SOUTH WEBER CITY, Utah — A South Weber family says they are breathing a sigh of relief after learning their international adoption is once again moving forward, following days of uncertainty caused by a newly enacted federal policy.
International adoptions were temporarily halted after a visa ban proclamation signed in January paused immigrant visa issuance for nationals of dozens of countries. But clarification from the U.S. State Department this week confirmed that children being adopted by U.S. citizens qualify for a national interest exception, allowing the adoptions to proceed.
For Tara Johnson, a mother of three hoping to adopt a baby boy from Malawi, the clarification brought renewed hope after what she describes as an emotional rollercoaster.
“It was scary,” Johnson said.
Johnson and her husband have been in the adoption process for four years and were nearing the referral stage when everything abruptly stopped.
“We had been in communication with our agency and we were talking, next in line to get a referral, and then it was silence with the ban,” she said. “They paused everything.”
The Johnson family reached out to FOX 13 News earlier this week, seeking help and answers as the pause left them fearing the adoption might be over.
“You do so much, especially after four years, and it’s been a long road,” Johnson said through tears. “Hearing that we were right about to get a picture of our child and then it stopped, it was really devastating.”
By Friday, the family received long-awaited clarification. New guidance from the State Department confirmed that adoptions could move forward under the proclamation.
“We had a meeting with our agency and there had been new government guidance saying exactly what the proclamation meant,” Johnson said. “They were saying adoptions were a go, and it was such a relief.”
Johnson and her husband are already parents to a 13-year-old son, a 9-year-old daughter, and a 7-year-old daughter, but has room for more.
“They have been praying and talking and we’ve been planning for this,” she said. “We’re just so excited.”
While Johnson is limited in what she can share publicly about her future son, she says she knows it’s supposed to happen.
“The little that I do know, I’m so excited,” she said. “He’s going to fit right in.”
Johnson says she hopes to introduce her new son to the rest of the family and have him here with her whole family in Utah within weeks.
“We were hoping it was an oversight,” she said. “But it’s all worked out.”
