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Country Status
Guatemala
is currently CLOSED to new
adoptions.
- Joint
Council's Guatemala 5000 campaign has officially ended. To visit
the archive,
please see the Guatemala 5000 page.
- For a list of Joint
Council agencies working in Guatemala, please consult our
Country Programs page.
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For Parents -
Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) has created an
Adoption Chart, outlining in
detail the steps of adopting a child from Guatemala and
a
Glossary of Terms used throughout the process.

August 27, 2010
Casa Quivira
Our records show adoption petitions are still pending for about 8 of the
original 46 children who were taken into custody from Casa Quivira. In
several of the cases, the Solicitor General’s Office (PGN) has
identified irregularities and these cases must be processed as
abandonment cases through the National Council for Adoptions (CNA). The
Guatemalan government has agreed that these cases (if all requirements
have been complied with) can be processed as transition cases and will
not have to wait for the new Hague procedures to be implemented.
Semillas de Amor
In early August, the court in Chimaltenango separated five of the
Semillas de Amor cases, allowing them to proceed. Some of those children
already have visas and will hopefully be able to depart soon. Several of
the five cases have been sent to the PGN for final adjudication. We are
awaiting additional information on these cases.
Santa Lucia de las Flores
The Embassy learned in 2009 that Asociacion Santa Lucia de las Flores
Silvestres had been under investigation by the
Guatemalan Attorney General’s office since 2008. The Embassy has been in
contact with some of the prospective adoptive parents. We understand
there were at least five children indentified for adoption by American
citizens being cared for at this home. It is our understanding that many
of the children taken from this orphanage are now living in various
hogares until a judge decides on their cases. The investigation is still
underway.
Asociación Primavera
On August 13, 2009, the Embassy learned about an action by Guatemalan
authorities involving 17 children from the Hogar Asociación Primavera,
16 of whom had been matched with U.S. adoptive families. We have since
learned that the children were transferred to various hogares in
Guatemala City. A police investigation continues. The judge in Esquintla
who
approved many of the abandonment cases from Hogar Primavera, was
recently stripped of his immunity and could now face criminal charges.
On December 16, 2009, the Guatemalan press reported that Susana Maria
Luarca Saracho, a facilitator of international
adoptions for Asociación Primavera, was arrested by the Ministerio
Publico on charges of irregular adoptions. She was later released on
Q50,000 bail (just over $6,000) and is under house arrest while the
investigation continues.
As reported in the press, a lawyer linked to various illegal adoption
cases, Alma Beatriz Valle Flores de Mejia, was charged in Guatemala on
April 22, 2010 with human trafficking and using false documents, among
other charges. Valle de Mejia was implicated in 158 cases of irregular
adoptions in 2008 as part of her involvement with Asociación Primavera.
According to the charges, she formed part of a network engaged in
illegal adoptions. This network included attorney Susana Luarca Saracho
mentioned above.
Press reports state that Valle de Mejia was deported from the United
States on April 22, 2010 after she was captured in Texas for remaining
in the United States illegally after her visa expired.
Rosalinda Rivera’s Hogar
On May 6, 2008, an action was taken against a hogar on 11 Avenida 7-51,
Zona 11, Quinta Samayoa, Guatemala City.
Rosalinda Rivera was apprehended at this location and 9 infants were
removed from her custody. Ms. Rivera did not provide the necessary
paperwork to prove this was an authorized home. The children are all
living in other hogares awaiting a
decision on their case.
Embassy and USCIS consultations with the Government of Guatemala
The following are brief updates on issues or related developments on
pending adoption cases that are not under investigation or in the
courts:
Consular officers and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
officers in Guatemala City are in regular contact with Guatemalan
officials about the current situation and to look for approaches that
could streamline the process, coordinate the flow of information to
adoptive families, and permit all adoptions to move forward. In some
instances, the Ambassador has been directly involved in discussions with
Guatemalan officials on the adoption situation in Guatemala. Senior
State Department officials also regularly raise adoption issues with
their Guatemalan counterparts.
In light of allegations regarding the integrity of Guatemala’s former
adoption process, Guatemalan Government
authorities are making a concerted effort to confirm all aspects of
every case. Because of the large number of
investigations, progress overall continues to be extremely slow.
The Consular Section continues to process visa applications as soon as
the files are complete. The Department of State reminds prospective
adoptive parents of the worldwide DNA testing procedures. All second DNA
tests for adoptions must be scheduled with the U.S. Embassy’s Consular
Section. Information is available from the Consular Section at:
adoptguatemala@state.gov or http://guatemala.usembassy.gov/adop20091221.html.
Publication of adoption law regulations
The National Council for Adoptions (CNA) was confirmed as the lead
agency for adoptions of Guatemalan children for both domestic and
foreign adoptive parents. New procedures implementing the December 2007
adoption law were published by the CNA in the official newspaper in
Guatemala and went into effect on July 13, 2010.
Under these rules, Guatemalan parents will be the first to be considered
for adoption and foreigners will be considered
subsequently. According to the new regulations, a multidisciplinary team
composed of psychologists, medical doctors,
lawyers and social workers will determine whether a child can be adopted
and then will evaluate the prospective adoptive
parents to make a decision on whether to allow the adoption of that
child.
Reminder - CNA rules and procedures for Guatemala adoptions
Adopting parents are reminded that CNA issued a statement last year
telling parents they should not hire private attorneys or notaries to
process their adoptions. This announcement applies only to cases that
the CNA is processing at this time, i.e.,
pre-Convention abandonment cases or others that cannot be processed by
the PGN.
Special Advisor for International Children’s Issues Appointed
On July 1, 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced the
appointment of Ambassador Susan S. Jacobs as the Special Advisor to the
Office of Children’s Issues. This new foreign policy position will
address intercountry adoption and international parental child
abduction. In her new role, Special Advisor Jacobs will actively engage
with foreign
government officials to protect the welfare and interests of children.
Ambassador Jacobs plans to go to Guatemala in the coming months and will
meet and advocate on behalf of all adopting parents whose cases were
properly registered and are pending.
Special Advisor Jacobs has recently served as a Senior Policy Advisor in
the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular
Affairs. She is a former Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon
Islands and Vanuatu and her Foreign Service career has included tours in
Caracas, Tel Aviv, New Delhi, Bucharest, and San Salvador.
Members of Congress ask Guatemala’s President to expedite adoptions
U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and 75 other Members of Congress
signed a letter that was sent to the President of Guatemala, Alvaro
Colom, and other key Guatemalan officials, asking them to facilitate the
adoptions of approximately 400 cases. The letter discusses the fact that
these cases have been pending since at least the 2007 adoption system
reform was
enacted and the continued concern that these cases have been
inexplicably delayed.
The letter asks President Colom to create a transparent system to
protect the children, birth parents, and adopting parents.
Survey of Pending Adoption Cases
Joint Council on International Children’s Services (JCICS), the
Congressional Coalition on Adoptions Institute (CCAI) and the Guatemala
900 group are conducting a survey on behalf of the U.S. Congress and the
Guatemalan Embassy to ensure that they have up-to-date case information
on behalf of all families with pending Guatemalan adoption cases. If you
have not
already responded to the survey, you may do so at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Guatemala2010
USCIS Updates
As of June 30, 2010, USCIS Guatemala City had 396 active cases. (Note:
This total may include cases in which the petitioner has subsequently
decided to abandon the case but did not inform USCIS.) Of these cases:
355 are pre-approved and pending action by the Government of Guatemala
33 are pending U.S. petitioner action
4 cases are pending USCIS or other U.S. Government action
4 cases were transferred to Consular Section to schedule the final
appointment
USCIS Field Office Guatemala City reminds prospective adoptive parents
of the procedures for the 1st DNA test required in relinquishment cases.
All 1st DNA appointments must be scheduled by USCIS. For more
information or to schedule an appointment for DNA collection, please
contact USCIS at:
Guatemala.Adoptions@dhs.gov.
In response to frequent questions regarding transition cases in
Guatemala, USCIS developed an InfoSheet entitled Keeping Required USCIS
Documents Valid for Transition Cases. Please note this InfoSheet is only
applicable to intercountry adoption cases in Guatemala as outlined in
the document.
August 9, 2010
Guatemala Minister Counselor Fernando de la
Cerda is returning to Washington, DC on August 3, 2010 after an intense
ten day trip to Guatemala which included two meetings with Guatemala
President Alvaro Colom. Fernando is reporting significant progress in
finding solutions for moving the adoption cases of the Guatemala900
forwards towards resolution. Fernando’s efforts in Guatemala also
included individual meetings with the PGN, CNA, Court of Appeals, MP,
and with his own Department of Foreign Ministry.
On Monday, July 26th, President Colom hosted a meeting with the highest
level officials from the PGN, CNA, MP and several high level lawyers.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss adoptions, including the
resolution of the grandfathered cases. The same group along with the
Deputy Secretary of Interior and high level officials from the
Secretaría de Bienestar Social (SBS) convened again on Monday, August
2nd and will do so again today. Fernando reports that President Colom
was sympathetic to the children who are in limbo and spearheaded
discussions with the other officials about how cases can start to
accelerate towards resolution. Fernando is optimistic that end result
should be some significant measurable progress in the coming weeks and
months.
As a condition, the officials in Guatemala are requesting information on
the remaining cases. Specifically, Guatemala is asking for:
• Adoptive Family’s Names
• Child’s Name
• Biological Mother’s Name
• PGN or CNA identification Number
Fernando de la Cerda said “I cannot stress enough how important it is
that we have this information. There is no way for us to try to help
without it.”
Families can ensure that their information is provided to Guatemala by
completing the Joint Council/CCAI/GUATEMALA900 survey. Over 125 families
have already completed the survey, and their information has already
been sent to Guatemala. Fernando de la Cerda indicated that the Dept. of
Foreign Ministry has already started to process the families information
that was provided. Guatemala indicated that they need to have ALL of the
families information for the next meeting with President Colom. Joint
Council, CCAI, and Guatemala900 will send any addition family
information as it becomes available. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT FAMILIES
COMPLETE THE SURVEY!
Click here to
participate in the Joint Council/CCAI/Guatemala900 Survey
July 20, 2010
Two and a half years
following the closure of adoptions from Guatemala, many of the
families who lovingly made the decision to adopt from Guatemala
continue to face unimaginable challenges. Joint Council, along with
our partners at Guatemala900 and the Congressional Coalition on
Adoption Institute (CCAI) have continually worked together to
advocate for a timely and transparent process for uniting waiting
children with the families who have committed to them. Due in large
part to the Guatemala 900’s successful briefing on Capitol Hill,
Members of Congress have increased their diplomatic efforts with the
Government of Guatemala. In doing so, they have found that they are
lacking a source of definitive data about the waiting cases and have
been told that this same lack of data is a barrier to the Guatemalan
Embassy’s efforts to assist waiting families. Therefore, Members of
Congress have asked Joint Council, CCAI, and Guatemala900 to develop
and distribute a comprehensive survey for families still in the
process.
We
understand that it has been a long and exhausting process for all
involved. We also appreciate that you have been asked for this type
of information time and time again. That being said, the survey is
a vitally important means of gathering the information so that
Members of Congress can properly advocate for all of the remaining
transition children and the families who continue hope to adopt
them. Having all of the information in one database will allow us
to continually gauge the situation in Guatemala, the veracity of
some of the reports given, assess the number of families in each
stage of the process, and provide accurate data to those seeking to
advocate on behalf of families and children. The collection of
similar information was gathered during the closure of intercountry
adoption in Cambodia and was instrumental in the completion of
virtually all adoptions. While no one can make promises of such
results, we do feel confident, that the survey results will be an
important tool in assisting Members of Congress and the Guatemalan
Embassy to properly address the current issues.
In order to be
most effective with the survey results it is critically important
that all families currently in
the adoption process with Guatemala complete the appropriate survey
by Wednesday, July 28, 2010. The surveys can be found
via a link on the homepage of the Joint Council website (www.jcics.org)
or directly at
Joint Council Guatemala Survey.
Joint
Council, Guatemala900, and CCAI encourages all families to
participate in this very important initiative. Further, we request
that individuals not complete the survey unless they are still in
the process of adopting, any individuals filling out the survey to
"see what the questions are" could drastically skew these very
important results.
April 2, 2010 - U.S. Dept of State
Statement
December 4, 2009 - U.S. Dept of State
submits letter of intent
Joint Council can confirm
that the U.S. Department of State has submitted a letter of interest to
the Guatemalan government regarding participation in the pilot program
announced by the Central Authority of Guatemala.
Related to the pilot program and the letter of intent, we bring you
attention to the following:
Neither the pilot program nor the letter of interest should be construed
as the ‘reopening’ of a Guatemalan intercountry adoption program with
the U.S.
While potential adoptive
parents may initiate a Hague adoption by submitting an I-800A with the
National Benefits Center for a Guatemalan adoption, it is our
understanding the application cannot be processed through to a completed
adoption.
It is Joint Council’s
understanding, that no country, which is a party to the Hague Convention
on Intercountry Adoption, has indicated that Guatemala is compliant with
the Convention.
It is Joint Council’s understanding is that eight (8) countries have
submitted a letter of interest. Currently Guatemala has not selected any
countries for participation in the pilot program and has not accredited
any Adoption Service Providers.
The Government of Guatemala has not published a time-line for country
selection nor initiation of the pilot program.
The Government of Guatemala has not provided assurances that the pilot
program will actually be initiated.
The Government of Guatemala has not published the criteria by which they
intend to accredit foreign adoption service providers. Based on the
announcement published on the Guatemalan Central Authority’s website,
only one (1) adoption service provider will be selected per country for
participation in the pilot program.
Additionally, over the past two-year period, the Guatemalan Central
Authority has made little if any progress in developing a Hague
compliant process or implementing programs to support, process and
finalize domestic adoption. This combined with continued delays in
providing sufficient shelter and nutrition to children living outside of
parental care all point to an indefinite period before the announced
pilot program will be initiated and if the pilot program will actually
be initiated.
It is therefore the recommendation of Joint Council that potential
adoptive parents refrain from submitting an I800A application for a
Guatemalan adoption at this time. We also encourage all to limit their
enthusiasm for an imminent “reopening” of Guatemalan intercountry
adoption.
November 30, 2009 - Update on Guatemala
It
is Joint Council's understanding that the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala
City will begin processing 2nd DNA tests for grandfathered cases
this week. As noted by Joint Council on November 9, 2009, the Embassy
temporarily stopped processing 2nd DNA tests. It is our understanding
that there will be new procedures, including samples taken at the U.S.
Embassy with a U.S. Consular Officer present. Joint Council is
consulting with the U.S. Dept of State and the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala
City to gain further understanding of the situation. Joint Council
will continue update our membership and our website as more information
becomes available.
November 24, 2009 - Announcement by the
Guatemalan CNA
Based on multiple
conversations with key stakeholders, the following represents Joint
Council’s understanding of the recent announcement by the Guatemalan
government.
Announcement by the Guatemalan CNA
As announced on November 20, 2009, by the Guatemalan National Adoption
Council (CNA), letters of intent are being accepted by the CNA for
participation in a planned intercountry adoption pilot program. While no
date has been announced regarding the initiation of the 2-year pilot
program, the deadline for letters of intent is December 3, 2009. It
should be noted that the CNA is accepting letters of intent from Central
Authorities only. The invitation to submit a letter of intent is not
extended to Adoption Service Providers (ASPs).
The pilot program will involve a limited number of Central Authorities
and one (1) ASP from each country chosen for the pilot program. At this
time, the CNA has not published criteria for selecting participation by
the Central Authority or ASP. Additionally, no time-line, other than the
December 3, 2009, deadline for submission of letters of intent, has been
announced.
To date, the CNA has not given any public indication of which countries
will be chosen for the pilot program. In Joint Council’s assessment, it
would be premature and presumptive to assume that the United States will
either be chosen or not chosen for the pilot program.
Central Authority of the United States
It is also our understanding that the Department of State is currently
making a determination as to their submission of a letter of intent to
the CNA. Joint Council strongly encourages the Department of State to
pursue potential participation in the pilot program by submitting a
letter of intent by December 3 2009.
Summary
We respectfully bring attention to the nature of the announcement by the
CNA in that:
-
No timeline for
implementation of the pilot program was announced,
-
Only Central Authorities
may submit a letter of intent,
-
No criteria for
selecting Central Authorities and/or APS has been established,
-
The Department of State
has not finalized a decision regarding submission of a letter of
intent,
To date, submissions of
I-800A applications with the U.S. National Benefits Center for adoptions
from Guatemala are being accepted but not processed.
In our assessment, U.S. based Adoption Service Providers and
potential adoptive families should not assume that intercountry
adoptions between the United States and Guatemala will begin in the near
future.
October 19, 2009 - Notice from Department
of State
Dear Prospective adoptive families,
stakeholders in Guatemalan adoptions:
As promised, we will continue to update you
on the latest information we received from the Gautemalan
government regarding adoptions in Guatemala. The Consejo
Nacional de Adociones (CNA) provided the US Embassy in Guatemala the
two attached
documents: 1) requesting prospective adoptive parents send the CNA case
information and 2) advising prospective parents against hiring private
attorneys or notaries to process adoptions. Parents may have
someone, could be an attorney, to be able to act on their behalf to
submit documents or answer questions. We understand that this
message from CNA will not affect every prospective adoptive parent
currently adopting in Guatemala. It only applies to those
adoptions that will be processed by the CNA. The attached
documents, in the original Spanish and English translation, explain how
the CNA is currently processing adoption cases. For more
information on this issue and where to send your case information,
please visit www.cna.gob.gt
October 7, 2009 - Alert from the
Department of State for "Hogar" Cases
In Guatemala, a number of private child care
facilities or “hogares” have traditionally provided care for
children. Some of these hogars were closely associated with
the intercountry adoption process and provided care
specifically for children awaiting adoption. Allegations of
adoption irregularities have prompted Guatemalan officials
to conduct a wide-ranging investigation that has included
many of these facilities. A number of hogars have been
investigated to determine if they were properly licensed, if
the operators had appropriate documentation for the children
in their care, and if there were illegalities in the
adoptions arranged by the hogars. Some of the hogars have
been accused of baby stealing and selling. These
investigations have had a direct impact on processing of
adoptions for children destined for the United States. It
should be noted that the Embassy is not informed when these
investigations are undertaken and is not a party to the
legal process. Therefore, the Embassy is not formally
notified of the legal status or the outcome of the
investigations or of any legal determinations that may
result. The information below is a summary of what we have
learned informally.
The United States recognizes
the responsibility of the Guatemalan government to ensure
the protection and wellbeing of its citizens, particularly
of Guatemalan children who are its most vulnerable
citizens. We have and will continue to urge the Guatemalan
government to conduct its investigations as expeditiously as
possible and to ensure that any decisions made are with the
best interests of the children as the foremost criteria.
Casa Quivira
According to our records, adoptions petitions are
still pending for 16 of the original 46 children who were
taken into custody from Casa Quivira. For several of the
cases, the Solicitor General’s Office (PGN) has identified
irregularities and will have to be processed as abandonment
cases through the CNA. The Guatemalan government has agreed
that these cases (if all requirements have been complied
with) can be processed as transition cases and will not have
to wait for the new procedures to be drafted and
implemented.
A decision was issued by Judge Mena earlier this year
determining adoptability of the children including those
already adopted and living in the United States. However,
some errors were found in the final resolution and the
Office of the Solicitor General (PGN) appealed the judge’s
decision. An appeal hearing by the Sala on August 12 did
not lead to a final resolution on the adoptability of the
children. A legal representative for some of the parents
urged a swift resolution to the cases.
Semillas de Amor
In March of this year, the Guatemala judiciary
scheduled hearings for more than 50 Semillas de Amor cases
to determine the eligibility of the children for adoption,
including some who were already adopted and living in the
United States. On the last day of closing arguments, a
petition was filed with the Court of Appeals (Sala) asking
the presiding judge to be removed.
On September 10, we learned
that the Sala ruled against the removal request, allowing
the original judge to resume her proceedings at the same
place where they were stopped, which was the last day of
closing arguments. This will likely result in a more prompt
resolution of these cases, since the hearings do not have to
start over again from the beginning. However, we cannot
predict how soon the judge will announce her final decision.
Santa Lucia de las
Flores
The Embassy has learned that Asociacion Santa Lucia
de la Flores Silvestres has been under investigation by the
Guatemalan Attorney General’s office since last year. The
Embassy has been in contact with some of the prospective
adoptive parents. We understand there were at least five
children indentified for adoption by American citizens being
cared for at this home. Many of the children taken from
this orphanage are now living in various private hogars
until a judge decides on their cases.
Asociacion Primavera
On August 13, the Embassy learned about an action
by Guatemalan authorities involving 16 children from the
hogar Asociacion Primavera. We have since learned that the
children were transferred to the following private hogares:
Casa Alegría, Casa Bernabé, and Amor del Niño. As a result
of the investigation, the judge in Esquintla who approved
the abandonment cases from Hogar Primavera is now under
criminal indictment.
Rosalinda Rivera’s
Hogar
On May 6, 2008 an action was taken against a hogar
on 11 Avenida 7-51, zona 11, Quinta Samayoa, Guatemala
City. Rosalinda Rivera was apprehended at this location and
9 infants were removed from her custody. Ms. Rivera did not
provide the necessary paperwork to prove this was an
authorized home. The children are all living in new hogars
awaiting a decision on their case.
July 14, 2009
Many
of the families who lovingly made the decision to adopt from Guatemala
prior to the closure on January 1, 2008 continue to face
unimaginable challenges. Joint Council, through our Guatemala 5000
initiative, has continually advocated for families and the
children who need them. In
order to best guide our advocacy efforts in May 2009 Joint
Council announced a survey of intercountry adoption cases from Guatemala
still in progress. This survey was a follow-up to our survey in
September 2008. The Summary
Report detailing the results of the survey can be found
here. A more detailed summary of the results can be found
here.
June 4, 2009
As stated in
yesterday’s posting by Hannah Wallace, families and friends committed to
the chuildren of Guatemalan will launch the
Guatemala 900 Campaign on June 17th in Washington
DC. The launch of the campaign will include a rally, speaches, a march
from the White House to the Capitol and a candlelight vigil at the
Guatemalan Embassy.
While not officially
affiliated with Joint Council, the Guatemala 900 Campaign has a goal in
parallel to the ongoing Joint Council Guatemala 5000 Initiative: a
family for every Guatemalan child. Joint Council has and will continue
to work with many of the campaigns organizers and we fully support the
goals of the Guatemala 900 Campaign.
On June 17th,
the Guatemala 900 Campaign will become a voice for the 900 children
whose adoptions have yet to be completed despite 18 months of
investigations, court hearings and interviews. The campaign will
advocate with the U.S. and Guatemalan governments to ensure a quick and
final resolution of all cases and an end to the victimization of
Guatemalan children.
Detailed
information can be found at
www.guatemala900.org
June 1, 2009
As we all know, many
of the families who lovingly made the decision to adopt from Guatemala
prior to the closure on January 1, 2008 continue to face
unimaginable challenges. Joint Council, through our Guatemala 5000
initiative, has continually advocated for families and the
children who need them. In
conversations with Members of Congress they have indicated an
interest and willingness to help the situation. In order capitalize
on this and best define our future advocacy efforts we need to have
the current and most accurate information available regarding the
number of cases still in process and hurdles faced. Unfortunately,
the number of cases still yet to be completed is unknown due to a
vast array of numbers provided to us from CNA, PGN, the MP, and the
U.S. Embassy in Guatemala. Therefore a second
survey, a follow-up to our survey in September 2008, is now
available through the Joint Council website. The survey is
a vitally important means of gathering the information
in order to properly advocate for the
children and the families who hope to adopt them.
The survey will allow us to
gauge the situation in Guatemala,
assess the number of families in each stage of the process, and
provide accurate data to those seeking to advocate on behalf of
families and children. The cumulative data (no personal information
will be shared unless specifically indicated on the survey) will be
provided to organizations such as the Congressional Coalition on
Adoption Institute and individual Members of Congress. The
collection of similar information was gathered during the closure of
intercountry adoption in Cambodia and was instrumental in the
completion of virtually all adoptions. While no one can make
promises of such results, we do feel confident, through our
discussion with key stakeholders, that the survey results will be an
important tool in positively resolving many outstanding issues.
In order to be most effective with the survey
results it is critically important that
all families currently in the
adoption process with
Guatemala complete the appropriate
survey by Tuesday, June 9th, 2009.
The surveys can be found via a link on the homepage of the Joint
Council website (www.jcics.org)
or directly at Joint Council
Guatemala Survey.
Joint Council encourages
all families to participate in this very important initiative.
Further, we request that individuals not complete the survey unless
they are still in the process of adopting, any individuals filling
out the survey to "see what the questions are" could drastically
skew these very important results.
We also encourage everyone to distribute this
information to all families via email, websites, blogs and other
media. Copies of this email announcement may be forwarded as needed
in order to distribute this information.
When distributing, please ensure that the live links in this email
are active.
Thank you!
March 17, 2009 -
As part of Joint Council's ongoing Guatemala
5000 campaign, we have continually advocated for the ethical and legal
finalization of all adoptions initiated prior to the closure of
intercountry adoption in Guatemala. Most recently Joint Council traveled
to Guatemala immediately following the visit by Deputy Assistant
Secretary Michelle Bond. Since our advocacy in Guatemala Joint Council
has over the past 6 weeks remained in dialogue with Guatemalan and US
officials. As we pledged when initiating the Guatemala 5000 campaign,
our advocacy will not end until all transition cases have been legally
and ethically finalized.
We are therefore very pleased to announce
that after 18 long months, with one exception, the remaining children of
Casa Quivera are now free to have their adoptions finalized. Judge Mena
issued her decision allowing for the completion of the adoptions on
Friday, March 13th. Friday and Monday are considered the notification
period with Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as the appeal period. Our
understanding is that the adoptions can move forward on Friday, March
20th.
We are also very pleased to announce that 8
children of Semillas de Amor received similar rulings from the judge
overseeing their cases. It is our continued hope that the adoptions of
all 8 children will be complete within the next 3 weeks.
Given the intensive investigations
surrounding the adoptions of the children of Casa Quivera and Semillas
de Amor, no irregularities were found in any of the recent rulings by
these two judges.
Joint Council offers our continued
admiration to the adoptive parents of Casa Quivera and Semillas de Amor
for their tenacious commitment to the children of Guatemala.
February 5, 2009 -
Joint Council has released its latest position paper, entitled
Guatemala: One Year Later, as part of
our ongoing Guatemala initiative. We are not asking for calls or emails
from families at this time. Please continue to visit the Joint Council
website for further updates on our advocacy work on behalf of the
children of Guatemala.
February 2, 2009 -
Joint Council
has received confirmation that the
U.S. Department of
State Deputy Assistant Secretary for American Citizen Services traveled
to Mexico, Costa Rica and Guatemala the week of January 26, 2009.
During her time in each country, Secretary Bond met with officials
regarding intercountry adoption.
Following Secretary
Bond’s visit, Joint Council’s Tom DiFilipo arrived in Guatemala and is
scheduled to meet with representatives of PGN, Bienestar Social, the
Guatemalan Central Authority, the U.S. Consular office, UNICEF and
American adoptive families waiting to complete their adoptions.
The goal of Joint
Council’s time in Guatemala is to advocate for the completion of all
transition adoptions (where no issues of concern are present), to
advance the implementation of the Hague Convention, and to offer
assistance in developing services for the children and families of
Guatemala.
Joint Council will
publish the result of our advocacy trip upon its completion and hopes to
report on progress towards the completion of pending adoptions.
December 23, 2008
The U.S. Department of State has released the following update on Casa
Quivira and Semillas de Amor cases:
Casa Quivira
According to our records, fourteen of
the original 46 children who were living at Casa Quivira when it was
first investigated by police have adoption cases still pending. For each
of these fourteen, the PGN has identified irregularities ranging from
clerical errors or missing documents to suspected fraud. Six have been
reclassified as abandonment cases, and their adoptions will have to be
processed under Guatemala's new adoption law, once those procedures have
actually been finalized. We continue to press the Government of
Guatemala to resolve the remaining cases. Judge Mena is expected to
release her decision before the Christmas holidays. The Prosecutor's
office has informed us that it does not intend to file a blanket appeal
to this decision; however, once the decision is released, each case will
be individually reviewed and appeals may be filed in some cases in which
there appears to be significant irregularities.
Semillas de Amor
The Embassy continues to meet with representatives of Semillas de Amor,
adoptive parents, and Government of Guatemala officials to explore
options for moving forward with these cases and to urge that cases by
resolved as quickly as possible. We understand investigations into
possible irregularities in these cases have not been completed.
|
October
20, 2008
The following details Joint Council’s understanding of the
process and requirements
for a Guatemalan adoption which
was initiated as a relinquishment but is now considered an
abandonment case. We
recognize that this information is certain to generate
numerous questions and requests for clarification. Please
note that the following represent all of the information
available at this time. Joint Council and USCIS are
actively seeking further clarification and will
publish any additional information provided by the
Guatemalan or U.S. governments.
Relinquishment to Abandonment Process
-
For
those cases which were initiated as relinquishment cases
but are now determined by the Guatemalan government to
be abandonment cases,
USCIS is not requiring
potential adoptive parents to withdraw their initial
I-600A petitions nor submit an I-800A petition.
-
Potential adoptive parents are strongly encouraged
to maintain a valid status for the I-600A approval (aka
I-171H) via the newly announced ‘grandfather’
provisions. In the case of Guatemala, letting an
I-600A application lapse could cause a family to
wait an undetermined about of time, possibly into
years.
-
USCIS
is requiring the following documentation for these
cases.
-
Adoption consent properly filled out with signatures
legalized in an authorized format.
-
Child’s birth certificate in literal form with
corresponding annotation of the courts resolution.
-
Original certificate of resolution of declaration of
the violation of the human rights of the minor,
issued by the Guatemalan competent court of
abandonment
-
Notorial deed of appointment granted by the minor’s
legal representative
-
Legalization certificate for the copies presented
-
All documents that are not originals must be
authenticated
-
All documents must be submitted in person by the
attorney or Potential Adoptive Parents.
-
All documents must be submitted to the Consular
Section entrance of the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala
City at 7:00 a.m. (Monday to Thursday) in order to
request a number for the public adoptions window
#10.
-
Documents must be submitted as soon as the Potential
Adoptive Parents are aware that the process has been
changed from relinquishment to abandonment and before
all other final documents are submitted to USCIS.
Joint
Council respectfully requests your cooperation in refraining
from contacting us directly, at this time, concerning
questions and/or comments regarding this specific issue.
We look forward to further information and clarifications
from USCIS and will continue to publish any new information. |
October 14, 2008
According to
preliminary results of a survey conducted in August 2008 by Joint
Council, over 600 children referred to families adopting from Guatemala
still remain without their families. 56 % of the over 500 families
surveyed indicate that their case has been released by the CNA to PGN
for final processing. 37% indicated that their case had been released by
the PGN.
Of the families whose
cases had been released by PGN, only 11.5% reported having received
passports from the Guatemalan government. Frustration levels among those
surveyed were extremely high, significant frustration pointing towards
the Guatemalan government’s implementation of the Hague and slow
processing times of the CNA, PGN, along with the long wait for
post-adoption birth certificates. Many also expressed surprise at what
they perceived to be lack of concern on the part of the US government.
Joint Council is
devoted to ensuring that children who were referred to families before
January 1,2008, and whose cases have followed the necessary steps
indicated by the US and Guatemalan governments arrive home to their
families. Joint Council will continue to fight for the rights of these
children.
September 29, 2008
The Department of State has released
the following statement:
Lic. Elizabeth Hernandez de Larios, President of the Directive Council
of the National Council on Adoption (CNA), confirms that CNA will not
accept any new adoption cases at this time. The halt is to enable CNA
to work on establishing guidelines to use in accrediting adoption
agencies for intercountry adoptions and to focus on completing
transition cases.
The CNA indicates that there were 883
cases that were not submitted by the August 31, 2008 deadline for the
verification process. Those cases will be turned over to the Guatemalan
courts as abandonment cases. In order to ensure that those cases get
quick attention, CNA felt it was necessary to stop accepting new cases
at this time.
Lic. De Larios does not view the halt as long term and expects that CNA
will be ready to complete Hague requirements by January 2009. More
information about CNA’s decision may be found on its website, http://www.cna.gob.gt.
September 3,
2008
Joint Council thanks all families
currently in the adoption process with Guatemala who completed our
Guatemala survey.
Survey results are still being compiled but will be posted once the
results have been assessed.
Following is a summary of this important initiative:
As part of our ongoing
efforts, we have joined forces with Ethica and the National Council for
Adoption to provide a new tool in our collective advocacy
initiative. A survey for families trying to adopt from Guatemala is now available
through the Joint Council website. This survey is a vitally important means of gathering the information our
three organizations need to properly advocate for adoptive families.
This survey will allow us to gauge the situation in each country, assess
the number of families in each stage of the process and provide accurate
data to those seeking to advocate on behalf of families and children.
The survey results will be an important tool in positively resolving
many outstanding issues. This survey will assist the families as well, by providing them with a
new accurate perspective and relevant information regarding the status
of their adoption as compared to other adoptive families.
Joint Council, Ethica
and NCFA
offer our thanks for
your role in making this initiative successful as we continue to
advocate for every child’s right to a safe, permanent and loving family.
July 30, 2008
The
Congressional Coalition on Adoption has invited the U.S. Department of
State Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services to conduct a briefing of Congressional staffers on
issues related to intercountry adoption in
Vietnam,
Guatemala along
with issues related to intercountry adoption in general.
The briefing is scheduled for this Friday, August 1, 2008 in the
U.S. Capitol Building, LBJ Room at 10:00 a.m.
Given the pending
suspension of intercountry adoption and related services in
Vietnam and the
continuing issues of concern in
Guatemala, Joint
Council urges participation by Congressional staffers.
It is critically important that staffers participate in the U.S. Government’s role in international
children’s services, specifically intercountry adoption.
Given the impact of current issues on children and families,
Joint Council urges 100% participation by staff in this
very important briefing.
In order to gain the
largest possible participation,
please choose to contact your
Congressional offices and
ask them to participate by sending a staff
member.
-
Contact information
for U.S. Senator’s offices can be found at
www.senate.gov.
-
Contact information
for
U.S.
Representatives offices can be found at
www.house.gov.
If you choose to
contact your representatives, please do so today by email or phone call,
and request that they send staff to Friday’s briefing.
This briefing follows
the briefing conducted for Congressional Staff last Friday, July 25th
by child advocates and experts including Joint Council.
These briefings
on the ongoing issues related to international children’s services is
critically important to the
continuation of intercountry adoption as a viable solution for children
in need.
July 29, 2008
On Friday, July 26,
2008, Joint Council participated in a briefing of over 60 Congressional
offices on issues related to international children’s services with
particular attention to intercountry adoption in
Vietnam and
Guatemala.
The panel presented
varying perspectives on the issues facing intercountry adoption in
Vietnam and
Guatemala.
With regard to Guatemala, the continuing problem associated with
a lack of substantiated information from the Guatemalan government, the
continued delays in processing grandfathered adoption cases, the lack of
movement in creating a new child welfare system and the potential
problems associated with the capacity of the U.S. Embassy to work with
the Guatemalan government and provide timely information and advocacy on
behalf of U.S. citizens and Guatemalan children were also addressed in
detail.
The panel also
provided information to the Congressional offices on ways in which
Congress can support international children’s services, maintain the
viability of intercountry adoption as an important element in providing
children with permanent families and advocating for their constituents
seeking to adopt a child in need of a family.
Among a variety of
suggestions, the panel suggested the creation of a U.S. Government Task
Force for
Guatemala which
would provide the needed resources to effectively communicate with the
Guatemalan government and provide needed information and advocacy for
potential adoptive parents.
In addition to Joint
Council President Tom DiFilipo, Lynn Song, Executive Director of Joint
Council Member Organization Ethica Inc., Susan Cox, Vice-President of
Holt International and Vice-Chairperson of Joint Council’s Board of
Directors, along with Tom Atwood and Chuck Johnson, respectively
President and Vice-President of the National Council For Adoption
participated in the briefing. Joint Council extends
its appreciation to the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute
and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Co-Chairs for coordinating
the two-hour briefing and to all Congressional staff who chose to
attend.
June 17, 2008
The Department of State
has released the following statement on the release of cases:
The new Guatemalan
Solicitor General (Procuradoría General de la Nación) or “PGN”) advised
the U.S. Embassy on June 3 that he planned to release approximately 300
cases that had been approved by the former Solicitor General, but which
he had previously decided should also pass though the comprehensive
review process. Those cases were released on June 5. The Deputy
Solicitor General told the Embassy on June 10 that additional cases,
both approved recommendations and requests for more evidence, are being
released on a regular basis. Guatemalan legal representatives should
inform families as soon as their child’s case has been released.
The Embassy has no backlog of adoption cases. The Immigrant Visa Unit is
scheduling final immigrant visa interviews for one week after receipt of
the matching DNA results and the approved final case from USCIS.
Currently, about 35 adoption immigrant visa interviews are being
scheduled each week, but the Embassy has the capacity to schedule up to
120 adoption cases a week if additional final adoption cases are
received.
The Embassy maintains close communication with the PGN and has expressed
the hope that the review of the approximately 1,300 remaining cases can
be accomplished as quickly as possible. The Embassy understands that
the new PGN has reviewed over 800 cases to date. Of those, the PGN/CNA
has found 22 cases that are not approvable. The Deputy Solicitor
General reported on June 13 that 452 of the reviewed cases complied with
all PGN requirements and were ready for final processing. Another 350
cases were found to have no serious problems, but legal representatives
would still be asked to submit additional information.
June 16, 2008
The Department of State
has released a
FAQs: Responses to Questions Raised With Us on Adoptions in Guatemala
statement regarding the birthmother interviews and transition cases on
their website, in addition to an
Adoption Reform Fact Sheet to address general questions and the Casa
Quivira cases.
June 6, 2008
Joint Council is
pleased to announce that PGN has released approximately 230 adoption
cases today. At this time, there is no estimate of the number of cases
with previos, versus the number of cases without. Upon the release of
cases by PGN, Joint Council will be providing estimates of the number of
cases without previos. Joint Council extends its appreciation to PGN for
its release of these cases. We will continue to work with PGN and key
stakeholders in
Guatemala
on the review of the adoption procedure.
June 5, 2008
Joint Council remains
seriously concerned about the status of the approximately 2,600 pending
adoptions currently being reviewed. It is our
understanding that over 260 adoptions have been cleared of serious
irregularities yet have not been released by PGN for finalization.
For those children whose adoptions have been cleared of any
irregularities, it is clearly in the children’s best interest for PGN to
release their cases and for the children to be united with their
adoptive family. Joint Council again urges the PGN to immediately
release all such adoption cases.
Joint Council also
calls upon the Guatemalan authorities to recognize and validate the
approximately 200 adoption cases registered with the CNA during the
first of two registration periods. It is our
understanding that the adoptions of these 200 children can not move
forward through the review/interview process due to an error in
registering the cases during the second registration period.
In the best interest of these children, Joint Council continues
to advocate, through direct communication with the CNA and PGN, for the
adoptions of these children to be recognized and reviewed.
On Thursday, May 29,
2008, PGN released an initial group of 23 adoption cases.
Of the 23, 4 were without previos and
can continue through to finalization of the adoption.
The remaining 19 contained previos
and will require modifications and a re-submission to PGN.
It should be noted that the previos
and re-submission do not appear to be specific to the review process but
rather are similar in nature to those previos
issued under the notorial process.
We
continue to advocate for a timely conclusion to the review process
including birthmother interviews. These requests
were clearly articulated during our recent meetings in
Guatemala and have
again been reiterated in a letter to PGN on Wednesday, June 4, 2008.
Joint Council has also communicated this request to
all other key stakeholders.
Joint Council
congratulates those children and families who can now finalize their
adoptions and the PGN for responding to collective requests to initiate
the release of cases found to be free of significant irregularities.
Joint Council will continue to call upon the PGN and CNA to
ensure the rights of Guatemalan children through a timely conclusion of
the review/interview process and the release all valid adoption cases.
June 2, 2008
On May 27-28, 2008,
Joint Council Guatemala Representative Roberto Echeverría, President Tom
DiFilipo and Caucus Co-chair Chris Huber conducted meetings with the key
Guatemalan child welfare stakeholders. They met with officials in the
Guatemalan PGN, CNA, SBS along with representatives of UNICEF-Guatemala
and the U.S. Consular General.
Joint Council was
invited to witness case reviews and birthmother interviews being
conducted as part of the government’s review of all pending adoption
cases. We are pleased to report that the interviews appeared to be
conducted in a professional and respectful manner. Joint Council is
aware of the reports of maltreatment of birthmothers and children and
expressed our concerns to PGN and CNA officials.
Based on our
observations, conversations with various involved parties, the format of
the interviews and the relatively low number of irregularities
discovered, it is Joint Council’s assessment that episodes of
maltreatment were incidental and have been resolved. The review
process while initially reported to last 30-days will take longer than
anticipated. Until such time as those cases found to be without
irregularities are released and finalized, we consider the review
process to be a functional stoppage of the adoptions.
While some have
reported that new regulations designed to fully implement
the Hague Convention have
been finalized, it is our finding that the regulations remain in early
draft stage with an initial draft targeted for late June. The Chilean
and Colombian governments along with UNICEF-Guatemala have contributed
to the regulations and upon completion will be reviewed by the Hague
Permanent Bureau prior to implementation.
Joint Council has
submitted a Memorandum of Understanding with the CNA which in part will
provide a formalized process for our contributions to the regulations.
The MOU also offers assistance in creating a broad spectrum of family
and child services including regional service centers and family
preservation.
We
will continue to monitor the progress of the review process, advocate
for appropriate levels of scrutiny, the completion of valid adoptions
and the establishment of functional permanency services for families and
children.
May 29, 2008
Joint Council
representatives Tom DiFilipo and Bruce Mossburg have returned from their
visit to Guatemala, where they met with key stakeholders. An update on
their meetings with elected officials and their advocacy work will be
released next week.
May 28, 2008
The U.S. Department of
State has released the following statement regarding the PGN Visit to
Semillas de Amor "Seeds of Love" foster care home:
The U.S. Embassy was
advised by the Director of Semillas de Amor (Seeds of Love) foster care
home in Antigua that the facility was visited by the office of the
Procuradoría General de la Nación (Office of the Guatemalan Solicitor
General) or “PGN” last week on suspicion that the 51 children living
there did not possess the documents necessary to be adopted. None of
the children were removed from Semillas de Amor. The Director was able
to provide the necessary documentation for all but three of the
children, whose documents were said to have been in Guatemala City that
day, where they were being reviewed by the Central Authority. The
Embassy remains in contact with the Government of Guatemala and will
report any further developments with the Semillas de Amor.
May 16, 2008
Joint
Council has issued a statement regarding the ongoing events in
Guatemala,
including the review of all pending adoption cases, birthmother
interviews, and two raids on Semillas de
Amor.
Joint Council continues to
engage in dialogue with
our Guatemala Caucus Co-chairs, our Guatemalan Representative, the
Department of State, the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala, the Congressional
Coalition on Adoption Institute, Members of the U.S. Congress, and PGN.
Joint
Council also wishes to express its concern with the manner in which some
birthmother interviews are taking place. Reports of
abusive techniques undermine the integrity of the process and may in
fact be violations of the privacy and human rights of the birthmother.
Joint Council has called on all parties, including the U.S.
Government, to assist in the resolution of those cases where
birthmothers have alleged that their children were stolen, or where the
birthmother was tricked into participating in a DNA test. Failure
to positively resolve the accusations and assist these birthmothers may
be a violation of their basic human rights.
Joint
Council is reviewing additional advocacy options and may travel to
Guatemala as early
as next week. In the meantime, it will continue to pursue its advocacy
efforts through ongoing dialogue and correspondence with all key
stakeholders.
May 6, 2008
On April
16-19, 2008, Joint Council and its Guatemala Caucus Co-chairs, including
Bruce Mossberg of Bethany Christian Services, Chris Huber of FTIA, and
Margaret Orr of Small Miracles, traveled to Guatemala to assess the
current situation regarding permanency services, establish and
strengthen working relationships with key stakeholders, and offer
assistance to the government in developing their child protection and
permanency services. The delegation met with the Executive Director and
Vice-Director of the Guatemala Central Authority, the Director of
Bienestar Sociale,
the Director of SOSEP, the U.S. Consul General, John Lowell, and the
U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala, James Derham.
Additional meetings were also held with current service providers.
Immediately after the trip, Joint Council appointed Roberto
Echeverria as Joint Council Guatemala
Representative. Mr. Echeverria will
significantly increase the effectiveness of Joint Council’s advocacy
efforts within Guatemala.
Joint
Council will soon publish an update on the status of the 2,900
transition cases currently in crisis and our collective advocacy
efforts.
April 29, 2008
The U.S. Department of State has
issued the following update regarding
adoptions from Guatemala:
The new Guatemalan
Solicitor General (Procuradoría General de la Nación) or “PGN” advised
the U.S. Embassy on April 29 that it plans to review all adoption cases
physically present in the PGN office, including those that may have
already been approved by the PGN under its former leadership. The PGN
emphasized that cases approved by their office should be transparent.
The PGN indicated that in certain cases they will require the presence
of the birth mother and child to verify identification. They confirmed
their intention to identify any cases that are readily approvable and to
release them as soon as they have been reviewed.
The Embassy continues to be in frequent communication with the PGN and
has expressed the hope that the review of cases can be accomplished as
quickly as possible, in the best interests of the children who have
already spent months separated from their birth parents and are in need
of permanent homes.
March 28, 2008
On December 31, 2007, the Hague
Convention went into force in Guatemala. On April 1, 2008, the Hague
Convention goes into force with respect to the United States. With the
Convention in force in both countries and with Guatemala not currently
having a functional Hague compliant intercountry adoption process, new
adoptions between the United States and Guatemala can not be processed.
Until such time that Guatemala has a functional Hague compliant process
for intercountry adoptions, USCIS can not process I800-A or I800
petitions for Guatemala as of April 1, 2008.
It is the current assessment of Joint
Council that intercountry adoption and other permanency services will
not be viable options for Guatemalan orphans until some time in 2009.
Pending Adoptions
Please note that both DOS and USCIS
will continue to process all adoptions where the I600-A petition was
filed prior to April 1, 2008. Similarly, the Guatemalan government has
reported that all adoptions cases appropriately registered with the CNA
on or before February 12, 2008 will be processed.
Questionable
Practices
It has been reported that some
potential adoptive parents and their agents are attempting to process
adoptions where the case was not properly registered with the CNA prior
to February 12, 2008. It has also been reported that some adoption
service providers are informing potential adoptive parents that new
intercountry adoptions cases will be immediately processed after April
1, 2008. These two types of cases may be in serious jeopardy. Joint
Council strongly urges any potential adoptive parent to contact a Joint
Council Member Organization or Joint Council directly before proceeding
with either of these two types of cases.
Joint Council
Delegation to Guatemala
On April 16th, Joint Council
and its Guatemala Caucus Co-chairs, Bruce Mossberg of Bethany Christina
Services, Chris Huber of FTIA and Margaret Orr of Small Miracles
International, will travel to Guatemala for a series of meetings. With
a long-term goal of reestablishing intercountry adoption and all other
permanency services as viable options for children living outside of
family care, this delegation will seek to assess the status of the
current Hague implementation plan, the status of pending adoption cases,
and the feasibility of a joint effort to assist the Guatemalan
government in providing much needed services to children.
Joint Council remains committed to its
mission of protecting every child’s right to a permanent, safe and
loving family. It is our belief that the delegation to Guatemala will
be the first step in achieving our mission for the children of
Guatemala.
February 14, 2008
The
Guatemala National Council for Adoptions ended the registration period
for transition adoption cases on February 12, 2008. We are very pleased
to report, that close to 3,000 cases were registered under the ‘new’
system. It is also our understanding that the 3,000 registrations
include virtually all of the adoptions initiated under the
Notarial
system.
Joint Council has been
informed that an individual adoption case is considered registered
provided the aviso filed with the National
Council for Adoptions (CNA), has been stamped (with a number) and
signed. The CNA is currently developing a database of all registered
cases. Once completed, the CNA will provide the database to PGN. It is
our understanding that PGN will begin processing cases upon their
receipt of the CNA database.
We also have
information that approximately 100 cases were not registered with the
CNA, according to the revised registration process. The lack of
registration for these cases may preclude the completion of these
specific adoptions. Any adoption service provider or adoptive parent
who did not register their case(s) with the new CNA should contact their
Guatemalan attorney immediately.
As always, Joint
Council will remain engaged with all stakeholders and inform you as the
process of finalizing all pending adoptions is completed.
February 8, 2008
The U.S. Department of State has
issued the following update regarding the registration of in-process
adoption cases in Guatemala:
On February 8, 2008, Guatemala’s National
Council for Adoptions (CNA) announced that adoption cases "entered" in
Guatemala before Dec. 31, 2007 must be registered in the offices of the
CNA, which are temporarily installed in the Secretary of Social Welfare
(Secretaria de Bienestar Social or SBS) of the Presidency, located at 32
Calle 9-34, Zona 11, Colonia Las Charcas, by Tuesday, Feb. 12
(inclusive). The office will be open during the weekend from 9:00 am to
4:00 pm.
The Government of Guatemala further advises that those notaries who
presented their cases to the members of the earlier National Council for
Adoptions must bring their copy of the earlier registration to the
office in the SBS during the above mentioned hours, so that a new
registration number can be assigned.

February 5, 2008
The U.S. Department of State has issued the
following update regarding the registration of in-process adoption cases
in Guatemala:
The adoption law passed by
Guatemala’s Congress on December 11, 2007, permits notarial adoption
cases initiated before its effective date of December 31, 2007, to be
completed under the old notarial process, provided those cases are
registered with the National Adoption Council (CNA), Guatemala’s Hague
Convention Central Authority for adoptions, within 30 business days
after the effective date of the law. Unless a case has already received
a favorable opinion from the Guatemalan Solicitor General’s office (PGN),
it still needs to be registered with the CNA to be eligible for
processing under the old law. The Embassy, therefore, recommends that
prospective adoptive parents confirm with their Guatemalan legal
representatives that this registration "Aviso" has been filed with the
CNA for their adoption case.
Following receipt of the “Aviso” by the CNA, they will issue a
confirmation of registration (“Constancia”). Cases are considered
registered and pending only if a “Constancia” has been issued. Filing
the “Aviso” with the CNA before February 12, 2008, should be sufficient
to register the case, even if there is a delay in issuing the “Constancia.”
Prospective adoptive parents should be aware that the Government of
Guatemala is engaged in establishing the CNA and that the definition of
“registered case” is still subject to change. Prospective adoptive
parents should remain in direct contact with their adoption service
providers to ensure that any requirements set forth by the Government of
Guatemala are being met.

February 1, 2008
Joint Council can
confirm that the Central Authority in Guatemala has recently stopped
accepting registrations of in-process adoptions. Joint Council has
already petitioned U.S. Department of State consular offices in
Guatemala City and in Washington, D.C. for their immediate and direct
advocacy to address the current suspension by the Central Authority.
Additionally, Joint Council staff have already addressed the suspension
with officials from several U.S. congressional offices as well as the
Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute.
Joint Council remains in frequent dialogue with representatives of the
Guatemalan government and will post additional information as it becomes
available.

January 29, 2008
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
has issued an update regarding the new Guatemalan adoption legislation.
Please click
here to read the press release.

January 18, 2008
Through Joint Council’s continued dialogue with the office of U.S.
Senator Norm Coleman, Co-Chair of the Congressional Coalition on
Adoption and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joint
Council is pleased to offer Senator Coleman's
letter
to Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom.
Senator Coleman continues to be actively engaged in and supportive of
our collective efforts to ensure that every child has the right to a
safe, permanent and loving family. The Senator’s letter, presented on
Friday morning, outlines his concerns regarding in-process adoption
cases and requests the assistance of President Colom.
Additionally, on Wednesday, January 16, 2008, new members of the Central
Authority were appointed. The new members are; Concha Marilis
Barrientos de Estrada – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aura Azucena
Bolanos de Aguilera – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sonia Elizabeth
Hernandez Guerra de Larios – Bienestar Social and Norma Elizabeth Roble
Avila de Villagran – Bienestar Social.
On
Friday, January 18, the newly appointed Guatemalan Central Authority
released the forms necessary to register in-process adoptions as
required by the new adoption law (Decree 77-2007). Joint Council has
forwarded these forms to all Joint Council Member Organizations and
hopes to provide additional registration instructions in the coming
days. If you are in the process of adopting from Guatemala, your
adoption service providers should now be aware of the availability of
these forms and work to complete the registration process at the
earliest possible date.
While additional details regarding the registration process are not
available at this time, Joint Council remains engaged and will notify
you and Joint Council Member Organizations immediately as more
information becomes available.
Please know that Joint Council remains engaged with the U.S. and
Guatemala governments, UNICEF, the adoptive parent community and
adoption services providers. Joint Council remains dedicated to our
mission and will continue to advocate through the Guatemala 5000
Initiative until the children we serve are united with their adoptive
families.
To review a copy of Senator Coleman's
letter to
Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom, please click
here.

January 16, 2008
The U.S. Department of State has issued a warning regarding
adoptions initiated on or after December 31, 2007 in Guatemala, which
states the following:
"The Department of State advises potential adoptive parents and adoption
service providers not to initiate new adoptions from Guatemala because
of the great uncertainties surrounding implementation of Guatemala’s new
adoption law.
We do not know when the Government of Guatemala will be prepared to
process cases under the new system set forth in the new Guatemalan
adoption law that went into force on December 31, 2007. The Government
of Guatemala is now working to put into place the infrastructure
necessary to implement the provisions and obligations of the new law.
The National Adoption Council, Guatemala's Hague Convention Central
Authority , was installed on Jan. 11 and is expected to begin initial
operations soon and to quickly ratify and publicize the registration
procedure required for adoptions initiated prior to the law’s effective
date. But the full process must be in place and functioning before an
adoption can be completed under the new law. There is no process in
place at this time.
In addition, the new Guatemalan law appears to prohibit new adoption
cases with non-Hague countries. Article 39 states that "in international
adoptions, the persons who wish to adopt a child must initiate the
process through the Central Authority of their country of residence,
which will forward the request and appropriate certifications to the
Guatemalan Central Authority." Since the U.S. Central Authority will not
begin processing Hague adoptions until April 1, the new Guatemalan law
does not appear to contemplate U.S. adoptions until after April 1.
Finally, we cannot guarantee that adoptions will continue between the
United States and Guatemala after April 1, 2008, when the Convention
goes into force for the United States. The Convention prohibits all
members from processing adoptions from member countries that do not have
Hague compliant adoption processes. As a consequence, the United States
and other Hague Convention countries will have to determine whether the
new process in Guatemala meets Convention requirements. If a fully Hague
compliant process is not in place in Guatemala by April 1, 2008, the
United States government will not be able to process new cases with
Guatemala. While we will assist the Guatemalan government as much as
possible to ensure that the new processes are sufficient, we cannot at
this time predict whether or when we will be able to process adoptions
from Guatemala after the Convention goes into force in the United
States.
With regard to currently pending adoptions (those initiated in Guatemala
before 12/31/2007), the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala remains committed to
processing adoptions according to previous rules. The Embassy is working
closely with the government of Guatemala to help complete those cases as
soon as possible."
For more information, please visit
the U.S. Department of State's website at
http://travel.state.gov/.

January 14, 2008
As part of our ongoing Guatemala 5000
Initiative, Joint Council has maintained dialogue with the U.S.
Department of State (USDOS) and U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services
(USCIS) and met with them most recently on January 7 and again on
January 10, 2008. Meetings were also held with UNICEF on December 18,
2007 and on January 9, 2008. Similar dialogue was held with Guatemalan
Congressional representatives and government officials along with
members of the U.S. Congress over the past three weeks.
Based on these meetings and in consultation with the Guatemala Caucus
Co-chairs, the following represents Joint Council’s understandings and
advocacy efforts:
Processing of
Transition Cases
On January 1, 2008, PGN stopped the
processing of all pending adoption cases including the acceptance of new
cases, acceptance of cases with previos and the review of cases
previously submitted. PGN has however continued to release those cases
in which reviews/approvals had been completed as of December 31, 2007.
The processing of pending adoptions will begin with the registration of
those cases with the Central Authority no later than 30 business days
after January 1, 2008 (approximately February 11, 2008).
Both USDOS and USCIS continue to
process adoption cases, including the issuance of visas, released by PGN.
Formation of the
Central Authority
As required by the new adoption law
(Decree 77-2007), the Guatemalan Supreme Court, Bienestar and Ministry
of Foreign Affairs have appointed Rudy Soto Ovalle, Marvin Rabanels and
Anabela Morfin respectively as their representatives to the Central
Authority. The installation of these representatives occurred on
Friday, January 11, 208. It should be noted that while the law calls for
the appointment of the representatives within 14 business days
(approximately January 18), Joint Council is encouraged that the
appointments have occurred sooner than required.
It is expected that within days, these
newly appointed representatives will meet as the Central Authority and
establish (1) procedures by which pending cases can be registered and
(2) definitions of ‘cases in process’
Registering of Cases
All cases which are in process, as
defined by the Central Authority, must be registered within 30 business
days of January 1, 2008 (approximately February 11, 2008). Through
considerable discussion with all stakeholders, the representatives to
the Central Authority have acknowledged the importance of establishing
definitions and procedures by which the pending cases can be
registered. Given the early formation of the Central Authority and
expected release of the definition and registry procedure Joint Council
and others remain confident that the registry of pending adoption cases
will be completed within the requirements of the law (by approximately
February 11, 2008).
New Referrals
Joint Council issued a recommendation
that no new referrals be issued after October 1, 2007. To date Joint
Council has not amended that recommendation and continues to urge all
adoption service providers and potential adoptive parents to refrain
from issuing or accepting referrals.
Some adoption service providers
continued to issue referrals as recently as the week of December 24.
Given the law’s requirements, the lack of a clear definition of ‘cases
in process’ and other uncertainties, the ability of the these cases to
be registered and ultimately completed under the Notorial process is in
serious question.
Applying for a
Guatemalan adoption
Recently some have suggested that the
passage of the new adoption law will allow potential adoptive parents to
apply with the Guatemalan government for an adoption under the new
system. While the new law does allow such applications, no procedures
currently exist that would allow such an application. In short,
applying with the Guatemalan government for an adoption is currently not
possible.
Applying with a U.S.
Adoption Service Provider
Given the following circumstances,
Joint Council urges all adoption service providers and potential
adoptive families to refrain from submitting/accepting applications for
a Guatemalan adoption at this time.
-
No established regulations,
procedures or process currently exists for the submission of an
application with the Guatemalan government.
-
Currently Guatemala has limited
capacity for the provision of social services such as intercountry
adoption.
-
A time-line for the implementation of
intercountry adoption related social services has been announced.
-
The new law requires adoption
services providers to be accredited under The Hague in the United
States and also seek and obtain accreditation from the Guatemalan
government prior to participating in adoption services in Guatemala.
-
The Hague Convention and subsequent
accreditation of U.S. based adoption service providers will not be
in force in the U.S. until April 1, 2008.
-
The process of accrediting adoption
service providers by the Guatemalan government has not been
announced.
Advocacy
As part of the Guatemala 5000
Initiative, Joint Council continues to advocate for the following
definitions and regulations related to the finalization of all
transition adoption cases. While Joint Council’s advocacy on this
issue is widely known by the U.S. and Guatemalan governments, a letter
to the newly appointed members of the Guatemalan Central Authority
detailing our specific recommendations (see below) will be received on
Wednesday, January 16, 2008.
In addition to our ongoing engagement with the USDOS, USCIS and UNICEF,
Joint Council has also requested a February meeting with the government
of President Alvaro Colom.
Joint Council Recommendations
-
A case would be eligible for the
grandfather status provided that by December 31, 2007 the case had:
-
a Power of Attorney (POA),
-
the POA was registered with the
Supreme Court,
-
the Acta de Requerimiento had been
issued
-
The case would be officially
grandfathered upon its registration with the Central Authority during
a 30 day period beginning December 31, 2007. The 30 day period
represents 30 business days.
-
Cases already “in” PGN (cases where
an Aviso has been issued) would be considered to be automatically
registered with the Central Authority thereby negating the need for
a separate and additional act of registration.
-
Recognizing that PGN is registered
with The Hague as a competent authority, all eligible cases would be
registered with the Central Authority via the PGN.

January 4, 2008
Joint Council can
confirm that PGN is no longer processing adoption cases with the
exception of those that have already been approved. All other aspects of
adoption processing have been stopped.
This is a result of the
new adoption law requiring the registration of cases with the Central
Authority prior to cases being reinitiated. Joint Council continues to
advocate for a position solution to the situation.
Please note: Joint
Council staff, particularly Tom DiFilipo, President & CEO, remain in
frequent conversation with officials from both the U.S. government and
the Guatemalan government. Joint Council will issue a more detailed
analysis in the coming days, which will include important updates
received at Joint Council's Board of Directors meeting with the U.S.
Department of State and U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services on Monday, January 7th.

December 21, 2007
Through recent dialogue
with the Guatemalan government, U.S. Department of Sate, U.S. Department
of Homeland Security, U.S. Congress and UNICEF, Joint Council is now
highly confident that Guatemalan adoption cases currently in-process
will proceed to finalization under the current notarial process.
Please click here to view the
complete Joint Council assessment, which includes the indicators leading
to this conclusion, as well as a statement by USCIS in Guatemala.

December 14, 2007
During the week of December 3rd,
Joint Council strongly advocated with key stakeholders for a positive
resolution to the grandfather clause (Article 56 of Decree 77-2007). As
part of our call to both the Guatemalan administration and Congress to
clearly define a ‘grandfathered case’, Joint Council submitted a
definition to the Guatemalan Congress, the Berger administration and the
U.S. Department of State. In addition, we educated members of the U.S.
Congress on this critical issue.
As part of our advocacy, Joint Council
fully supports the following definition and process.
-
A case would be eligible for the
grandfather status provided that by December 31st 2007 the case had:
-
a Power of Attorney (POA),
-
the POA was registered with the
Supreme Court,
-
the
Acta
de Requerimiento had been issued
-
The case would be officially
grandfathered upon its registration with the Central Authority during
a 30 day period beginning December 31, 2007. The 30 day period
represents 30 business days.
-
Cases already “in” PGN (cases where
an Aviso has been issued) would be
considered to be automatically registered with the Central Authority
thereby negating the need for a separate and additional act of
registration.
-
Recognizing that PGN is registered
with The Hague as a competent authority, all eligible cases would be
registered with the Central Authority via the PGN.
Through our ongoing dialogue with the
Guatemalan government and the U.S. Department of State (DOS), it is our
understanding that the key stakeholders including DOS are not
moving towards a definition that would limit the grandfathered cases to
only those cases that are “in” PGN by December 30, 2007 (a full and
complete file submitted to PGN for review). There appears to be a
growing agreement, including a draft legal opinion by PGN, with the
definition outlined by Joint Council. While Joint Council is
cautiously optimistic that this type of a grandfather definition will be
officially sanctioned, we also believe that we must remain diligent in
our review, assessment and advocacy.
Joint
Council does remain concerned that the recent elections have left a void
in leadership within the Guatemalan government. As a result, obtaining
a clear ruling from a competent authority is increasingly difficult. We
also have concerns as to the registering of cases with the Central
Authority, given that no such authority will exist until sometime in
mid-January, at the earliest.
Please know that Joint Council, as
previously stated, will remain diligent in its pursuit of every child’s
right to a permanent, safe and loving family. We are intimately
involved in the process in Guatemala and are committed to ensuring that
all children who have been referred to a family will be able to have
their adoption completed. As we see the Guatemala 5000 through to a
successful completion, Joint Council will continue its engagement with a
goal of seeing the functional implementation of the new adoption law.

December 7, 2007
As part of the Joint Council Guatemala
5000 Initiative and our ongoing assessment of the situation in
Guatemala, we now have considerable concerns regarding the processing
and completion of all transition cases. We call on the Guatemalan
Congress and the Berger administration to publicly clarify the process
by which the adoption of those children who have been referred to a
family will be completed.
As previously announced, the Guatemalan
Congress hopes to review and vote on Bill # 3735 on December 11, 2007.
It is the assessment of Joint Council that Article 56 of Bill # 3735
could in effect, preclude the completion of in-process adoptions under
current law. Article 56 states that all pending cases must register
with the Central Authority within 30 days. Given that the 3735 also
requires the creation of a new entity as the Central Authority, we
express our concern that a new entity may not be created with sufficient
time to allow for the registration. Joint Council calls on the
Guatemalan Congress to amend Article 56 to clearly state the
process by which registration will occur. It is our recommendation that
Article 56 permit and require all adoptions
with Powers of Attorney as of December 30, 2007 to be registered with
the PGN by January 31, 2008 as a condition for continuing the adoption
process under current law.
In the event the Guatemalan Congress
does not vote or pass Bill # 3735, Joint Council calls on the Berger
administration to issue a similar clarification of the process by which
the government will process all pending adoption cases. Joint Council
urges the administration to permit and require all adoptions with Powers
of Attorney as of December 30, 2007 to be registered with the PGN by
January 31, 2008 as a condition for continuing the adoption process
under current law.
It is Joint Council’s understanding
that discussion by many stakeholders include
a plan to ‘grandfather’ only those adoptions which have been registered
with PGN by December 31, 2007. This requirement is overly restrictive,
severely limits a child’s legal access to the process (50% of
Guatemala’s courts are in recess through January 15), needlessly
penalizes those children who are in the abandonment system and is
clearly not in the best interest of children.
Joint Council also calls on the United
States government via Congress and the Department of State to protect
the rights of children in need by assisting in the creation of a sound
transition policy for all pending adoptions.
As part of our continuing Guatemala
5000 Initiative, Joint Council has requested a meeting with Guatemalan
President-Elect Alvaro
Colom. Joint Council will strongly urge the
new administration to provide sufficient protections for all of
Guatemala’s children while continuing to promote a child’s right to a
safe, permanent and loving family.

December 3, 2007
Earlier this week a new adoption law
was introduced, through a first and second reading, into the Guatemalan
Congress. A final reading, review and vote, including possible
amendments is currently scheduled for Tuesday, December 4, 2007. While
many of the laws articles remain in discussion, the primary issue
appears to be the date the Convention enters into force; January 1, 2008
vs. April 30, 2008.
Joint Council continues to dialogue
with all stakeholders including members of the Guatemalan Congress and
U.S. Department of State. Most recently Joint Council has briefed the
Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute and members of the U.S.
Congress on the issue surrounding the passage of this vitally important
law.

November 26, 2007
The expected introduction, reading and
vote on an adoption law into the Guatemala Congress this week will not
take place. Joint Council has received reports that various protests
outside of the Supreme Court, National Palace and Congress has resulted
in a delay in the introduction. Apparently there are now concerns that
President Berger may veto the bill if passed. It is our understanding
that members of the Guatemalan Congress have requested a meeting with
the Berger administration to ensure that if passed, President Berger
will not veto the legislation.
Joint Council will continue advocate
for the passage of an adoption law that is functional, compliant and in
the best interest of Guatemalan children. Joint Council will post
updates on the progress of the legislation early next week.

November 12, 2007
The new legislation announced by Guatemalan Congressmen earlier this
week has caused
many potential adoptive parents and adoption service providers to
reconsider the issue of referrals. Joint Council has also revisited the
issue through consultation with the Guatemala Caucus Co-Chairs, members
of the Board of Directors and adoption services providers, among others.
While many positive indicators exist
regarding the state of intercountry adoptions from
Guatemala, many uncertainties remain. To date,
- the Berger administration has not announced a transparent process by
which existing cases will be processed,
- the Berger administration has indicated that all adoption cased filed
post-December 31,
2007 must be processed according to Convention standards,
- the Guatemalan Congress has not passed any adoption legislation
-
based
on information provided by the Guatemalan government, both USDOS and
USCIS have indicated that both existing and new adoption cases cannot be
processed without approval from PGN after December 31, 2007.
While we continue to work with our
colleagues in Guatemala toward a swift and positive resolution, we also
recognize that as of today, the continuation of Guatemalan intercountry
adoption remains uncertain.
Given the lack of substantive action on the part of the Berger
administration or the Guatemalan Congress, and in consideration of the
announcement by DOS/USCIS, Joint Council continues to strongly urge all
adoption service providers to reassess any decision to begin issuing
referrals. To date,
we have not altered the recommendation issued on September 27,
2007.
We also recognize that some outside of the Joint Council community and a
few within our community continue to issue referrals and accept new
applications. It should be noted by all that the vast majority of Joint
Council agencies have made the decision to refrain from issuing
referrals or accepting new applications. Joint Council applauds and
supports this decision. We continue to urge all, both within and
outside of our community, to join the overwhelming majority of adoption
service providers
in this decision.

November 7, 2007
Joint Council has continued to advocate for a rational and child centric
transition to the Hague Convention in Guatemala. During our recent
presentation at the Adoption Ethics & Accountability Conference in
Washington, D.C., Joint Council called for the completion of adoptions
in-process, the implementation of the Conventions core elements, an
effective implementation date of April 2008 and funding for capacity
building. We have continued to work with our colleagues in Guatemala
along with members of the Guatemalan Congress in developing a functional
child welfare system.
We
can now report that members of the Guatemalan Congress, including
numerous party chiefs, have submitted a new legislative proposal which;
- Includes a
strong ‘grandfather’ clause,
- Designates April 30, 2008
as the effective implementation date of the Convention,
-
Allocates $5 million
Quetzales
($650,000 USD) for
the creation of the Central Authority
- Allocates a percentage of the total
government budget for child welfare services
- Creates a new government entity
to act as the Central Authority in Guatemala,
- Provides for private non-profit
accredited entities to provide services to children,
- Allows single potential
adoptive parents to apply for adoption,
- Creates a
functional process by which
children can find a permanent, safe and loving family.
The new legislation is scheduled to be
introduced to Congress early next week. In line with our mission of
advocating for the right of each child to a permanent family, Joint
Council will continue to work with our colleagues in Guatemala towards a
positive and child centric implementation of the Convention.

October 16, 2007
Joint Council's
October 15th announcement, below,
has been amended to include an attachment of our most recent direct
communication with the Office of Guatemalan President Oscar Berger.
Please visit the news section of our Guatemala 5000
webpage.

October 15, 2007
Joint Council has published a summary update regarding Guatemala in
the news section of our Guatemala 5000
webpage.
We thank everyone for their continued
efforts in this campaign and will continue updating our website with
developments.

October 12, 2007
Joint Council continues to dialogue directly with
President Berger’s office. Due to this ongoing conversation, we
will post an update on Guatemala 5000 on October 15 rather than today as
was previously indicated to the Membership.

October 1, 2007
For the most up-to-date information about Joint Council's response
to the announced changes in Guatemalan adoptions, please visit our
Guatemala 5000 page.

September 27, 2007
The Joint Council on International Children's
Services and the National Council for Adoption have issued a press
release responding to the announced changes in Guatemalan adoptions by
the U.S. Department of State.
Click
here to review the press release. To learn more about the Joint
Council response, please visit our
Guatemala 5000 Initiative page.

September 5, 2007
With the cooperation and support
of the Joint Council Guatemala Caucus, a letter has been issued to
President Berger regarding our significant concerns over the recent raid
of Casa Quivera. Joint Council called for an immediate halt to such
raids, a transparent accounting of all children and the prompt
resolution of each case.
Joint Council has also issued an update recommending that all adoption
service providers reassess their Guatemala programming given the recent
activities in Guatemala and the impact of the Hague convention.

August 2, 2007
Joint Council just
received confirmation during a call with Assistant Secretary Maura Harty
that the U.S. Embassy will require a second DNA test effective August 6,
2007. The test will be used to verify that the adopted child is the same
child matched at the commencement of the adoption process with the birth
parent. This new procedure will apply to adoption cases finalized by
Guatemalan authorities and submitted to the Embassy on or after Monday,
August 6th.
You may access the U.S.
Department of State's notice
here.

June 13, 2007
The U.S. Department of
State has issued a statement on the status of intercountry adoption and
the Hague Convention in Guatemala. To view the notice in full, please
click
here.

May 23, 2007
Joint
Council is pleased to report that on Tuesday, May 22nd, the
Guatemalan Congress held a special session during which the Hague
Convention was reaffirmed. The reaffirmation included an amendment
creating an effective date of January 1, 2008. We
remain confident that the reaffirmation will set the stage for a final
resolution to the implementation of the Hague Convention in Guatemala.

May 17, 2007
Joint Council is pleased to offer an English translation of Guatemalan
Legislative Proposal # 3635, which was written by a coalition of
Guatemalan congressmen meant to address the requirements of the Hague
Convention. It is our understanding that the
English version of Guatemalan Legislative Proposal # 3635 presented
below is accurate. To view a copy of Guatemala Legislative Proposal #
3635, please click
here.

May 16, 2007
The U.S. Department of State has issued a
statement regarding Guatemala, the Hague Convention, and U.S. law. The
statement addresses how the United States is finalizing preparations to
fully implement the Hague Adoption Convention, and how the United States
will not be able to continue processing intercountry adoptions of
children from Guatemala after the Convention has been fully implemented
in the United States, unless the Government of Guatemala institutes
reforms to meet its obligations under the Convention. The statement from
the U.S. Department of States is intended to set forth some of the
reasons why the Convention will not allow the United States to continue
to process adoptions in Guatemala under its current system after the
Convention goes into force for the U.S. To view a copy of the statement, please click
here.

May 10, 2007
Joint Council has confirmed that the
Guatemalan Congress passed the first reading of the reaffirmation of the
Hague Convention and corresponding amendments on Tuesday, May 8th.
On May 9th the Guatemalan Congress passed the second reading
, with the third and final passage expected Tuesday, May 15th. To
view Iniciativa 3339, the Guatemalan reaffirmation of the Hague, in
Spanish please click
here.

May 2, 2007
As part of Joint Council's International Relations Initiative, Tom
DiFilipo, President & CEO, traveled to Guatemala the week
of April 22-26, 2007. Meetings were conducted with UNICEF,
representatives from the United States Department of State, as well as
members of the Guatemalan Congress. Please visit our
International Relations Initiative page
for more information.

March 20, 2007
The United States Department of State has
issued the following notice regarding a change in the processing of
"Pink Slips" by the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala:
"Due to the increased
volume of workload, the Consular Section at the U.S. Embassy in
Guatemala City will no longer be able to issue the appointment letters
("Pink Slips") the same day as the Department of Homeland Security's
Citizenship and Immigration Services (DHS/USCIS) office's adjudication
of the final documents. "Pink Slips" will now be issued the next
business day, Monday through Thursday, after the Consular Section gets
the final documents from DHS/USCIS."

March 16, 2007
The Joint Council on International Children's Services has issued a
press release regarding recent happenings in Guatemalan adoption. The
press release can be downloaded and read in full
here.

March 15, 2007
The U.S. Department of
State issued the following frequently asked questions for prospective
adoption parents of Guatemalan children. These questions and DOS’
respective answers can be
be downloaded
here.

March 8, 2007
Due to technical
difficulties, USCIS Guatemala have been unable to respond to any inquiries
since last Friday, March 2nd. ALL emails sent to
guatemala.adoptions@dhs.gov have been saved and will
be fully retrieved. Joint
Council has been assured that USCIS Guatemala is working diligently to
make the email functional again and has said that ALL inquiries will be
responded to once the problem is rectified.

February 22, 2007
The following notice on Guatemalan
Adoptions has been posted on the U.S. State Department’s website. The
U.S. Department of State is strongly urging American prospective
adoptive parents contemplating pursuing adoptions in Guatemala to
carefully consider their options at this time. The full notice is below
and can be also accessed on the State Department’s
website.
Guatemala
Status of Intercountry Adoptions (U.S. Department of State)
In light of a number of
problems with Guatemala’s intercountry adoption process, the U.S.
Department of State strongly cautions American prospective adoptive
parents contemplating pursuing adoptions in Guatemala to carefully
consider their options at this time. The arrest in the United States
of a well-known adoption facilitator as well as concern about unethical
behavior and practices by others involved with adoptions in Guatemala
indicate that the adoption process in Guatemala is not adequately
protecting all children.
In its investigation related to the arrest of the adoption facilitator
mentioned above, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have
found evidence of the smuggling into the United States of Guatemalan
children who had been candidates for adoption. They have also found
evidence of fraudulent documents concerning adoption and visa status,
and misrepresentation of the health condition of children involved.
Separately, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field office
in Guatemala has denied adoption visa petitions for many reasons
indicating wrong and unethical practices in Guatemala. These include
cases where the purported biological mother of a child is not the true
biological mother but an impostor and cases where the biological parent
or parents have been deceived and there has been no true relinquishment
of parental rights.
Activity of this nature is against U.S. law and also counter to the
principles of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, which the
United States will join this year.
The adoption situation in Guatemala is volatile and unpredictable. The
United States, because of ongoing investigations that affect adoption
cases, may be unable to process cases quickly and is likely to review
all pending cases with more scrutiny. More detailed investigations may
be warranted to determine that a child is truly eligible for adoption as
an orphan, that any prospective adoptive parent(s) are eligible and
suitable to adopt, and that the child is ultimately placed in the
custody of parents who have been accurately identified and evaluated
through the home study and petition process.
The U.S. Government supports adoption reform efforts in Guatemala and is
working closely with the Government of Guatemala to help encourage the
implementation of reforms to protect children in the intercountry
adoption process. The U.S. Government also supports Guatemalan
Government efforts to implement the Hague Convention on Intercountry
Adoption and establish new case-processing procedures and an appropriate
transition mechanism to the good practices of the Convention.

February 07, 2007
The U.S.
Embassy in Guatemala announced that it does not plan to schedule
immigrant visa interview appointments for adopted Guatemalan children
March 18 – 21, 2007 during the Annual InterAmerican Development Bank
Governors Assembly, which will be held in Guatemala. U.S. Embassy
Guatemala expects that final adoption cases sent to the Consular Section
from the DHS/USCIS office the week of March 12 through March 16, will be
issued “Pink Slips” and scheduled for immigrant visa appointments the
week of March 26 through March 30, 2007. The full announcement can be
found on the Department of State’s website by clicking
here.

December 18, 2006
The U.S. Department of State has issued an
update regarding the Hague Convention and Guatemala. Click
here to
view a copy of the report.

December 15, 2006
Tom DiFilipo, President & CEO, has issued an
update on Joint Council activities related to Guatemala from November 3
through December 13, 2006. The update includes information on the Joint
Council Delegation to Guatemala, the Joint Council testimony before the
House International Relations Subcommittee, and much more. To view the
report, please visit our IRI 2006
page.

September
29, 2006
Joint Council has been made aware of a letter that is currently
circulating in
Guatemala declaring
that all adoptions from
Guatemala
will be stopped effective October 1st. This letter appears to be on
Presidential letterhead with the President's signature, but is
not authentic.
Guatemala's
attorney general's office has confirmed that the letter is fake and
government officials are concerned that the letter may have been created
to induce panic within the adoption community. No one knows at this
time where the letter originated. The Guatemalan government is working
on an official communication to confirm the fraud. Please advise your
Guatemalan providers and adoptive families, especially those currently
in
Guatemala
for first trips, so they may be made aware of the existence of this
letter and its inauthenticity.

September
28, 2006
The U.S. Department of State has published the following
announcement:
Government of Guatemala
Efforts to Implement the Hague Adoption Convention - False Rumor that
Guatemala will halt adoptions
The Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala have become
aware of an unfounded rumor that adoptions in Guatemala will be
suspended immediately or by January 1 as part of Guatemalan efforts to
implement the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and
Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption ("the Hague Adoption
Convention"). The government of Guatemala has confirmed that there is no
truth to this rumor. The Embassy is continuing to process adoption
cases.
The Department of State and the U.S.
Embassy continue to monitor the situation in Guatemala closely and are
in regular contact with Guatemalan officials as they take steps to
reform their adoption processes in order to better protect the interests
of children and families. We are encouraged by the efforts of the First
Lady of Guatemala in preparing a protocol of adoption best practices
that promotes protections for children and families in line with the
international standards of the Hague Adoption Convention. The Department
urges all interested parties to check our website (www.travel.state.gov)
for updates on the process of adoptions in Guatemala. For more
information on Guatemala and Hague Adoption Convention implementation
efforts, please see the Department's Notices and frequently asked
questions on Guatemala at
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/notices/notices_2859.html
and
http://www.travel.state.gov/family/adoption/notices/notices_2858.html.

September
26, 2006
The situation in
Guatemala is extremely complex. The Office of Children's Issues has
appreciated the dialogue with JCICS, including the thorough and very
positive readout of the JCICS delegation's visit to Guatemala in late
August and early September. JCICS is planning our second
International Relations Initiative trip
to Guatemala in October.

September
25, 2006
Effective October 5, 2006,
the U.S. Embassy will require a properly and completely filled-out I-600
form to be submitted with the Final Document's Packet. The I-600 must be
signed and dated by the adoptive parent(s). If the adoptive parent(s)
has/have seen the adopted child before the adoption was finalized,
please submit evidence of this, such as photocopies of the U.S. passport
showing the entry stamps issued by Guatemalan Immigration authorities.
Click here for a helpful
guideline to answer some of the questions in the I-600 form.

August 3,
2006
Effective September 1,
2006, the U.S. Embassy will require two additional documents as part of
the initial I-600 packet corresponding to the following:
1) Letter from the Prospective Adoptive Parent(s)
with original signature(s) notarized in the U.S. providing a correct
e-mail address and telephone number. Please
click here for a copy
of this document.
2) Letter from the representative of the U.S.
Adoption Agency with the original signature notarized in the U.S.
providing a correct e-mail address and telephone number. Please
click
here for a copy of this document.
The information that needs to be filled-out in
these documents must be TYPED. The U.S. Embassy has been receiving too
many incorrect e-mail addresses. This change was made to better serve
the families and agencies.

July 18, 2006
The Embassy in
Guatemala is reporting that they are receiving cases in the same
timeline, without delays. JCICS has repeatedly brought up the delays at
the PGN. The response has been that the Embassy is still under 30 days
for their processing of cases, but the new Head of PGN is not signing
off on cases as quickly. JCICS has heard antidotally that it is taking
on average 8 - 12 weeks for a case leave of PGN, instead of the previous
4 – 6 week average. Any updates we receive will be posted on our
website.

May 25,
2006
Attention Parents -
JCICS has recently heard from many waiting parents who are
concerned about delays at the PGN in Guatemala. The PGN has
recently undergone a period of transition during which some cases may
have been delayed. It appears that things continue to move slowly
and that there are a number of families who are currently waiting for
paperwork to be cleared through the PGN. We are looking into this
situation and will try to obtain more information about the possible
time-frame in which things will move forward. For the time being,
please note that JCICS is unable to determine the status of individual
cases that are in the PGN. Any updates we receive will be posted
on our website.

Guatemala and the Hague Convention
Much discussion has taken place recently about Guatemala and the Hague
Convention. Please make sure to check the JCICS website for information.
Some other sites or posts claim to have information from JCICS but we
cannot verify the accuracy of their information.
Guatemala is a Hague country, as they acceded to the Convention and
entered into force in the spring of 2003. Later, Guatemala's
Constitutional Court overturned the accession, however under
international law, they are still considered party to the Convention.
At this time the procedures in Guatemala are not considered in
compliance with the Convention.
When the United States ratifies the
Convention, if Guatemala is still not in compliance with the Convention
it will be difficult for the U.S. to continue adoptions. There are
several alternatives, but it could be unlikely that the U.S. or
Guatemala will pursue them (i.e., Guatemala could formally denounce its
participation in the Convention but the current President has indicated
that he does not intend to do so, or the U.S. could object to
Guatemala's accession once we ratify, but again, that may be unlikely).
If Guatemala reforms its procedures and becomes complaint under the
Convention, when the U.S. ratifies, adoptions would proceed under the
Hague regulations.
Timeframe
With regards to timing, this is all still a ways away. The
Department of State hopes to have the U.S. ratify in 2007, however JCICS
estimates that this would be late 2007 or even early 2008, given that
accrediting entities need to be finalized, procedures in place and
agencies need to undergo accreditation, all before we ratify.
If you are in the process of adopting from
Guatemala or are thinking of beginning the process in the near future
(next few months) you will most likely be fine. As with all
international adoptions, there are no guarantees, but given that the
U.S. will not be ratifying until 2007 - 2008 your adoption should
proceed normally. We recommend that you be informed of the
situation, follow any new developments, and see what progresses.
Stay in contact with your agency and feel free to call our office as
well if you have any questions.
Please visit our Hague
page for additional information.
The
US Department of State has also posted a notice on it's website with
further explanation of the impact of the Hague and children adopted from
Guatemala to the United States.

February 23, 2006
Notice on Filing Adoption Papers with DHS/USCIS
in Guatemala
The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala
announces that, beginning Thursday, February 23, the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) will accept final documents in adoption cases at
Window #1, Monday through Thursday, from 9 to 9:30 a.m. to ensure that
final documents can be processed without delay. Only final adoption
documents will be accepted and stamped as received. No other documents
or inquiries will be accommodated by DHS at this window during this time
frame.
DHS officers at Window #8 (a
wooden door with a number 8) will continue to see a maximum of 40
attorneys/representatives on a first come, first served basis, Monday
through Thursday. Each attorney or representative is allowed to present
up to four new adoption cases, and may present paperwork on other
pending cases without limit (including the final documents). Normally,
the DHS officers start receiving these individuals at approximately 9
a.m., following all of the individual interviews with adopting parents
who have come that day for their immigrant visa appointment for their
adopted child.

February 7, 2006 - In
response to numerous concerns from our member agencies JCICS sent a
letter to USCIS District office in Mexico City regarding communication
problems in Guatemala's processing of international adoptions. The
letter addressed inconsistent requests, miscommunication with the
pre-approval notices and lack of responsiveness. JCICS is hopeful
that these problems can be resolved and we can work together with USCIS
to find mutually beneficial solutions.

January 9,
2006
Multiple
Inquiries to US Citizenship and Immigration Services Delaying Process
USCIS recently
contacted JCICS regarding an influx of inquiries they have received
regarding Guatemalan adoption cases. USCIS recognizes the
importance of families' awareness of the status of their respective
case, however multiple inquiries regarding the same case are inhibiting
the US Citizenship and Immigration Services' ability to process each in
a timely manner. CIS hopes families will understand that multiple
phone calls and emails, at times from multiple parties, to the CIS
office only serves to slow down the process.
USCIS shares
that it would be most beneficial for adoption agencies, on behalf of
parents, to contact their office directly. It would be best for
agencies to send CIS one email with several inquiries. Agencies should
only send email inquiries once a case is thirty days past the date USCIS
receives the DNA test. In cases of abandonment, please only send inquiry
emails thirty days after CIS initially receives the case. This
will enable CIS to process each case expeditiously. The contact
email for USCIS regarding Guatemala adoption cases is
Guatemala.adoptions@dhs.gov.

November 8, 2005
IMPORTANT MESSAGE from US Citizenship and
Immigration Services
JCICS is aware that families
adopting from Guatemala have recently experienced increased delays while
waiting to receive their pre-approval from Citizenship and Immigration
Services. Today we spoke at length with CIS regarding these concerns.
At this time CIS has confirmed that families will need to anticipate
increased wait-time for pre-approvals during the holiday season.
While in the past, this was estimated to be 30 days, the current average
wait is 45 days for pre-approval. This is an increase of approximately
2 weeks per family. It is not unusual for CIS to receive an
increased number of dossiers before the holidays. However, over the
past week, the volume of cases has been even higher than in previous
years. CIS has taken measures to make the processing of dossiers as
efficient as possible during this time. They recently increased CIS
staff in Guatemala and have placed 3 additional people there to help
throughout the holiday season.
Over the past several days,
CIS has received hundreds of emails from waiting families and
agencies. The staff members at CIS who respond to these inquiries are
the same who are trying to adjudicate pending adoption cases.
As long as CIS is working to respond to a high volume of emails, wait
times cannot decrease. If families have waited 45 days or less to
receive pre-approval, there is no cause for concern and no need to
contact the CIS office.
Please be aware that some
cases may require investigation and could easily take longer than 45
days. While this is not the norm,
families will not necessarily be notified if their case is under
investigation.
If you have waited for pre-approval for longer than 45 days and would
like to inquire about your case, please send your name, your child’s
name, your child’s birthdate and other relevant case information
directly to our office at
jcics@jcics.org. We will collect and send this information to CIS
in order to facilitate the process by which they verify the status of
pending cases.
Your patience will help
ensure that CIS can work more efficiently and that waiting children in
Guatemala can be placed with their families as quickly as possible.

October 24, 2005
JCICS has sent a letter to the Ambassador of
Guatemala, H.E. Guillermo Castillo regarding the legislation currently
before the Guatemalan Congress. "JCICS understands that the law
has been read twice and the third reading is scheduled for the end of
the month. We are concerned about the lack of sufficient funding
required to successfully support such proposed reforms; the tens of
thousands of children currently in private care and how this bill will
impact their future care; the lack of clarity of who can adopt; and the
sensationalist claims in the legislation that equates international
adoption to child trafficking." To read a copy of the entire
letter,
click here.

September 19, 2005
The
U.S. Department of State
released the following notice:
Guatemala- Visa Appointments Required in
Guatemala (09/19/05)
The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala announces a
change in the granting of immigrant visa interviews to adopted
children. Beginning with final approvals received from DHS the week
of September 26, 2005, the U.S. Embassy will schedule specific
immigrant visa appointment dates and times for all adoption cases.
The U.S. Embassy will continue to issue “pink slips.” Those “pink
slips” will indicate the specific date and time of your child’s
immigrant visa appointment, which will likely be during the week
following the granting of DHS final approval. Please note that the
“pink slip” will also contain specific instructions for requesting a
different immigrant visa interview appointment, if you are not able to
make the one we schedule for you. Please do not contact the U.S.
Embassy prior to the issuance of the “pink slip” requesting specific
appointment dates. In addition to indicating the appointment date and
time for the immigrant visa interview, the “pink slip” will also
specify the date and time that the immigrant visa, if approved, will
be available for pick-up.
As always, adoptive parents are urged not
to travel to Guatemala until the “pink slip” has been issued, and
until they have confirmed the date and time of their child’s immigrant
visa interview.
The U.S. Embassy is confident that
scheduling specific immigrant visa appointments will assist in
maintaining a transparent and efficient processing of adoption
immigrant visa cases, as well as providing predictability for the
adopting parents and minimizing waiting time at the U.S. Embassy.

July 11, 2005
The
US
Department of State released the following notice regarding
adoptions in Guatemala.
The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala
announces a change in the timing of delivery of issued immigrant visas
to adopted children and all other immigrant visas. Due to new biometric
security enhancements, all immigrant visas including those for adopted
children will be available for issuance at 3:30 pm the next workday
following the immigrant visa interview. The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala
regrets that that it is no longer able to offer same day immigrant visa
issuance. The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala remains committed to providing
accurate, timely, and transparent service to U.S. Citizens adopting
Guatemalan children.

May 12, 2005
The
US
Department of State released the following notice regarding
adoptions in Guatemala.
The Government of Guatemala
and the U.S. Embassy continue to process adoption cases in accordance
with current applicable law. The Embassy continues to monitor the
status of proposed adoption legislation in Guatemala. The U.S.
Government firmly believes that international adoption is in the best
interests of children who cannot find permanent family placements in
their home countries. We will continue to encourage reform that
protects the interests of the children, birth parents and adoptive
parents without penalizing the many parents and children already in the
process.
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