Adoptions in Guatemala

Guatemalan Congress Passes Adoption Legislation

A message from the U.S. Department of State

December 14, 2007

On Tuesday, December 11, 2007, the Guatemalan Congress passed legislation intended to implement the Government of Guatemala’s obligations under the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption.

This new legislation creates the National Council on Adoptions as the Guatemalan Central Authority for intercountry adoptions and establishes many new safeguards for children and families in the process of intercountry adoption from Guatemala.

The legislation contains provisions to allow for the completion, under the current laws governing notarial adoptions, of cases already in process prior to the December 31, 2007 effective date of the new law. Such cases will not have to be completed before that date. The Government of Guatemala is also developing a procedure for registering these in-process cases.

Currently, officials of the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala are in discussions with Guatemalan officials to determine the definition of in-process cases and details of the registration process. As soon as we have any information on these issues, we will publish it here at http://www.travel.state.gov.

The next step for the Government of Guatemala is to set up the infrastructure necessary to put into practice the requirements of this important adoption reform bill, including the establishment of the Central Authority. After April 1, 2008, the date that the Hague Convention goes into force for the United States, we will not be able to approve new adoptions from Guatemala if the Government of Guatemala has not put into practice an adoption process that meets its Convention obligations.

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For more information on intercountry adoptions and the Hague Adoption Convention, please visit the Intercountry Adoption page of the Department of State website:

http://www.travel.state.gov/family/adoption/adoption_485.html