When a family finds that they have enough room in their hearts and home to invite another child in, many times the family will look outside of the United States for a child who needs their love. The trending over the years concerning the locations people choose to look for a new child has fluctuated over the years. Some families believe that an adoption outside of the United States can be completed with much less paperwork, making the process much speedier. They also hope that by finding a child whose homeland is thousands of miles away, birth parents are discouraged from changing their mind about the adoption.At one time, children were most commonly adopted out of Korea, China and Russia but today Central and South America are popular host countries.
Guatemala and the Hague Adoption Convention
The Hague Adoption Convention is the ruling body for almost all adoptions throughout the world and Guatemala joined the convention on September 12, 2008. Since the Hague Adoption Convention oversees virtually all adoptions that take place in the world, the steps for Guatemalan adoptions are the same as for other countries.
Unfortunately, Guatemala has not yet complied with the requirements of the convention that would allow the country to fully complete adoptions, so it is recommended to prospective parents that they do not seek out a child for adoption in that country. Since the adoption process in Guatemala is so full of uncertainties, few adoption agencies are willing to begin the adoption process with children there.
As of August 2010, great strides are being made with the government in Guatemala toward completing the adoptions which were started before September 2008. This news has given families the hope that they will soon unite with the children they have already called their own, as well as to families who have not yet begun the process.
The Four Steps Involved
The four major steps in the adoption process:
- Choose which country to adopt in (Guatemala)
- Gather the dossier of appropriate documents including passports, visas and birth certificates
- Submit the dossier to the Guatemalan consulate for acceptance
- Travel to pick up the child to bring home
Seek an Attorney
It is important for the adoptive family to seek out the advice of an attorney. In addition to the problems caused by the Guatemalan government and its non-compliance with the Hague Adoption Convention, the attorney will be necessary to help with most of the paperwork as well as to act as a power of attorney for the family.
