Guatemala Adoption Procedures

Your application to adopt a Guatemalan child (and live together in the United States) will be carefully considered by Guatemalan and US authorities. For the benefit of all involved, there are strict legal criteria for the adoption and immigration processes. For more information on the legal process, you can contact the US Embassy in Guatemala, or visit their website at http://usembassy.state.gov/guatemala.

Once your initial adoption application has been approved, the Guatemalan authorities will allocate you a child and pass your initial referral to the Guatemalan attorney you have nominated. If you decide to accept the child, you will need to grant the attorney with a ‘power of attorney’ to allow them to represent you in your absence and complete the adoption and immigrations procedures on your behalf. In most cases, the same attorney will also represent the interests of the child’s biological mother.

Before your application can progress, the Department of Homeland Security Office (DHS) in Guatemala must provide its “pre-approval”, and your case be assessed by a social worker from the family court. Your case can then be put before Procuradoria General de la Nacion (PGN). When they are satisfied that there is no evidence of fraud and have given their approval, the child is legally yours. There are no fees to be paid to PGN for this assessment. The child’s biological mother must register her final approval of the adoption before your attorney can collect a new birth certificate, citing you and your partner as the child’s parents.

Your attorney will then present your adoption case file and I-600 orphan visa petition to the Department of Homeland Security in Guatemala for review. Once approval is granted by DHS, you will be offered a visa interview by the Embassy’s Consular Section.

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