Adopting from Guatemala

Guatemala Adoption Alert

Update on Intercountry Adoptions in Guatemala (May 28, 2013)

Joint USCIS-State Delegation to Guatemala

During the week of May 13, 2013, Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Ambassador Susan Jacobs traveled with USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas to Guatemala for meetings with Guatemalan government officials of agencies directly involved in adoptions, including the Procuraduría General de la Nación (PGN) and the Guatemalan National Council on Adoption (CNA). They also met with members of the Supreme Court, the Ministerio Publico (MP), the Ministry of Social Welfare, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Their visit provided an important opportunity to meet recently-appointed Guatemalan officials and emphasize that the timely and transparent resolution of all the remaining pending transition adoption cases in the best interests of the children remains a top priority for the United States.

The meetings were also an opportunity to review the progress on completion of these remaining cases following recent administrative and personnel changes in the Government of Guatemala. In the last several months, the Guatemalan government has accelerated its completion of cases, and fewer than 100 pending transition adoption cases are awaiting resolution as of the date of this notice. Twenty-nine cases have moved to CNA’s Acuerdo process, and nine cases have concluded with the immigration of the adopted children to the United States with their U.S. citizen parent(s). Guatemala also completed an additional four cases under the notarial process and these children have joined their families in the United States. Some cases have concluded with the child’s reunification with a biological family member in Guatemala.

Officials at the PGN, which has the authority to complete the investigations in the pending cases, report having 52 cases in various stages of investigation. The PGN has received renewed funding for its investigators, allowing them to continue their work with a goal of completing these investigations within two months. Once it has completed an investigation, PGN will request a hearing with a Guatemalan court judge for a determination of the child’s adoptability , or reunification with biological or extended family. It is also possible, though not likely, that the judge will order the case to conclude via the notarial process. According to the Guatemalan Supreme Court, there currently are no backlogs at the courts in Guatemala City, so that legal process should proceed without delays. The cases with court decrees of adoptability will go to the CNA for evaluation of their eligibility for completion of the adoptions through the Acuerdo process.

The USCIS and Consular staff of the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City are in constant communication with the Guatemalan officials responsible for adoption procedures. U.S. Embassy staff monitor and promote Guatemalan progress in resolving the remaining cases by attending the semi-weekly meetings of the technical group where these authorities work through the cases. Prospective adoptive parents may contact USCIS directly at Guatemala.adoptions@dhs.gov, and the Immigrant Visa Unit of the Consular Section directly at AdoptGuatemala@state.gov, in order to inquire about the status of individual adoption cases.

Notice: Update on Intercountry Adoptions in Guatemala (December 11, 2012)

The following is an update on issues and developments in Guatemalan adoptions. We also take this opportunity to remind adopting parents and others that the U.S. government is not a party to these pending adoption cases and cannot represent the interests of parties in private legal matters. Thus, we may not be informed of or be entitled to receive information pertaining to proceedings in specific cases.

Joint USCIS-State Delegation to Guatemala October 23-25

From October 23-25, a joint USCIS-Department of State delegation traveled to Guatemala to meet with government officials from the Ministerio Publico (MP), the Procuraduría General de la Nación (PGN), the Guatemalan National Council on Adoption (CNA),and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In case-by-case discussions of the “Universal List” of all known pending grandfathered adoptions of Guatemalan children by U.S. citizen prospective adoptive parents, the visiting delegation encouraged Guatemalan officials to quicken resolution of all these cases in the best interests of the children, and to complete those cases while the PGN still has additional investigators funded through the end of 2012.

During these discussions, Guatemalan authorities reiterated that some of the notario cases may not be able to proceed under the notario process when the investigation reveals that the case does not fall within the parameters of the relevant law. However, if a judge makes a finding of adoptability for the child, such a case may be considered eligible under the CNA’s acuerdo process. USCIS and the Department of State continue to work closely with Guatemalan authorities to bring pending cases to resolution.

CNA Acuerdo Update

Since January 2012, the CNA has referred 17 cases to the U.S. Embassy for final adoption processing as acuerdo cases, and has identified others that it considered eligible to move through the acuerdo process.

Note: Only the CNA can determine whether cases are eligible under the CNA Acuerdo. The Office of Children’s Issues, USCIS, and the U.S. Embassy, if informed in a specific case, can only comment on whether or not the CNA has initiated the case, and if so, what documents the CNA requires. The Office of Children’s Issues can also provide general information on the CNA process.

Other News

The PGN and CNA have informed the U.S. Embassy of approximately 85 children who are no longer available for adoption because the child was either reunited with the biological family or placed in domestic adoption. Upon receiving written confirmation of this from the Guatemalan government, USCIS informed the U.S. families associated with those cases.

Visas statistics

From May 1, 2012, until today, the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala has issued five IR-3 adoption visas. These visa statistics represent only the cases which have completed all processing steps with Guatemalan authorities, USCIS Guatemala, and the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy.

Hague Convention Information

Guatemala is party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention). Intercountry adoption processing in Hague countries is done in accordance with the requirements of the Convention; the U.S. implementing legislation, the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA); and the IAA’s implementing regulations, as well as the implementing legislation and regulations of the child’s country of origin.

The Department of State has determined that Guatemala has not yet fully implemented legislation that would create a Convention-compliant adoption process. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is therefore unable to approve any Form I-800 petition filed on behalf of a Guatemalan child because the Department of State is unable to verify that the requirements of the Hague Adoption Convention have been met in cases from Guatemala, per Section 301(a) of the Intercountry Adoption Act (IAA). The only intercountry adoption cases that USCIS and the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala are currently processing are cases that were filed before December 31, 2007, and were not completed when Guatemala joined the Convention and implemented its new adoption code.

The Guatemalan National Adoption Council (CNA) announced in September 2008 that it would not accept any new adoption cases at that time in order for the CNA to work on establishing guidelines to use in accrediting adoption agencies and to focus on completing transition cases. More information about the CNA’s September 2008 decision may be found on its website.

In August 2011, the CNA announced a plan, referred to as the “Acuerdo,” which provides a general processing framework for a limited group of pending adoption cases already under CNA processing authority. This process applies only to cases pending with the CNA and not to cases pending with the Procuraduría General de la Nación (PGN) as "notario" cases. In December 2011, the CNA confirmed the details of the processing plan for a limited group of pending adoption cases already under CNA processing authority filed before December 31, 2007. Since January 2012, the CNA has referred 28 cases to the U.S. Embassy for final adoption processing as acuerdo cases, and has identified others that it considered eligible to move through the acuerdo process. The CNA performs all adoption processes free of charge.

Who Can Adopt

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Who Can Be Adopted

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How to Adopt

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Adoption Authority

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The Process

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Traveling Abroad

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Contact Information

U.S. Embassy in Guatemala

Avenida Reforma 7-01, Zona 10 Tel: 011-502-2326-4000 Fax: 011-502-2326-4674 Email: adoptguatemala@state.gov Internet: U.S. Embassy Guatemala

Guatemala’s Adoption Authority

National Council on Adoption (CNA) Address: Avenida Reforma 6-64, Zona 9 Tel: 011-502-24151600 Fax: 011-502-24151601 Email: cna@cna.gob.gt Internet: Guatemala Adoption Authority

Embassy of Guatemala

2220 R Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20008 Tel: (202) 745-4952 Fax: (202) 745-1908 Email: consul@guatemala-embassy.org

Guatemala also has consulates in: Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Providence and San Francisco.

Office of Children’s Issues

U.S. Department of State CA/OCS/CI SA-17, 9th Floor Washington, DC 20522-1709 Tel: 1-888-407-4747 Email: AdoptionUSCA@state.gov Internet: U.S. Department of State

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

For questions about immigration procedures: National Customer Service Center (NCSC) Tel: 1-800-375-5283 (TTY 1-800-767-1833) Internet: USCIS

For questions about a pending Form I-600 petition for a child from Guatemala:

USCIS Guatemala City Field Office Email: Guatemala.Adoptions@dhs.gov Phone: 011-502-2326-4000 (ask to be transferred to USCIS)

For questions about filing a Form I-800A or I-800 petition: National Benefits Center Tel: 1-877-424-8374 (toll free); 1-816-251-2770 (local) Email: NBC.Adoptions@dhs.gov

SOURCE

Intercountry Adoption, Bureau of Consular Affairs. U.S. Department of State Country Information[1]