A North Texas family is in the middle of a fight for their adopted son, whose being held thousands of miles away in Africa behind red tape.
"I know that he's my son, but I can't be with him every day," Andy Kahn said. "At least, not yet."
Kahn and his wife Amy, of Dallas, already had three daughters, but they knew they wanted another child. They chose to adopt 2-year-old Daniel from the Democratic Republic of the Congo because of the large number of orphans there.
Last September, Andy traveled to Africa to meet Daniel while Amy and the girls stayed home and watched on Skype.
But Andy flew back to the United States alone.
The government in the Congo stopped issuing release letters for adopted children fearing they would end up as slaves. So more than 1,000 children with U.S. visas are being kept from their legal adoptive parents.
"He has our picture books and we Skype with him," Amy Kahn said. "He would point to us and call me mama. That makes it real."
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The Khans were faced with a choice: Cancel the adoption or do something drastic.
"We've kind of decided to just turn our lives around and quit our jobs and move to the Congo," Andy Kahn said.
The Khans said they plan to pack up and move to Africa in June until Daniel is allowed to leave.
"I sometimes worry if it's the right thing to do," Amy said. "I worry that we're going to go over there and fall in love with him and not be able to bring him home. Or things might get rough while we're over there."
Andy said he's at peace with the decision.
"I feel that it is definitely worth it," he said. "We want to live a life that reflects what we believe, and we believe that god cares for orphans and loves all his children and this is a reflection of how he's dropped everything and cared for us."
Texas Sen. John Cornyn has taken a role in helping unite families like the Kahns with their adopted children. He released this statement to nbc5.
I'm deeply concerned that the Congolese government continues to delay families like the Kahns from bringing their children home to Texas. They have opened their hearts to a child in need of a loving home, and they should not have to wait any longer to unite their family.
A petition on the White House website urges President Barack Obama to step in. To read or sign the petition, click here.
