The International Adoption Process

Tailored to Guatemala
(adapted from information from our agency, and Guatemala Adoptive Families Network)

1. Decide to internationally adopt. Jun 06
2. Research agencies and adoption programs. Jun 06
3. Choose our wonderful agency – Hand in Hand International Adoptions. Jun 06
4. Attend Hand in Hand’s Orientation Night. 11 Jul 06
5. Submit agency application with fee of $375 and fee agreement. 26 Aug 06
6. Attend group training.
   • 1st session 29 Sep 06
   • 2nd session 10 Nov 06
7. Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. (See The List) Oct 06 – Dec 06
8. Home Study. 15 Dec 06
9. Dossier is sent to Guatemala to be translated. hand-carried to Guatemala on 16 Feb 07
10. Receive a referral (match) with child’s information and picture! 14 Feb 07
11. Send referral acceptance and sign a Power of Attorney (POA) to authorize the lawyer in Guatemala to act on our behalf during the adoption process. 15 Feb 07
12. The POA is registered in Guatemala. Feb 07
13. The lawyer submits all the documents in the case to Family Court, and petitions the Family Court to assign a social worker to investigate the case. Feb/Mar 07
14. The lawyer requests authorization from the US Embassy to have DNA testing performed on the birth mother and child to confirm that they are indeed biologically mother and child. Apr 07
15. DNA testing is done with supervision and a photo of the birth mother with the child is taken at the testing site to ascertain their identities. 4 May 07
16. Family Court social worker reviews your dossier, interviews the birth mother, sees the child in foster care or orphanage, and (almost always) approves the adoption. The social worker writes a several page report summarizing the facts of the case and attesting to the reasons that the birth mother cannot care for the child. The birth mother signs consent for adoption for second time. Mar 07
17. Meanwhile the DNA test should have been performed (4 May 07), cleared (11 May 07), and submitted to the Embassy (14 May 07) with your dossier for review and approval by the Embassy. The case cannot take the next step after Family Court until the U.S. Embassy DNA approval has been issued (9 Jul 07). This is a safeguard to prevent a situation in which a child is legally adopted under Guatemalan law, but not eligible for immigration under US law. A third consent by the birth mother is signed during the DNA process.
18. The lawyer then submits a petition for approval of the adoption case to a notarial officer of the Attorney General’s office (Procuraduria General de la Nación or PGN). (A Notary in Guatemala is an attorney with additional powers, not simply someone who certifies signatures as in the US.) 6 Aug 07
19. Notary in PGN reviews all the documents (often requesting that some be re-done because of minor spelling errors, expired notary seals, etc.) and almost always approves the adoption. The PGN may at their discretion investigate aspects of the case if they wish and as a result of that and other variations, time in this step (as in many steps) can vary widely.
20. PGN issues its approval for the adoption to proceed. 10 Oct 07 (approx.)
21. The lawyer meets the birth mother for the 4^th and final sign-off. 12 Oct 07
22. The adoption decree is then written and issued by the lawyer and the child is legally now the child of the adoptive family. 12 Oct 07
23. A new birth certificate is then issued by the Civil Registry with the child’s first and middle names unchanged, but with the names of the adoptive parent(s). 17 Oct 07
24. All documents are translated into English by certified translators, as required by US INS regulations.
25. Lawyer takes new birth certificate and applies for a Guatemalan passport (although the child is adopted by US parents, he or she is still a Guatemalan citizen). 22 Oct 07
26. Meanwhile, adoptive parents attend a pre-travel meeting. 22 Oct 07
27. Child’s passport is issued. 22 Oct 07
28. Child gets a visa photo done. 22 Oct 07
29. Lawyer takes all the paperwork back to the Embassy, including the passport, your dossier, the Family Court findings, the adoption decree, the first DNA results, all translations, and the visa photos, and requests approval for an orphan visa to enter the US. 23 Oct 07
30. The U.S. Embassy issues authorization (ORANGE) for a 2nd DNA test to make sure the child’s DNA matches the previously drawn DNA. 23 Oct 07
31. The 2nd DNA test is done on the child, and the results are sent to LabCorp for analysis. 24 Oct 07
32. LabCorp performs analysis of DNA and ships the results back to the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala. 5 Nov 07
33. U.S. Embassy in Guatemala receives DNA results from LabCorp. 7 Nov 07
34. Embassy authorizes visa. This approval is on pink paper and is called the “pink slip”.
35. Child gets an exit physical by an Embassy-approved doctor (to make sure the child doesn’t have unrecognized handicapping conditions or infectious diseases).
36. We are told our case is complete (PINK) and we travel to Guatemala.
37. The lawyer completes required INS and State Department forms for visa issuance and includes them in the document package along with the results from the exit physical.
38. We meet with our child, and our child stays with us from this point forward!
39. We bring our child and all the papers back to the Embassy early one morning (Monday – Thursday only, no visas are issued on Fridays), pay the visa fees, present the I-600 and I-864 forms (fill these out well ahead!), show our tax returns for the past 3 years (including W-2s and 1099s, plus current letters of employment or recent pay stubs) to prove we can support the child, and come back later that afternoon for our visa and sealed packet of documents.
40. Then we come back home to Colorado with our son!