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Country Status
Guatemala
is currently processing adoptions by US citizens on a
LIMITED basis.
- For
additional information about Guatemala, please visit our
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.

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 |