Dear Families,
It has come to our attention that some families with children who have already been in the US for well over a year are being told by their attorneys that the CNA needs to "reveiw their case" and to submit a photocopy of their child's US Cerificate of Citizenship or their families US Passports to present to the CNA.
We are in communication with our sources and with the CNA. They have denied that any such requests have been made by them. It is a highly unusual request for children who are back in the US and it is not relavent to verification of adoption.
Please be advised that the US Certificate of Citizenship SHOULD NOT be photocopied. Furthermore, we (Guatadopt) are a little concerned about the intent for these photocopied documents.
We will post any further developments.
The Guat Team
Posted by Marie at March 31, 2009 10:19 AMoooh, that is pretty scary - just think what the market is for theft of a US child's citizenship ID! I was asked outside the US Embassy in GC if I wanted to sell my US passport, and I was also *begged* by some Guatemalans here to let them use my daughter's US visa to smuggle their same-age daughter into the US. FWIW, 10 yrs ago 'purchased' US citizenship i.d. cost $1,500. Very creepy and sad that APs are getting emails from their Guatemalan attys...
Lisa
Posted by: Lisa at March 31, 2009 11:09 AMThis is troubling indeed.
Please post more info as it becomes available about this.
But, when filing the 864? document, I thought you were suppose send a copy of the COC? What do you use then? Help would be wonderful. Thank you again for all your wonderful advise, support and information
Posted by: tay at March 31, 2009 01:56 PMTay - We did not send in a copy of our son's COC with the 864 and still received all of our documents back.
Posted by: Stephanie at April 1, 2009 12:21 PMMan, does this smell of a 419-like scam! Why would anyone, once their adoption has been approved by Guatemalan, US, and US-state agencies, with full documentation, think that there's all of a sudden a review WITHOUT a verifiable legal document from a US agency? (Addresses, contact officials, telephone numbers, etc.). When in doubt, ASK before doing!!!
Posted by: ebina2 at April 1, 2009 09:57 PMMy adoption agency contacted me a couple of weeks ago for this info. copies of birth certs. passports, etc. I asked the agency at the time why they needed this and they said that the facilitator/attorneys just want to check up on the families to make sure everything's ok. I just emailed to my agency now with a copy of the guatadopt warning. I'll repost once I get a response from my agency.
Posted by: Mary Ann at April 5, 2009 09:41 PMI heard back from my adoption agency and they said that the facilitator always asks for followup information about a year after a child comes home and this is not unusual. If anyone else has been asked by their agencies to provide this info, can you please post and let us know. Thanks
Posted by: Mary Ann at April 6, 2009 09:00 PMMary Ann,
Normally this would be done with a post-placement report, which is going to give much more information about the child's well-being than some photocopies of paperwork would. I would still be suspicious of the facilitator's request for a copy of the birth certificate and passport. You'll have to read your contract with your agency to make sure, but I doubt you are under any obligation to send these photocopies to them.
Posted by: Anonymous at April 8, 2009 09:55 AMI would absolutely not send copies of the COC and passport. As Marie and others have posted on the Forum at this site, Guatemala has **NO** post-adoption requirements. Any post adoption requirements your agency has in for them, not for Guatemala. What penalty could they impose if you refuse?
Posted by: sjbj at April 8, 2009 10:25 AMI'll have to go back and look at the adoption agreement with the agency, but pretty sure the agreement has no real "teeth" - like they can't fine me or anything. I seem to remember that they can ask for info/etc. in the agreement. Also, I am required to send letters to the bmom once a year with photos until my dd turns 18.
We were contacted with the same request about a month ago. In haste, we sent photo copies of the child's Guatemala passport with US entry date stamp and our passport copies, too. We also sent a notarized statement that the child was in our care. We did not know of any warning not to do so.
Posted by: Betsy at April 8, 2009 10:24 PMI think that there might be different reasons for the requests for passports, bc, etc. However, when our children's home was raided a year ago all of our files were taken. Some files belonged to children who had left the country, legally, with their adoptive parents many months before. But once the PGN, MP and CNA had these files they wanted to see proof of the child. Now it would have been easier for them to check their own records, immigration and passport info but no, we were required to ask adoptive parents to send a copy of the passport, the bc and the PGN adoption decree. We never have kept this information so had to contact adoptive parents to send it to us. Then those cases were considered clear and better yet, the child could leave the country (even though they had left many months before). Anyway, for the Semillas de Amor cases this was why the info was requested.
Posted by: Nancy Bailey at April 9, 2009 12:29 AM