Guatemala Adoption: DHS/ICE Review Prior to Submission of Petition

You will need to submit an I-600 for your child as soon as the adoption is complete. If you are filing the petition in the United States, you will need to do so at your local USCIS office. The DHS website has more information about this process, including the forms to download.

The USCIS office will review your case and contact you with its decision. If your case is approved, the USCIS will notify the Consular Section at the US Embassy in Guatemala and you will be offered an appointment for an immigrant visa interview.

However, if you choose to have your I-600 filed in Guatemala, your attorney will submit your adoption case file to the DHS/ICE office at the Embassy once the adoption has been finalized. The case file should include the documentation listed below. Some of these documents should be accompanied by a certified English translation, they have been marked below with an asterisk.

1. The child’s original birth certificate
2. The child’s new birth certificate, naming you and your partner as parents
3. (If one or both of the biological parents have died) Certified death certificates
4. Either the record of official relinquishment of parental responsibility for the child, or a statement of abandonment from the Children’s Court Judge (Juzgado de Menores).
5. (Where the child has not been abandoned) A statement, confirming the biological mother’s relinquishing of the child, signed by her in the presence of an ICE Officer
6. An adoption approval notice, called a ‘Protocolo/Escritura’, signed by Procuraduria de la Nacion.
7. A certified copy of the final adoption authorization
8. Your child’s Guatemalan passport

Your case file will be presented to an official in the DHS/ICE office at the Embassy. The case must be brought to ‘Window 8′ of the Consular Section, which is open Monday to Thursday, between the hours of 9am and 4pm, where your documents and I-600A approval will be checked by ICE officers.

Your attorney will return two business days later and, either be granted a “pink slip” and given information on the child’s visa application, medical exam and the submitting of the I-600A form, or be informed that more supporting documents are required from you or your partner and asked to present them.

If your I-600A approval has not arrived, this will be a matter between the CIS and the Embassy and not a responsibility of your attorney’s. This is one reason why it is wise to wait until your attorney is in possession of your pink slip before making your travel plans.

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