Haiti quake puts parents’ adoption dreams in limbo

Graphic shows international adoptions to the U.S. since 1999, includes Haiti and other leading countries

In this photo taken in October of 2009 Kim Lewen, 40, of Willowbrook, Ill. holds her two adopted Haitian daughters, Sandina, 1, left, and Benciana, 3, at the Creche (a home for children waiting to be adopted), where they live in Kenscoff, Haiti. The girls have been legally adopted by Lewen, but some paper work needs to be finalized before the family can be united. Lewen and the Illinois adoption agency she is working with hope that in light of the massive earthquake that hit Haiti this week, Haitian officials will be able to expedite matters and U.S. officials will grant emergency visas to bring the children to America. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

In this photo taken in October of 2009 Kim Lewen, 40, of Willowbrook, Ill. holds one of her two adopted Haitian daughters Benciana, 3, at the Creche (a home for children waiting to be adopted), where they live in Kenscoff, Haiti. The girls have been legally adopted by Lewen, but some paper work needs to be finalized before the family can be united. Lewen and the Illinois adoption agency she is working with hope that in light of the massive earthquake that hit Haiti this week, Haitian officials will be able to expedite matters and U.S. officials will grant emergency visas to bring the children to America. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

In this photo taken in October of 2009 Kim Lewen, 40, of Willowbrook, Ill. holds one of her two adopted Haitian daughters Sandina, 1, at the Creche (a home for children waiting to be adopted), where they live in Kenscoff, Haiti. The girls have been legally adopted by Lewen, but some paper work needs to be finalized before the family can be united. Lewen and the Illinois adoption agency she is working with hope that in light of the massive earthquake that hit Haiti this week, Haitian officials will be able to expedite matters and U.S. officials will grant emergency visas to bring the children to America. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Kim Lewen, 40, hold a photo of her adopted Haitian daughters Benciana, 3, and Sandina, 1, in the bedroom that awaits their arrival Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010, at Lewen's home in Willowbrook, Ill. The girls who currently live in a Creche (a home for children waiting to be adopted), in Kenscoff, Haiti, have been legally adopted by Lewen, but some paper work needs to be finalized before the family can be united. Lewen and the Illinois adoption agency she is working with hope that in light of the massive earthquake that hit Haiti this week, Haitian officials will be able to expedite matters and U.S. officials will grant emergency visas to bring the children to America. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Kim Lewen, 40, admires a photo of one of her two adopted Haitian daughters Benciana, 3,l Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010, at Lewen's home in Willowbrook, Ill. The girls who currently live in a Creche (a home for children waiting to be adopted), in Kenscoff, Haiti, have been legally adopted by Lewen, but some paper work needs to be finalized before the family can be united. Lewen and the Illinois adoption agency she is working with hope that in light of the massive earthquake that hit Haiti this week, Haitian officials will be able to expedite matters and U.S. officials will grant emergency visas to bring the children to America. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

A photo of Kim Lewen's, holding her adopted Haitian daughters Benciana, 3, and Sandina, 1, decorates the bedroom that awaits their arrival Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010, at Lewen's home in Willowbrook, Ill. The girls who currently live in a Creche (a home for children waiting to be adopted), in Kenscoff, Haiti, have been legally adopted by Lewen, but some paper work needs to be finalized before the family can be united. Lewen and the Illinois adoption agency she is working with hope that in light of the massive earthquake that hit Haiti this week, Haitian officials will be able to expedite matters and U.S. officials will grant emergency visas to bring the children to America. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

**CORRECTS BYLINE, SOURCE AND TRANS REFERENCE NUMBER**In this October 2009 photo provided by Kim Lewen, Lewen, 40, of Willowbrook, Ill. holds her two adopted Haitian daughters, Sandina, 1, left, and Benciana, 3, at the Creche , a home for children waiting to be adopted, where they live in Kenscoff, Haiti. The girls have been legally adopted by Lewen, but some paperwork needs to be finalized before the family can be united. Lewen and the Illinois adoption agency she is working with hope that in light of the massive earthquake that hit Haiti this week, Haitian officials will be able to expedite matters and U.S. officials will grant emergency visas to bring the children to America. (AP Photo/via Kim Lewen)

**CORRECTS BYLINE AND SOURCE**In this October 2009 photo provided by Kim Lewen, Lewen, 40, hold a photo of her adopted Haitian daughters Benciana, 3, and Sandina, 1, in the bedroom that awaits their arrival Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010, at Lewen's home in Willowbrook, Ill. The girls have been legally adopted by Lewen, but some paperwork needs to be finalized before the family can be united. Lewen and the Illinois adoption agency she is working with hope that in light of the massive earthquake that hit Haiti this week, Haitian officials will be able to expedite matters and U.S. officials will grant emergency visas to bring the children to America. (AP Photo/via Kim Lewen)

**CORRECTS BYLINE AND SOURCE**In this October 2009 photo provided by Kim Lewen, Lewen, 40, of Willowbrook, Ill. holds one of her two adopted Haitian daughters, Sandina, 1, at the Creche , a home for children waiting to be adopted, where they live in Kenscoff, Haiti. The girls have been legally adopted by Lewen, but some paper work needs to be finalized before the family can be united. Lewen and the Illinois adoption agency she is working with hope that in light of the massive earthquake that hit Haiti this week, Haitian officials will be able to expedite matters and U.S. officials will grant emergency visas to bring the children to America. (AP Photo/via Kim Lewen)

This photo provided by Rebecca and Jerry Williams of Tampa, Fla. shows Haitian native Darline Blanchard in an undated photo. The Williamses were set to adopt Darline, one of hundreds of Haitian orphans whose adoptions are now in limbo in the wake of the magnitude-7 earthquake. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Standing in the bedroom they decorated for their adopted daughter's anticipated homecoming, Rebecca and Jerry Williams talk, Friday, Jan. 15, 2010, in their home in Tampa, Fla., about the difficulties they predict in getting the 15-year old out of her native Haiti in the wake of the recent earthquake. The Williams' adopted daughter, Darline, is one of hundreds of Haitian orphans whose adoptions are now in limbo in the wake of the magnitude-7 earthquake. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Holding a photo of the daughter they were set to adopt and bring home in January, Rebecca and Jerry Williams pose for a photograph, Friday, Jan. 15, 2010, at their home in Tampa, Fla. The Williams' adopted daughter, Darline, is one of hundreds of Haitian orphans whose adoptions are now in limbo in the wake of the magnitude-7 earthquake. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Surveying the bedroom she decorated for her adopted daughter's anticipated homecoming, Rebecca Williams talks, Friday, Jan. 15, 2010, in her home in Tampa, Fla., about the difficulties she predicts in getting the 15-year old out of her native Haiti in the wake of the recent earthquake. Williams' adopted daughter, Darline, is one of hundreds of Haitian orphans whose adoptions are now in limbo in the wake of the magnitude-7 earthquake. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)