WASHINGTON — The wait is over for three Wisconsin families who have waited years to bring home children they adopted from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  A little over a week ago, the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa released a list of more than 150 names of U.S. adoptive children approved for exit permits, the last crucial piece of paperwork needed to bring them home. Sunday, families in Green Bay and Kenosha will finally get to tuck their daughters into bed in their permanent homes. A La Crosse family will soon get to do the same.

“Wisconsin families have waited too long to be united with their adopted children,” Sen. Johnson said. “It is great news to hear that for three of them the wait is over. I am especially grateful for my colleague Rep. Reid Ribble’s work to get these children home safely. His effort has played a key role in their release. I will continue to work alongside him and my other colleagues to advocate for the families who remain separated — that they would receive their exit letters soon.”

“I am thrilled to see these children finally be allowed to come home to their families — many have spent over half their young lives adopted but stuck in a Congolese orphanage!” Rep. Reid Ribble said. “I know that their families are unbelievably happy to have them home after such a long fight to get them back, and I want to commend Senator Johnson and all of my colleagues who have worked with me in the fight to secure the release of these children.  While we finally have good news for over 150 families, hundreds of other adopted kids are still being held without exit visas by the Congolese government, and we will not stop pushing until every family is united."

In September 2013, the Congolese government suspended the issuance of exit permits for children adopted by foreign parents, citing concerns over the wellbeing of the children.  This suspension prevented children from achieving the last hurdle to travel home and has affected more than 350 American families, including at least six in Wisconsin. And under current law, a U.S. immigrant visa for an adoptee expires if it is not used within six months. The cost for renewal of this visa is $325 — meaning in some cases, Wisconsin families have spent as much as $1,000 each to repeatedly renew visas for their adopted children, who remain stuck in the DRC.

In May 2015, Sen. Johnson co-authored the Adoptive Family Relief Act, a bill to allow the State Department to waive these visa renewal fees for families adopting children from abroad in exceptional circumstances where children are unable to come home to the United States in a timely manner. The bill was signed into law on Oct. 16, 2015, immediately assisting the American families who have adopted children from the DRC but have been denied exit permits to bring them home.

Since the Congo stopped issuing exit visas in 2013, Congressman Ribble has also been a leader in the effort to secure the release of Congolese children who were legally adopted by American families.  He has held meetings with the Congolese ambassador to the U.S. as well as the American ambassador to the DRC. In 2015, he traveled to Kinshasa to talk in person with Congolese Prime Minister Augustin Ponyo, cabinet members, and leading members of the Parliament, making it clear in a series of tense discussions that we would accept no less than a full release of all children adopted by American families.