By Beth Stebner PUBLISHED: 12:28 EST, 6 February 2013 | UPDATED: 14:17 EST, 6 February 2013 Little Polina wore pink bows in her braided hair to meet her American parents, Jason and Kendra Skaggs. After months of waiting and stomach-churning anxiety, the five-year-old could finally go home to Arkansas with the couple. But the Skaggs were one of only a handful of U.S. families who were allowed to legally adopt a Russian child, following the January 1 ban of American adoptions of Russian youth, which has left hundreds of hopeful parents in limbo. For Larry and Kelly Czocher, their story ended quite differently, as they were told not to travel to the Eastern European country, as they were told their 13-month-old son, Andre, was no longer coming to America.
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Jason and Kendra Skaggs were able to adopt Polina, 5, from orphanage in Moscow since their adoption was approved by a court in December
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However, Larry and Kelly Czocher were denied adoption of 13-month-old boy named Andre
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Russian leader Vladimir Putin imposed ban on January 1 denying American couples from adopting Russian children
But for the @placeholder family, the odds were not in their favor.
The U.S. is the biggest destination for adopted Russian children - more than 60,000 of them have been taken in by @placeholder over the past two decades.