How to Adopt from El Salvador Part 3

Green Izalco Volcano.
Source: wikipedia.org.

This page is for step 5 of How to Adopt from El Salvador. For steps 1-2 please read How to Adopt from El Salvador. For steps 3-4 please read [[How to Adopt from El Salvador Part 2]. For step 6 please read How to Adopt from El Salvador Part 4.'

5. Adopt a Child in El Salvador

The process for finalizing the adoption (or gaining legal custody) in El Salvador generally includes the following:

• Role of Adoption Authority: OPA will review the adoption documents to ensure they are complete. Due to the complexity of the Salvadoran adoption process, the authority may not inform prospective adoptive parents in a timely manner that their case has missing, incomplete, or incorrect documentation. This can cause additional delays.
• Role of the Court: The Salvadoran family court will issue a final adoption decree that adoptive parents will need to obtain the child’s new birth certificate and passport with the child’s new surname. The time to obtain new civil documents varies in different parts of the country and can take anywhere from 24 hours to two weeks depending on the judge. The court is also responsible for the legal relinquishment or revocation of parental rights; and in some cases, this does not occur until after the child has been matched with a family for adoption. This is one of the lengthiest and most complex steps in the Salvadoran adoption process.
• Role of the Adoption Agencies: The adoption service provider is responsible for ensuring that home studies are completed and for assisting prospective adoptive parents with providing required documentation to the Salvadoran government, including the family court judges. The adoption service provider should also regularly communicate with the U.S. Embassy’s Consular Section to ensure consistency with the Hague process.
• Time Frame: Salvadoran adoption procedures can take 18 to 36 months to complete, but have often taken much longer. This does not include the time necessary for the U.S. Embassy to complete its own investigation, as required by immigration regulations. Because adoption fraud in El Salvador has taken a variety of forms, an investigation of each adoption is necessary to ensure that the child is an orphan, as defined by U.S. immigration law, and that the birth mother is aware that the child is being adopted irrevocably and will be taken from the country.
• Adoption Application: Filing an adoption application can be done by visiting OPA in San Salvador or by sending a legal representative to submit your documentation. The prospective adoptive parents should be prepared to travel to El Salvador regularly as personal appearances will be required throughout the adoption process.
• Adoption Fees: The Salvadoran Central Authority currently does not charge any fees for their administrative services. Prospective adoptive parents may choose to retain a Salvadoran attorney to assist with an adoption and will be charged for those services by the attorney. We advise prospective adoptive parents to discuss options with their adoption service provider. In the adoption services contract that you sign at the beginning of the adoption process, your agency will itemize the fees and estimated expenses related to your adoption process. Some of the fees specifically associated with adopting from El Salvador include:

1. Salvadoran Attorney's Fee – Typically $3,000-$10,000

2. Medical Exam for the Child – Costs generally may run between $250-$600 (includes vaccinations for all children; includes x-rays for children between 14-16)

3. U.S. Immigrant Visa - $230

4. Salvadoran passport fee - $25

5. Photos for U.S. Immigrant Visa - $5 (for two photos)

6. Hotel stay for one night, two adults at the Hilton Princess, Sheraton Presidente, or Marriott Courtyard Hotel (please confirm prices if you book a room) - $130-170

The State Department discourages the payment of any fees that are not properly receipted. "Donations" or "expediting" fees, which may be requested from prospective adoptive parents, have the appearance of "buying" a child and put all future adoptions in El Salvador at risk.

• Documents Required: Each of the U.S. documents listed here must be either authenticated at a Salvadoran Embassy, or a Salvadoran Consulate, or apostilled by the competent authority of the adopting parents’ country (see below). U.S. documents listed below must also be translated into Spanish by an individual appointed for that purpose by a Salvadoran notary public:

1. Certified birth certificate for the adopting parents;

2. Certified marriage certificate, if applicable;

3. Police clearance from the adopting parents’ municipality;

4. Financial statements;

5. Home study certification;

6. Health certificate for the adopting parents;

7. Certification stating that the adopting parents meet the legal requirements of their home State to adopt and that the State will monitor the welfare of the child after adoption;

8. Statement regarding who will care for the adopted child in the absence of the adoptive parents due to illness, disability or death;

9. Certified copies of the adopting parents’ passports;

10. Certified copies of birth and health certificates for any other biological or adopted children in the family;

11. Photographs of the exterior and interior of the adopting parents’ home;

12. Photocopy of the identity card and certified birth certificate of the Salvadoran attorney;

13. Health certificate for the child to be adopted;

14. Photographs of the adopting parents, adopted child, and attorney.

Power of attorney for a specified Salvadoran attorney to represent the adopting parents, which must be executed before a Salvadoran notary public or by Salvadoran Consul at a Salvadoran Embassy or Consulate. This power of attorney must specifically authorize the attorney to perform all necessary steps in the adoption process from beginning to end before the Public Defender’s Office (PGR) and the Salvadoran Institute for the Development of Children and Adolescents (ISNA).

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