FAQs: Responses to Questions Raised With Us on Adoptions in Guatemala


The following is based on frequently asked questions that the Office of Children’s Issues and the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala  have received from parents seeking to adopt in Guatemala.

Question:  The Guatemalan Solicitor General (Procuradoría General de la Nación or PGN) initiated new adoption procedures, including interviews with the birth mothers.  Since then, has the PGN approved and released any cases?

Answer:  We have been told that the review process has been completed for over 450 transition or “grandfathered” cases and that the Solicitor General has ordered the release of all successfully reviewed cases once their standard internal processing within PGN is complete.  We received confirmation that the first such cases were released to legal representatives of adoptive parents on May 29th.  These included both final approvals of adoption cases, and "previo" requests for additional information or documents.  We were informed June 3 by the Solicitor General that approximately 300 additional cases, many of them approvals, will be available for pick-up later that week.

Question:  Why is the National Council on Adoption (CNA) involved in the registration of the transition cases?

Answer:  The new adoption law which ended the notarial adoption process and established the legal requisites for Guatemala’s Hague-complaint adoption system specifically protected notarial adoption cases initiated prior to the law’s December 31, 2007 effective date.  However, it stated that those cases would only be processed according to notarial procedures if they were registered with the Guatemalan Central Authority for the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption within 30 working days of the law’s effective date.  The CNA is the Central Authority for Guatemala.  As the Central Authority, the CNA is responsible for ensuring that the duties of the Convention are implemented in Guatemala. 

Question:  What is the U.S. Embassy doing to make sure that the Government of Guatemala doesn’t add new requirements to transition cases (those that were registered with the National Council on Adoption (CNA) before February 12, 2008)?

Answer:  We recognize the responsibility of the Government of Guatemala to establish procedures that safeguard the adoption process for its citizens.  We have been in frequent contact with Guatemalan authorities as they continue to develop procedures and regulations regarding new adoption cases, as well as transition cases.  We have made every effort to urge them to establish procedures that respect all parties in the adoption process (the birth parent(s), the prospective adoptive child, and prospective adoptive parents).  Regarding the new review process, including birth mother interviews, Guatemalan authorities have informed us that changes recently implemented for these cases are intended to add an additional level of assurance that the requirements of the old law are actually being met.  

Question:  We have heard that during the birth mother interviews, Guatemalan officials are offering money to the birth mothers as an inducement to withdraw their relinquishment and keep their children?  Is this true?  Who is present during these interviews and is anyone protecting the rights of the birth mothers?

Answer:  The Embassy has discussed these reports with senior officials from the PGN and the CNA.  They have informed us that the activities described are not standard practice for these interviews; further, the Government of Guatemala is working to make sure that all interviews are conducted properly.  During the interviews, PGN and CNA officials and an attorney representing the adoption case are present.  In some cases, a psychologist and an independent observer experienced in international adoptions were also present.

Question:  After these new birth mother interviews, have any adoptions been invalidated?  What is happening to these children?

Answer:  Following the reviews of the first 450 adoption cases, 20 were found to be not approvable and the procedures were initiated to invalidate the pending adoption.  According to the PGN, the processing of these cases will be as follows:

  • The child’s file will first be sent back to the Sección de Niñez (Children’s Issues) at PGN,
  • The child will be removed from the home/foster family where s/he had been staying and will be place in a child protection home designated by a Children’s and Adolescents’ Court Judge;
  • A thorough investigation will be conducted by the PGN, including a follow-up interview with the birth parent(s) or a visit to the home where the children were being cared for by a social worker.  A decision regarding the child’s placement will be made in light of the information gathered from this investigation.

Question:   Is there a special process for handling the following specific kinds of adoption cases:

  • Special instances of adoptions that were in process but not registered as on-going cases before the February 12, 2008, deadline?
  • Medical emergencies?
  • Abandonments?

Answer:  Under current Guatemalan law, any adoption case that was not registered before the February 12 deadline will be processed under the provisions stipulated in the new adoption law.  There is no provision to process cases that were not or could not be registered before the deadline.

We are not aware of any special adoption process to handle children with medical emergencies.  (A medical emergency implies that a child requires immediate medical care.  Whether that child is also under consideration for adoption would be a secondary concern.)

The CNA continues to study the question of abandonment cases, those in which a Guatemalan court has determined that the children have been abandoned by their birth parent(s).  Abandonment cases often involve older children and special needs children whose parents no longer have legal custody.  The placement and adoption of these children under Guatemala’s previous adoption laws was routinely a lengthy process.  The CNA has not made a decision about how to deal with these abandonment cases where a placement may have been proposed, but was not registered with the CNA prior to February 12, 2008.  The CNA has informed the Embassy that they hope to be able, within existing legal authorities, to reconfirm any pre-existing family matches for abandonment cases, especially when the pre-existing match has already fostered emotional bonds that, if maintained, will be in the best interests of the child

Question:  My lawyer is telling me that a child has been identified for me and that Guatemalan authorities are willing to process this case under the new law.  Will my child qualify for an immigrant visa?

Answer:  Under Guatemala’s new laws and regulations, effective December 31, 2007, lawyers cannot refer children for adoption; all referrals must be made by the Guatemalan National Council for Adoption (CNA).  The CNA is the Guatemalan Central Authority for Intercountry Adoptions and is still developing the procedures for referring children for intercountry adoption.  After December 31, 2007, and until these new procedures are established and clarified, it would be unwise to accept any offer or make any payments for placement of an adoptive child from Guatemala.  

Question:  I have been told that the 2nd DNA test has been completed for my adoptive child, but I have not yet received my “pink slip” (immigrant visa appointment) from the Embassy.  What is the best way for me to communicate with the consular section?

Answer:  Questions regarding specific adoption cases that have been approved by USCIS and by the PGN should be sent to AdoptGuatemala@state.gov