Forsyth County

Couple stuck in the middle of international adoption battle

By Wendy Halloran
By Wendy Halloran

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — A Forsyth County family is entrenched in an international adoption battle after adopting a baby from Japan.

The couple told Channel 2's Wendy Halloran that trying to bring her home to Georgia has turned into a nightmare.

This past Monday, Samantha and Alex Tutterrow said they went to the U.S. embassy in Japan to pick up a visa for their newly adopted daughter. But when they got there, they received some bad news.

“It’s being drawn out and made us feel like criminals,” Samantha Tutterrow said.

Alex Tutterrow said he feels like a hostage. He’s alone with his 3-month old adopted daughter Sydney in a hotel room in Tokyo. He can leave the country, but not with Sydney.

"I don’t speak Japanese and I’ve got a baby, so we can’t really go anywhere," Alex Tutterrow told Halloran via Facetime on Saturday night.

The U.S. State Department has denied an orphan visa for Sydney.

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"(It’s) government red tape and it’s unacceptable," Alex Tutterrow said. 

Samantha Tutterrow was forced to return stateside to care for their other children, including Sydney’s sister Anna, who the couple adopted in 2016.  Both girls were adopted through Faith International Adoptions.

“This adoption is just like our last. It’s pretty clean and simple,” Alex Tutterrow told Halloran. 

The couple believes the State Department has put Faith International Adoptions under the microscope after its accreditation expired while their renewal application was pending. Now, the organization is no longer accredited. 

“Nothing has gone on that’s not ethical, illegal. Yet they’re putting us through a process, made to feel guilty and we’ve done nothing wrong,” Samantha Tutterrow said. 

Alex Tutterrow is now pleading with his own government.

“Get this signed, let us come home and stop holding us up. This isn’t necessary. We’ve done nothing wrong,” Alex Tutterrow said.

The State Department released a statement, saying: 

"The Department seeks to ensure that intercountry adoptions involving children or adoptive parents in the United States take place in the best interests of the child. The Department cannot comment on specific cases."

Cox Media Group

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