Adopting From Guatemala: DHS/ICE Review of Birth Mother Information and DNA Testing

April 10, 2007 by sachinskg

US authorities apply stringent measures to ensure that all adopted children meet the definitions given in the immigration law, and that the adoption procedures has been followed carefully and completely. Occasionally people are persuaded to adopt children that do not fit the orphan criteria and are not eligible for a visa to enter the US, and this can cause serious problems for you and your family.

All children and their ’sole’ parents are required by the DHS/ICE office at the US Embassy to undergo a DNA test to prove their relationship. This is to prevent the risk of theft or illegal adoption of children, as it has been known for women to pose as a child’s biological mother and fraudulently sign the documents relinquishing responsibility for a child that isn’t theirs. In some cases, the birth mother will be interviewed by the US immigration authorities and her situation investigated. The US Embassy has a duty to ensure that the adoption and immigration processes are carried out legally and ethically, and there are strict procedures in place to honor this duty.

Despite the best efforts of the US authorities, there is a significant amount of corruption within the Guatemalan system and this can cause problems for US citizens adopting children from the country.

Once the DHS/ICE has received all your adoption papers and documentation, your child’s DNA test will be authorized. The required documents include the birth mother’s birth certificate, a notarized copy of her “cedula” (National Identification card) and a statement of her consent to the adoption, also the hospital records of your child’s birth. You will also need to present the results of the child’s birth-mother’s HIV test.

Your Guatemalan attorney must contact the DHS/ICE office at the Embassy prior to submitting your I-600. You and your attorney will then be helped to make arrangements for your child’s DNA test. On receipt of a positive result, your case will either be approved by DHS/ICE or submitted for further investigation. If your case is submitted for further investigation, the authorities may interview your child’s birth-mother and request she reiterate her consent for the adoption to go ahead.

The document granted when the US authorities are satisfied that the adoption may go ahead and have approved the mother’s irrevocable release of the child is the “consentimiento”. The PGN will not approve any intercountry adoption application from American citizens without this document. This ruling means that you will have a guarantee of your child being granted an immigrant visa before you have finalized the adoption. Without this guarantee, parents would be at risk of adopting a child that they would be unable to live with in the United States.

If the DNA test results show the woman not to be the mother, your case will be terminated and the situation investigated by the authorities.

The DNA samples required are taken by one of the Embassy’s panel physicians in Guatemala, then shipped to the United States and submitted to a DHS-approved laboratory for testing. The DNA results should be returned in no more than two weeks, but you could still have another six weeks to wait before immigration authorities approve your case.

The charges for the DNA processing services vary, but $140 is a standard charge for taking the samples and having them couriered to the laboratory in the United States. The testing carried out by the US laboratory usually costs between $400 and $600.

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Adopting From Guatemala: DHS/ICE Review of Birth Mother Information and DNA Testing

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