NYHOMESTUDY BLOG

September 2007

WARNING: The U.S. Department of State urges American citizens not to commence an adoption process from Guatemala at this time. Fundamental changes in Guatemalan and U.S. adoption law will take effect over the next six months.
These changes are likely to inject considerable uncertainty into the adoption process

Guatemala has stated that it will become a Hague Convention country on January 1, 2008. Guatemalan officials have informed us that Guatemala plans to require cases pending or filed after December 31, 2007 to meet Hague standards, even if the adoption procedures commenced before that date. They have also informed us they will not process adoptions for non-Hague member countries after December 31. We understand this to mean that Guatemala will stop processing adoptions to the United States beginning January 1, 2008, until U.S. accession to the Hague Convention takes effect. Given the average time frame for ompleting an adoption in Guatemala, cases started now cannot be completed before January 1, 2008.

When the Convention is in force for the United States, projected to occur in the spring of 2008, there may be a period of time during which we will not be able to approve adoptions from Guatemala, until Guatemala’s adoption process provides the protections for children and families required by the Hague Adoption Convention.

The Government of Guatemala has confirmed its commitment to the Hague Adoption Convention, and is already working to amend its adoption law to conform to Hague requirements. However, the current adoption process in Guatemala is not consistent with the Convention. Designing and instituting new procedures will take time. The U.S. Government is working closely with the Hague Permanent Bureau and other interested governments to support Guatemala’s transition to meeting its obligations under the Hague Convention.

American citizens pursuing adoptions in Guatemala are already encountering some delays in the process. As recently as August 2007, several dozen children who were to be adopted by U.S. citizens were taken into custody by Guatemalan authorities because of alleged irregularities in the adoption process and concerns about the care of the children. A court-ordered investigation is now underway.

Several adoption service providers are under investigation in the United States, and at least one U.S. adoption facilitator faces prosecution in the United States. Under these circumstances, prospective adoptive parents face the real possibility that current, pending cases may be disrupted by legal investigations.

The Department of State strongly recommends that prospective adoptive parents defer plans to begin an adoption in Guatemala until the legal and procedural issues described above have been resolved.

DISCLAIMER: The following is intended as a very general guide to assist U.S.
citizens who plan to adopt a child from a foreign country and apply for an immigrant visa for the child to come to the United States. Two sets of laws are particularly relevant: 1) the laws of the child’s country of birth govern all activity in that country including the adoptability of individual children as well as the adoption of children in country in general; and 2) U.S. immigration law governs the immigration of the child to the United States.

The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and our current understanding. It does not necessarily reflect the actual state of the laws of a child’s country of birth and is provided for general information only. Moreover, U.S. immigration law, including regulations and interpretation, changes from time to time. This flyer reflects our current understanding of the law as of this date and is not legally authoritative. Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel.

ALERT: The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala has occasionally received reports of Guatemalan police in and around some of the major hotels in Guatemala City attempting to extort money from adopting parents by threatening to take the biological or foster mother and the prospective or adopted child into custody. We know of no legal basis under local Guatemalan law for such actions and encourage all U.S. citizens who encounter similar experiences to report them immediately to their local lawyer and the American Citizens Services section at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City. Please read the Guatemala Consular Information Sheet at:
http://travel.state.gov/ for updated information about security and other local conditions.

PLEASE NOTE: The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala schedules specific immigrant visa appointment dates and times for all adoption cases and issues “Pink Slips” that contain this information. Prospective adoptive parents are urged not to travel to Guatemala until the “Pink Slip” has been issued.

PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF GUATEMALAN ORPHANS TO THE U.S.: Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to Guatemalan
orphans:

Fiscal Year Number of Immigrant Visas Issued
FY 2006 4135
FY 2005 3783
FY 2004 3262
FY 2003 2326
FY 2002 2419

GUATEMALAN ADOPTION AUTHORITY: The Social Services Agency Bienestar Social has been named Hague Convention Central Authority for Guatemala. The Guatemalan Solicitor General’s Office (Procuradoría General de la Nación, PGN) is also an adoption authority in Guatemala. Adoptions must be finalized through the PGN.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS: Under Guatemalan law, prospective adoptive parents may be married or single and must be at least 18 years old. There are no requirements for an age-difference between the prospective adoptive parent and the child. There are also no disqualifying medical ineligibilities.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS: The Government of Guatemala has no residency requirements for prospective adoptive parents.
TIME FRAME: Based on the results of a survey conducted by the U.S. Embassy in 2005 of prospective adoptive parents, an adoption of a Guatemalan child takes on average 9 and a half months from start to finish. Since the introduction of the requirement for a second DNA test in August, 2007, up to two weeks of additional processing time should be expected. (See chart below).
ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS: Since 1977, adoptions are handled as an administrative matter and attorneys and notaries participate in all aspects of the adoption process within Guatemala. The U.S. based adoption agency serves as the adoptive family’s agent, and the Guatemalan attorney serves as an agent for the adoptive family’s agency. Therefore, prospective adoptive parents should be kept informed of all aspects of the identification, care, and adoption process of their prospective adoptive children by the U.S. based adoption agency or agent.

If prospective adoptive parents have hired an agency in the United States to assist in the adoption, the agency is responsible for keeping them informed about their case. Prospective adoptive parents should ask their agency for the name(s) of their attorney(s) and whether anyone in the attorney’s office speaks English, etc. The United States Government is not in a position to inquire on individual adoption cases from the Guatemalan authorities.

Some families have worked directly with an attorney in Guatemala instead of an intermediary agency in the United States. Unfortunately, some parents have experienced problems working directly with Guatemalan attorneys, and prospective adoptive parents are encouraged to research their options before selecting an attorney. The best method of finding a competent attorney is to obtain referrals from families who have had satisfactory experiences working with a specific attorney. The U.S. Government cannot assume responsibility for the professional ability or personal integrity of Guatemalan attorneys.

Prospective adoptive parents are advised to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator they plan to use for adoption services. For U.S.-based agencies, it is suggested that prospective adoptive parents contact the Better Business Bureau and/or the licensing office of the appropriate state government agency in the U.S. state where the agency is located or licensed. By spring 2008, you will also be able to determine whether an agency has been accredited or approved under the standards of the Hague Adoption Convention.

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