained that the family is waiting to travel to finish up the process. Speaking with McCowan, Orr said those final steps have to happen in person in Colombia.
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“We finalized the adoption in a Colombian court, but the problem is we can’t get visas to bring them back home,” Orr said.
They’re currently waiting for authorization from the U.S. Embassy to do that, according to Orr.
The State Department’s website says, “immigrants must be financially self-sufficient and not be a financial burden to Americans.”
That contradicts the approval we got from the U.S. government, which included a full financial review to ensure that we are able to provide for our children," she said.
They have reached out to Georgia lawmakers, and are asking others to do the same.
“I love them and it hurts, it brings me grief not to be able to bring them home,” Jess Orr said.
The couple says they will take legal action if they have to.
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