Waiting Time to Adopt a Child from Guatemala

Special Note: U.S. Not Processing Guatemalan Adoptions

As of September 12, 2008 the Department of State advises potential adoptive parents and adoption service providers not to initiate new adoptions from Guatemala because the Department cannot process such adoptions from Guatemala to completion at this time.

The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) entered into force with respect to the United States on April 1, 2008.  Effective April 1, 2008, newly initiated intercountry adoptions between the United States and other Convention countries must comply with the Convention’s standards.

Guatemala acceded to the Hague Adoption Convention in March 2003.  While Guatemala passed legislation designed to implement the Convention in Guatemala, it has not yet established the regulations and infrastructure necessary to meet its obligations under the Convention.  As a result, the Department of State cannot issue the documentation required by the Intercountry Adoption Act (IAA) for issuance of an immigrant visa for Convention adoption cases.

Based on the above, our Agency and every adoption agency has temporarily suspended programs in Guatemala.

The time will vary from as short as 4 months to as long as 18 months. Whether it will take the shorter or the longer of the estimates depends on many factors including your individual level of motivation to complete the paperwork and on the U.S. and Guatemalan governments' backlogs. In Guatemala the waiting time for a young male child is less than for that of a young female.