Should we start?

For as long as I have been involved in the world of Guatemalan adoptions, there has almost always been some impending threat making parents wonder whether they should start the process. And if there wasn't one, it was likely only because we weren't aware of what was going on behind closed doors.

There are two threats currently – one on the Guatemalan side as President Berger attempts to pass new laws to become compliant with the Hague. I don’t believe there is any way to predict what will happen on this end. The best I can say is that Guatemalan authorities have been trying to do this for many years and have yet to succeed, though it was scary back when they tried to implement it. If a new law is somehow passed, based on past attempts, “in process” cases are allowed to be completed under the old system. To be considered “in process”, the POA and first acta (birthmother’s consent for adoption) must have been completed and registered in Guatemala prior to the new law being enacted. At least that is how it has worked in the past.

The other threat is on the US side because of our implementation of the Hague which, as things stand today, will end adoptions from Guatemala to the US. While things can certainly change, it appears as though the DOS is going to take a pretty liberal approach on who will be grandfathered in and allowed to continue their adoption. It does appear as though anyone who has sent in an I600A prior to the Hague being implemented will be permitted to complete an adoption from Guatemala. So based on this, which as I said could be subject to change, you are safe starting the process now so far as the US Hague implementation is concerned.

There are no guarantees. And there is never a safe time to get into ICA. But that’s the state of affairs as best I can tell.