Foreign adoptions are put on hold

Authorities said they had halted the work of all foreign adoption agencies in Russia for several months, virtually shutting down the placement of children from one of the most important countries for U.S. families seeking to adopt.

The move follows new restrictive rules imposed by China on Americans trying to adopt and U.S. warnings against adopting from Guatemala. Those two countries account for the highest number of children coming to the United States.

The licensing delay in Russia is due to a law that took effect last year imposing strict rules on nongovernmental organizations. The rules were imposed after Russian officials complained that Western-funded groups were meddling in politics across the former Soviet Union.