Nicaragua and the Hague Convention

Cathedral of León, biggest Cathedral in Central America.
Source: Wikipedia.org.

Nicaragua is not party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention). Therefore, when the Hague Adoption Convention entered into force for the United States on April 1, 2008, intercountry adoption processing for Nicaragua did not change.

Nicaraguan law does not allow for a Nicaraguan child to travel to the United States to be adopted. Therefore, prospective adoptive parents must obtain a full and final adoption under Nicaraguan law before the child can immigrate to the United States. Prospective adoptive parents can expect a lengthy process to adopt a child in Nicaragua.

Important Notice: The adoption process in Nicaragua is lengthy and fraught with delays and uncertainty. The entire adoption process - when successful - can take two to three years, with twelve to eighteen months of that processing requiring the adoptive parent's physical presence in Nicaragua.

Nicaraguan law does not allow for a Nicaraguan child to travel to the United States to be adopted. Therefore, prospective adoptive parent(s) must obtain a full and final adoption under Nicaraguan law before the child can immigrate to the United States.

Please note that Nicaraguan adoption law requires a three- to six-month fostering period that must take place in Nicaragua. During this time, prospective adoptive parent(s) are expected to live with and care for the child in Nicaragua. Nicaraguan law prioritizes adoptions by Nicaraguan citizens, meaning that Nicaraguan parent(s) willing and eligible to adopt a child might jump to the head of the queue in front of non-Nicaraguans who may have already been waiting months to adopt a child. If adopting more than one child, be sure all paperwork is filed simultaneously. If not, delays will occur.

The Nicaraguan Ministry of the Family has a history of abrupt staffing changes and requesting documents from adoptive parents not initially required as part of the process. It is strongly suggested that prospective adoptive parent(s) hire a Nicaraguan attorney to assist them in keeping their adoption case on track. Few Nicaraguan government officials speak English. Please see below for a list of attorneys registered with the U.S. Embassy in Managua.

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