42 U.S.C. § 14941 — Access to Convention records

(a) Preservation of Convention records. (1) In general. Within 180 days of October 6, 2000, the Secretary, working with the Attorney General, must issue regulations setting up procedures and requirements — consistent with the Convention and this section — for preserving Convention records. (2) Applicability of notice and comment rules. The standard public notice-and-comment process — subsections (b), (c), and (d) of section 553 of Title 5 — applies to developing and issuing these regulations. (b) Access to Convention records. (1) Prohibition. Except as allowed under paragraph (2), the Secretary or the Attorney General may disclose a Convention record, in whole or in part, only if the record is kept under the Immigration and Nationality Act and federal law permits or requires that disclosure or access. (2) Exception for administration of the Convention. A Convention record may be disclosed, in whole or in part, among the Secretary, the Attorney General, central authorities, accredited agencies, and approved persons, but only to the extent necessary to administer the Convention or this chapter. (3) Penalties for unlawful disclosure. Unlawfully disclosing all or part of a Convention record is punishable under applicable federal law. (c) Access to non-Convention records. Disclosure of, access to, and penalties for unlawfully disclosing adoption records that are not Convention records — including records from adoptions handled entirely in the U.S. — are governed by state law instead.