GUATEMALAN PROGRAM

We are happy to extend our mission to Guatemala, this wonderful country full of culture, history and friendly people, and hope that in the near future we will be able to report many success stories from this country. This program is new for our agency, and we a currently looking for first families, the pioneers of this program! We are very excited about this opportunity to serve more children and families with this new program. Children’s International Choice will do everything possible for a prompt and successful accomplishment of every case. We are working with extremely experienced staff in Guatemala, who have been working successfully in Guatemala for many years. Below, we provide a quick overview of what the process is in Guatemala, and what are the particularities of this program.

The Process

1. Application to Children’s International, preparation of the Home Study report.
2. Preparation and completion of your dossier with Children’s International assistance, and filing with local authorities in Guatemala.
3. Obtaining of a referral; usually within 3 months of submission of a dossier.
4. DNA testing for baby & birth mother; required by the US Consulate for verification procedure.
5. Guatemalan legal process (takes 4-6 months).
6. Adoption decree issued in Guatemala; new birth certificate and Guatemalan passport issued.
7. Issuance and approval from the US Consulate in Guatemala.
8. Family travels to Guatemala City for short stay to pick up a baby, returns to US.
9. Baby receives automatic US Citizenship if seen by both parents before the adoption.

Other information and other facts

1. Very short waiting list.
2. Children’s International has multilingual Spanish-English staff.
3. English-speaking staff in Guatemala.
4. Families receive monthly medical updates on the baby after referral, as well as photo updates.
5. Possibility to meet with a birth mother.
6. Child can be escorted to the US, if travel is impossible.
7. Visits to the child during the processing (“waiting”) phase is encouraged.
8. Experienced social services staff in Guatemala and US.
9. In 2003, 2,328 children were adopted in Guatemala by US parents.
10. 77% of children adopted last year from Guatemala were under 1 year old.

Children’s International will closely work with your family throughout this sensitive process and will help your family to be well prepared for this major life event.

For further details of the Guatemala program please go to PROGRAM DETAILS.

To learn more about our services please visit our Our Services page.

For further detailed information please do not hesitate to contact us.