Guatemala Status of Intercountry Adoptions



 

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 adoption 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 wrong and 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 the investigation related to the recent arrest of the adoption facilitator, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) found evidence of smuggling Guatemalan children into the United States who were candidates for adoption.  ICE also found evidence of fraudulent documents concerning adoption, immigration status, and health conditions of children involved. 

Separately, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field office in Guatemala has denied orphan petitions due to unlawful practices in Guatemala.  These include cases where an imposter purports to be the biological mother of the child and where the biological parent(s) have been deceived and there has been no true relinquishment of parental rights. 

Activity of this nature violates U.S. law and is also counter to the principles of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, of which Guatemala is a member and which the United States intends to join this year.

The adoption situation in Guatemala is volatile and unpredictable.  The U. S. Government is likely to review all pending adoption cases with more scrutiny because of ongoing investigations and may be unable to process cases quickly.  Detailed investigations may be warranted to determine that a child is truly eligible for adoption as an orphan. However, the U.S. Department of State is not planning an immediate shutdown of adoptions at this time.

The U.S. Government supports adoption reform efforts in Guatemala and is working closely with the Guatemalan Government 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 as an appropriate transition mechanism to the good practices of the Convention.

We will update our website (www.travel.state.gov) should new information become available.  Our e-mail address is:  AskCI@state.gov .

 

Last updated March 1