OK, what does this mean??? Marie

That's great, but what does it really mean? Erik

I sure want to know that "common ground" is!

I don't think it means anything. The President probably doesn't have a whole lot of the facts and with what is on his plate I don't feel it's a high priority for him. I also don't think that everything that gets said goes to print.

Lisa

sounds like lots of polictical "speak" to me. I wish that we knew exactly what "common ground" meant!!
Lee Anne

This was a very encouraging that he made this comment. No information like that is brought out in a speech unless there has already been a dialogue started between the two Presidents. I believe that the President of the
United States cares deeply about this situation. I believe that the President of Guatemala and his staff chose to only allow questions that would not cause embaressment to him or his wife by answers that may have been given by the President of the US. We should remember that the government of Guatemala does not want to cause problems with US relations. I believe that the MANUAL was a good faith tactic that the government of Guatemala used to convince the US, adoptive families, ADA in Guatemala, and the Guatemalan Congress that change will happen in Guatemala and the US. The fact that the President of The US spoke is a positive step towards change that will be good for the children of Guatemala. The glass is half full!

It's too vague to extract anything meaningful from it. We all know that that both countries are working towards implementing the Hague Treaty so that wasn't any "new" news for those of us who are following this situation closely. What this statement means for those of us "in process" I have no idea. Once again, we're still left swinging in the breeze!

Please tell us what this means????
should we start the process of adoption or find another country????
Please tell us what this means!!!!

I don't think any of us will know what anything means until something concrete happens unfortunately. Even though very little was said, on the topic of adoptions, I feel our voices were heard. Would have loved to be a fly on the wall during the discussions between President Bush & Berger.

Its not very clear, but I tend to think this is good news. In the middle it says, "...to help protect children AND FAMILIES DURING THE ADOPTION PROCESS" (emphasis added). That phrase to me says he let Berger know he doesn't want in process adoptions to be terminated.

The fact that they found "common ground" says to me that Berger has agreed to this. AFter all, I think Berger has a lot to loose. Bush has a big bargaining chip with all of the illegal Guatemalans in the US.

That is my take on it.

What this means is that the US will ratify the Hague Convention this year, estimated ratification to be 31 December 07. The US is stating expectations for Guate to implement the Hague. If Guate does not do so, the US will cease to recognize Guate adoptions. Under the Hague, Guate must (1) develop a central adoption authority to oversee all adoptions, both domestic and international, (2) cease extra-judiciary adoptions and begin a process overseen by judges (like in Russia and other countries), (3) supervise birth mother recruiters, (4) cease to allow adoption facilitators to act as free agents and require that they are supervised by adoption agencies (limiting poor practice and bad decisions like in Bonn case), (5) regulate foster care homes by requiring standards for medical attention, nurtition, and sanitation.

Exactly, what does this mean? All of the emails that were sent to the President and it doesn't sound like he even touched much on adoption. Everyone agrees that there needs to be good control over the system, watch out for fraudulent cases and the cost of these adoptions are outrageous. So the two countries need to come to an agreement on policy, reduce cost, reduce time frames, reduce fraud and continue with adoptions so that these poor children do not end up dying from starvation or lack of medical attention. Bring the babies home.

It means...

Guatemala become compliant with the Hague Convention...the USA will continue to complete adoptions with them when the USA implements it later this year or early 2008.

Guatemala doesn't become compliant with the Hague Convention...the USA will stop doing adoptions with them when the USA implements it later this year or early 2008.

Please tell us what this means???
Can we still apply to adopt???
How long will the process take???
Please help!!!

Thanks

Our dossier is being authenticated and could receive a referral, but can't make sense of what this all means. Do we move forward? Is the vibe that it will shut down a month after we accept a referral? What's the vibe?

Melody,

No one can answer your question. You have to weigh all the pros and cons and decide for yourself if you want to take the chance at this point, as uncertainty in the process is a given. Having adopted from Guatemala twice already and feeling so blessed to have 2 wonderful children, I wouldn't consider another country to adopt our 3rd child, so my husband and I are forging ahead. We are now completing our dossier. We realize that the situation is very volatile, the wait could be LONG and worse case scenario, the process might come to a halt. We are willing to take that chance. You need to come to your own decision. No one can predict how this will all play out.

Regarding the comment on cost made earlier, I'm afraid that with the Hague implementation, cost will only go up. In speaking with our agency, they are having to hire more people and it will be more work for them per case. As many already know, many of the USCIS fees are scheduled to increase SIGNIFICANTLY in April. Joining a treaty, apart from many things, means more paperwork. More paperwork usually means more oversite, more staff, higher costs. Also if they plan on implementing a 2nd DNA in the Guatemalan process as has been discussed, yes, there's another fee. So, cost reduction is very unlikely going to be an end result here.

Lilian

All-I agree with the previous posts. The quote means either implement the Hague (a post in this thread adequately says what this means) or no more adoptions. The DOS has stated that all who have an I600A filed prior to that will be grandfathered. All else will not.

Regarding the Guatemala side, there is simply no way to determine anything. Both of my kids are from Guatemala. Just came back with my boy in January. There is always the issue of not knowing what will happen with the other country in terms of processes, etc. You either accept that or not. No one will give the comfort level you are looking for if you don't accept the inherent risks with international adoption and anyone who tries is not being completely honest. You simply never know what can or will happen. That is why it is such a relief not to simply get your child in-country, but to actually land at the airport and go through customs in the US. If you've already adopted, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

My only suggestion is this. You need to make sure your contract has a provision should adoptions cease for any reason so that minimally, you can recover whatever money you put into the process and choose another avenue. You CANNOT get the IRS tax credit without actually completing the adoption so keep that in mind. It is hard enough to deal with the emotional turmoil of not being able to bring the child back to the United States should something with your adoption go wrong. I can't even imagine such a thing. That said, if you can at least recover your money, you can move forward with other adoption options (eg, another country).

Many prayers for all currently in process and all who want to adopt from Guatemala.

melody I read your message. We don't know for sure what this means for people that are about to apply. The statement is too vague to know.

I can undstand your desperation so I'll say a little more about what I think it does and doesn't say. It sure sounds like Bush wants adoptions to continue but he is also saying that at least eventually both countries have to be Hague compliant. Will the time table for becoming hague compliant be stepped up? Don't know. Will interium measures be put in place between now and when Hague is implemented? Don't know. Will Guatemala even become Hague compliant? I tend to think this implies they will become hague compliant eventually and continue adoptions, but the statement is vague enough that we don't know for sure. Will in process adoptions be allowed to continue? I tend to think Bush put pressure on Berger to do so since he talked about the 1000s of american families that are adopting, but Bush's statement doesn't promise in process adoptions will be finished.

I think we sometimes forget that protections for US families under our laws are in place... essentially grandfathering in folks with an I-171 already, even if Guatemala is not yet Hague compliant when the US fully implements... That's comforting to remember, but, also keep in mind that Guatemala could either do something similar while they implement or they could do something drastic too... they are a separate sovereign and will do what they wish. Hopefully, between the various adoption interest groups, attorneys, Guatemalan legislators and other government officials, they will also draft implementing language that addresses families "in-process"... In the meantime, I suspect any implementing requirements on their side will come slowly... it has certainly taken us awhile to get going too... a lot of people and groups are providing input and comment and I suspect that any new/proposed laws probably will be challenged along the way... it's going to be a roller coaster ride... Ultimately, I am trusting that Guatemala will do what is best for everyone, while putting the needs of their children first.

This is where faith comes in. We have to believe that the children God chose for us will be able to come home, hopefully soon. It sounds like there may be some delays, but Guatemala is going to have to do some changes if they want to continue bringing in money to Guatemala thru adoptions.

I agree with several of the recent postings. I recently accepted a referral and while I am beyond anxious, I will continue to hope it follows through. However, if I was starting over at this point in time, I would not choose to adopt from Guatemala until the changes could be successfully (big if) implemented..I would choose another country. My sense, and this is just my sense, is that obviously people would freak out big time if they suddenly announced adoptions are stopping, so instead we are seeing these warnings, bit by bit, which are meant both to caution those in process but more to slow down or even halt people from starting the process. I also think that politicians on both ends, the US and Guatemala, would not want a massive panic of Americans in mid adoption coming after them if they made a sudden halt to the adoptions in process now, so realistically it is in both countries interest to try to get those processed I 600A adoptions done. Because people would freak out--towards their agencies, their representatives, taking legal action, etc...if we were dropped after we were told we would be grandfathered in. It would be ugly. Therefore, I think it is in all parties best interest to get current cases through, but they may not say that, so as not to encourage new applicants. So my personal recommendation to people considering starting would be start if you can face a real risk, or otherwise choose a country where you feel you have a more sure outcome. One more thing, the media has been awful recently about all of this. They narrow it down as if its a purchase at a convenience store, cash for a kid, and it's such a stupid and inaccurate picture of the process. If only every parent in the world was put through what the adoptive parent is for approval... Somebody out there with a brain, look at the issue more deeply and give us a break! What child wants to spend their life in a state orphanage? Don't screw things up for these kids!

Here's a question for everyone and I would love to get an answer from some "official" who could explain this. I think anyone adopting a child who does not have a family is doing a wonderful thing but how can Angelina Jolie go to Vietnam and in a matter of a few weeks come home with a child! How many of us out there have been trying for over a year? How many have tried once, twice or more and had the adoptions go bad, have our babies in orphanages? How many times do we have to get fingerprinted and redo dossiers because it's taken so long, these documents expire. Yet someone with money, power and a famous entertainer like Angelina and Madonna can simply go to these countries and in a very short time, voila, home comes baby. It's just not fair. Angelina and Madonna, please stay out of Guatemala. There are enough problems now for those of us who have endured months, even years to bring our babies home. If you want to help, use your voices to talk to our own President to help communicate changes with President Berger of Guatemala to facilitate good health care for these babies, help to fund orphanages, help to hire more people to work at PGN to process adoptions. Help influence our President to send more people to the US Embassy to be more thorough but speed things up. Please do something productive for all of us.

Shelly,
How exactly do you figure that Angelina and Madonna are doing there adoptions in "a few weeks" ? Did you see where Angelina had started her process for her recent adoption a month after Shiloh was born? Just because the world just now found out about it doesn't mean the process was just started a week ago.Getting upset with others that are further along in their process isn't doing anyone any good. We should applaud anyone willing to go thru the adoption process (the rollercoaster ride that it is) to help out children that need families.We need to save our strength for getting thru this process instead of wasting it getting pissed off at people that have already finalized their adoption.As hard as this is,we need to keep as positive as we can that we will be able to bring our babies home soon without too many more delays.

Melanie, don't think that I said I was "pissed off" at other people. No, it's true that I did not know she has started the process a while back, how could I. I just went off what is currently being told in the media. I said in the first part of my post that I think it is great that everyone adopting is doing a wonderful thing, this includes Angelina. I am a huge fan of hers. I think she's doing a wonderful thing and is genuine in her love of children. Just frustrating that if you have power, money and influence processes seem to go smoother and more quickly.

THANK YOU MELANIE!!!
I am so sick of folks bashing Angeina Jolie...As for Madonna who knows what she did and why??? Now is not the time for anyone to point fingers..In the real world money does talk, and in reality in "my opinion" MONEY is the key factor in what destroyed guatemalan adoptions!!! I knew my birth mom personally and I know many many hands were paid money for the baby we brought home..Greed usally does destroy a good thing-
1 percent of all guatemalan kids go to american families??? Tell me NO one is not making big time money and guat adoptions would remain open- Lie it or not we all had a hand in the destruction with or without knowing it