Ivy Lord – Nigerian Girl Joins Adopted Family In USA After 3-Year-Long Battle for Visa

Ivy Lord – a young girl from Nigeria – has finally made it home to the U.S. to be with her parents, a journey that has proved to be a years-long process through the adoption system.

FOX 35 reports: Ivy’s adoptive parents, Lisa and Ian, were overcome with emotion as Ivy landed at Orlando International Airport, the final leg of their journey from Lagos, Nigeria.

“Three years ago she was adopted, and it’s finally here. She’s finally home, and I know she’s a little overwhelmed right now, but she feels so loved and so supported,” said Lisa.

FOX 35 first shared Ivy’s, Lisa’s, and Ian’s stories in June 2021, when Lisa and Ian officially adopted Ivy, then 6, from a Nigerian orphanage, but struggled to get U.S. officials to grant Ivy a visa to bring her to the United States. 

The Lords reached out to FOX 35 and their U.S. representatives and senators hoping to get help bringing Ivy here. As FOX 35 previously reported, the Lords would spend weeks at a time flying to Nigeria to spent time with Ivy, while they worked desperately with lawyers to finalize the paperwork to bring her to the U.S. 

Three years later, Ivy Lord is home.

“We’re thrilled!” Lisa said, “You think, ‘is it ever gonna happen?’ And it is! It did! It’s here!”

“Amazing, exhilarating, exciting I’m finally glad that it’s behind us,” said Ian. “Now we can move on with our lives, she can learn about our culture in the United States. Happy to be a family. It’s complete! Yay.”

They said Ivy is ready to experience what life is like in the United States.

Lisa has a message for families considering adoptions, now that their own struggles are behind them: “Anybody who’s considering it, it’s worth it, in the end.”

American Couple Struggling With Adoption of Nigerian Girl Ivy Lord

As mentioned earlier, FOX 35 reported on the struggle to adopt Ivy Lord when it first took off three years ago.

Ian and Lisa Lord are trying to expand their family by adopting an 8-year-old girl living in Nigeria. Her name is Ivy” – FOX 35 reported at the time.

The Lords flew to Nigeria two years ago to adopt her. They did all of the paperwork and got everything cleared.

Ivy is their daughter now, but the family can’t get her a visa to join them in the United States.

They say the Trump administration policies first slowed the work and then COVID added to the delay.

The Lords say they recently got a letter saying the visa can’t be approved because they need to get more paperwork documenting Ivy’s arrival at the orphanage.

Ivy is the Lord’s second adopted child. They say without her, their family isn’t complete.

If they can’t get a visa for her to come to the U.S., they say they might have to relocate to England. Ian also has British citizenship.

Source: FOX35orlando.com

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