DISCLAIMERS

The information content and design/organization of the web site launched in November 2008.

Privacy Notice
For site management, usage information is collected for statistical purposes. The State Department website uses software programs to create summary statistics for such purposes as assessing what information is of most and least interest or identifying system performance or problem areas. The following is the type of information collected about your visit to the web site: the name of the Internet domain from which you access State Department websites and the date and time that you access the site. If you choose to provide us with personal information in an email message, we use it only to respond to your email.

For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, the State Department uses software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise cause damage. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this service are strictly prohibited and subject to prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and Title 18 U.S.C. Sec.1001 and 1030. Information also may be used for authorized law enforcement investigations.

Except for the above purposes, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits.

Links to External Web Sites
Links to web sites outside the U.S. Federal Government or the use of trade, firm, or corporation names within the State Department web sites are for the convenience of the user. Such use does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the U.S. State Department of any private sector web site, product, or service.

Adoption.state.gov contains hyperlinks to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. Such links should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

Criteria State Department officers continually review the external links for their ongoing value to the issues and topics presented within State Department websites. The process for adding an external link is the same as for clearing information for public dissemination, as described in the State Department’s Information Quality Guidelines:

“Clearances on information for dissemination generally are obtained from any office within the Department or any other agency within the U.S. Government that has a substantive interest in the information. “

Disclaimer The State Department provides external links solely for our readers' information and convenience. When readers select a link to an external website, they are leaving the adoption.state.gov site and are subject to the privacy and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the external website. The State Department:

• Does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of information contained on a linked website.
• Does not endorse the organizations sponsoring linked websites or the views they express or the products/services they offer.
• Cannot and does not authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked websites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked website. NOTE: adoption.state.gov uses many copyrighted photos so users must check captions/ALT tags to determine source of photos. Only State Department photos are in the public domain.
• Is not responsible for transmissions users receive from linked websites.
• Does not guarantee that external websites comply with Section 508 (Accessibility Requirements) of the Rehabilitation Act.

Every effort has been made to provide accurate and complete information. However, we cannot guarantee that there will be no errors. Neither the U.S. Government nor the State Department assumes any legal liability for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, product, or process disclosed herein, or represents that use of such information, product, or process would not infringe on privately owned rights.

Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Unauthorized attempts to upload information and/or change information on these web sites are strictly prohibited and are subject to prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and Title 18 U.S.C. Sec.1001 and 1030.

Disclaimer of Liability
Every effort is made to provide accurate and complete information. However, with the thousands of documents available, often uploaded within short deadlines, we cannot guarantee that there will be no errors. With respect to documents and information on the current and archive State Department web sites, neither the U.S. Government, the U.S. Department of State, nor their employees and contractors make any warranty, expressed or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with respect to documents available from State Department web sites. Additionally, the U.S. Government and the U.S. State Department, assume no legal liability for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, product, or process disclosed herein and do not represent that use of such information, product, or process would not infringe on privately owned rights.