1. How important are the following two representations made by the Requestors to the DOJ’s decision? (a) The Requestors will not give any money directly to the foreign officials but will pay expenses directly to the providers. (b) The amount spent on hotels and meals will not exceed the GSA rate (which is the maximum per diem allowance that U.S. federal employees are entitled to receive as reimbursement for expenses incurred while on an official trip within the continental United States). 

2. Is this opinion sufficient to safeguard the identities of the parties involved in the proposed visit? 

3. What role do DOJ’s prior Opinion Releases play in this decision? 

The Department of Justice (the “Department”) has reviewed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) Opinion Procedure Request from 19 non-profit adoption agencies headquartered in the United States (the “Requestors”) submitted on August 21, 2012 

The Requestors seek an opinion related to their proposal to host 18 government officials from a foreign country (the “Foreign Country”) during visits to the United States. Of those officials, 13 are from the government ministry in the Foreign Country that oversees adoptions (the “Adoption Ministry”), and one is the presiding judge of the court in the Foreign Country that ultimately approves or disapproves adoption requests (the “Adoption Court”) 

The remaining officials are the director of the Foreign Country’s agency that oversees orphanages, a minister in the Office of the Foreign Country’s head of government, and two members of the Foreign Country’s legislature. 

The Requestors represent that the purpose of the trip is to allow government officials from the Foreign Country to learn more about the Requestors’ work, which includes processing adoptions in the Foreign Country. During the trip, the government officials will interview the Requestors’ staff members, inspect the Requestors’ files, and meet with families who adopted children from the Foreign Country.

Based on the Department’s review of the Request and additional information received from the Requestors, it is the Department’s opinion that the Requestors’ proposed funding of the trip to the United States by the government officials from the Foreign Country is a reasonable and bona fide expenditure that is directly related to the promotion, demonstration, or explanation of the Requestors’ products or services. Therefore, the Requestors’ proposed funding of the trip may go forward without enforcement action. 

The amount that the Requestors spend on hotels and meals will not exceed General Services Administration (“GSA”) rates. The Requestors will pay for business class airfare for high-ranking officials, which, as proposed, is permitted by the Foreign Country’s government. The Requestors will pay all expenses directly to the providers and will not give any money, including per diems, directly to the government officials. If some of the trips require staying over a weekend, the Requestors will pay for hotels and meals during those periods, subject to the same limitations above. The Requestors will share the costs of the trips.