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Question 1.
I am an American Citizen in Haiti and need assistance from the United States Embassy in Port-au-Prince. Who should I contact?
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Please contact the Embassy’s Consular Task Force in Port-au-Prince via telephone or email:
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509-2229-8942
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509-2229-8089
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509-2229-8322
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509-2229-8672
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Warden Message: Resumption of Routine American Citizen Services (January 29, 2010)
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Question 2.
I want to ask or provide information about an American citizen in Haiti. What should I do? |
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Please email or call our Haiti Taskforce. Please call us back if you have any updates.
Please provide us with the following information:
- The full name, date of birth and passport information (if known) of the persons in Haiti you are trying to contact.
- Their contact information in Haiti; telephone numbers, email address, hotel name or address (if known.)
- Your name and contact information, and your relationship to the person in Haiti (parent, spouse, friend etc.)
- Any special or emergency circumstances.
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Question 3.
My US citizen friend or relative in Haiti is waiting to be evacuated. How are US citizens being evacuated to the United States? |
- Evacuation flights are departing the International Airport in Port-au-Prince on a regular basis. U.S. citizens who have travel documents are encouraged to proceed directly to the airport with their passport in hand. They should carry as much food, water and supplies – including any medication they normally take as facilities at the airport are limited to nonexistent.
- U.S. citizens without passports should report to the U.S. Embassy at Boulevard du 15 October, Tabarre 41, Tabarre, Haiti to obtain a travel document before proceeding to the airport.
- At this time the Embassy lacks the resources to pick up private citizens. U.S. citizens in Haiti seeking evacuation should make their way to one of these locations on their own during daylight hours.
- Normal visa operations are suspended while our Embassy focuses its limited resources on helping US citizens in Haiti. The Consular Affairs website, (travel.state.gov) will be updated when post’s normal visa operations resume. Send all Haiti related visa questions to the Haiti inquiry mailbox: Haitivisainquiry@state.gov
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Question 4.
I am a US citizen and need assistance evacuating my child from Haiti to the United States. How is the State Department handling evacuations of unaccompanied US citizen minors (under the age of 18) to the United States? |
- An adult relative or caregiver who has a visa or legal permanent resident status(LPR)/green card, may accompany the child to the United States. If the child does not have an adult who is an LPR or has a valid visa, the caregiver should bring the child to the U.S. Embassy.
- We ask that you send us a notarized statement identifying the person who you want to escort (name/s) to the United States. This person should be a close family member and will be screened to ensure that they are eligible to enter the United States. Only one escort is permitted for each U.S. citizen child or group of siblings who are U.S. citizens. This process may take time to complete.
- The Department of State is legally required to seek reimbursement for the cost of your child’s/children’s evacuation. We also ask that you print, complete, sign and scan the promissory note that can be found at: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/80109.pdf .
- You should include your child/ren and their escort’s names on the form. The amount you will owe will be calculated based on the cost of a commercial flight from Port au Prince to the United States.
- Parents should email us a scanned copy of their written authorization along with a completed promissory note to: Haiti-Earthquake@state.gov. Please include your child’s name in the subject line.
- We will forward the documents to our Embassy in Port au Prince, which will use this information to assist your child.
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Question 5.
Since the earthquake occurred on January 12, 2010, I have not received any news from my friend or relative and I fear the worst. I am desperate for information and would like to know what the State Department is doing to help people in my situation?
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- One of the most torturous aspects of this crisis for families whose loved ones have not yet been located, for our U.S. personnel on the ground in Haiti and for helping professionals assisting families in the United States, is the possibility that the remains of loved ones might never be found. They need to be assured that the entire U.S. Government team is doing everything possible to locate and identify U.S. citizens who were killed as a result of the earthquake. Our consular task force in the United States and Embassy personnel in Port au Prince continue to work round-the-clock seven days a week toward this goal.
- The Departments of State, Defense and Health and Human Services are working to develop a plan for recovery, identification and repatriation of remains in the absence of functioning local mortuaries and commercial flights out of Haiti. Some remains have already been privately transported to mortuaries in Santo Domingo for onward commercial or military air travel to the United States. In several cases the Embassy in Port au Prince has received the remains of American citizens and was able to repatriate these to the United States.
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Question 6.
What is the latest information on Hotel Montana? |
- The Department of State is in constant contact with the families whose loved ones are believed to be at the Hotel Montana site.
- The U.S. Government continues to work diligently to locate and identify U.S. citizens who were victims of the earthquake.
- In coordination with the United Nations, the 82nd Airborne Division and the Army Corps of Engineers, we have secured the site and begun deconstruction efforts at the Hotel Montana. This process is being carried out carefully and deliberately.
- Recovery, identification and repatriation of remains are being coordinated at the highest levels of government. The Departments of State, Defense and Health and Human Services are working to develop a plan for recovery, identification and repatriation of remains in the absence of functioning local mortuaries and commercial flights out of Haiti.
- An HHS Team is on the ground to identify remains recovered at the site. This effort is being coordinated closely with the U.S. Army.
- Any remains identified as those of a U.S. citizen will be turned over to the U.S. Embassy in Port au Prince so they can be returned to loved ones as quickly as possible.
- While we intend to move as quickly as possible, we also recognize that identification sometimes can take time and we must be certain that this process is 100-percent accurate.
- We will continue to brief the families directly of any and all new developments and to satisfy their concerns.
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Question 7.
Are legal permanent residents/ “Green Card” holders being evacuated to the United States? |
- If accompanying U.S. citizens who are immediate relatives, the permanent resident should go with them to the airport. In order to be eligible for evacuation, the permanent resident must have a valid I-551 or entry stamp that shows prior admission as an LPR. The U.S. Embassy is working to evacuate U.S. citizens and cannot assist legal permanent residents who are not accompanying immediate family members who are U.S. citizens. We will post information here when such assistance is available.
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Question 8.
Is the United States Embassy in Port-au-Prince issuing visas? |
- Normal visa operations are suspended while our Embassy focuses its limited resources on helping American citizens in Haiti. The Consular Affairs website, (travel.state.gov) will be updated when post’s normal visa operations resume. Send all Haiti related visa questions to the Haiti inquiry mailbox: Haitivisainquiry@state.gov
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Question 9.
I am a US citizen in the process of adopting a child from Haiti. Who can I contact to learn more about my case? |
We have received numerous inquiries from U.S. citizens who were in the process of legally adopting Haitian orphans before January 12, 2010. We share the deep concern adoptive parents feel about the welfare of these children. On January 18, the Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Department of State announced a humanitarian parole policy for two categories of Haitian children in the process of being adopted by American citizens. The Departments of State and Homeland Security, USCIS each have email channels for adoption cases in process at the time of the earthquake:
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State Department: AskCI@state.gov
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Department of Homeland Security, USCIS: haitianadoptions@dhs.gov (for submitting documents only for pending adoption cases)
- In your inquiry, please include in the subject line: Haitian adoption Information. The inquiry should include the full name and contact information (including e-mail address) of parents, full name(s) of child(ren), date(s) of birth of child(ren) (if possible), a brief summary of the status of the case, and the name and contact information for the orphanage.
- The Department of State provides detailed information about adoptions in Haiti at:
- Haiti Travel Warning
- Update on Developments in Haiti: Remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (January 20, 2010)
- Interview on the Situation in Haiti and the Adoption of Haitian Children: Michele T. Bond, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Overseas Citizens Services, Washington, D.C. (January 19, 2010)
- Department of Homeland Security
- U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
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Question 10.
What is the United States doing to help all children who are victims of the earthquake in Haiti? |
- US citizens have opened their hearts to children who are affected by this devastating earthquake. But before a child can be legally taken to the United States for adoption, the Governments of both Haiti and the United States must determine if the child is an orphan. It can be extremely difficult during the aftermath of a natural disaster to ascertain whether children who appear to be orphans are truly eligible for adoption. Efforts to reunite children with close relatives or extended family should be given priority.
- Children Affected by the Earthquake in Haiti
- At this time, the U.S. Government is focused on expediting the documentation of children who were identified for adoption by US citizens before the earthquake. But there are many ways in which U.S. citizens can help the children of Haiti now. One website with information about how to do this is the White House site:
whitehouse.gov: Haiti Earthquake Relief
- US citizens can learn about how to adopt a child from another country, and how to bring that child to live with them in the United States, from our website: Adoption.State.gov. It has information on the inter-country adoption process and flyers that provide country specific adoption procedures.
- USAID: Operation Protect Children
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Question 11.
Where can I find information about travel to Haiti? |
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Question 12.
How can I contribute funds to the relief effort in Haiti? |
- Please visit the White House web site.
- To learn about other ways to provide assistance or expertise in Haiti, please see the Center for International Disaster Information’s Haiti Earthquake page.
- You also can send your message to: helphaiti@state.gov
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13.
Haitian Earthquake Relief Fraud Alert |
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FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO WWW.STATE.GOV
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