§ 14925 — Universal Accreditation Requirements

(a) The provisions of title II and section 404 of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14901 et seq.[, 42 U.S.C. 14944]), and related implementing regulations, shall apply to any person offering or providing adoption services in connection with a child described in section 1101(b)(1)(F) of title 8, to the same extent as they apply to the offering or provision of adoption services in connection with a Convention adoption. The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Attorney General (with respect to section 404(b) of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14944[(b)])), and the accrediting entities shall have the duties, responsibilities, and authorities under title II and title IV of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 [42 U.S.C. 14921 et seq., 14941 et seq.] and related implementing regulations with respect to a person offering or providing such adoption services, irrespective of whether such services are offered or provided in connection with a Convention adoption. (b) The provisions of this section shall take effect 18 months after January 14, 2013. (c) This Act shall not apply to a person offering or providing adoption services as described in subsection (a) in the case of a prospective adoption in which— (1) an application for advance processing of an orphan petition or petition to classify an orphan as an immediate relative for a child is filed before the date that is 180 days after January 14, 2013; or (2) the prospective adoptive parents of a child have initiated the adoption process with the filing of an appropriate application in a foreign country sufficient such that the Secretary of State is satisfied before the date that is 180 days after January 14, 2013.