Notice from US State Department:  Guatemala

December 8, 2009

CNA’s announcement of a Two-year Limited Pilot Program

On November 20, 2009 the Department of State received a letter from the Guatemalan National Council on Adoptions (CNA) – the Guatemalan Central Authority — announcing its intention to launch a limited two-year pilot program that will allow for the adoption of a small number of older children, groups of siblings, and children with special needs.  The CNA has invited the Central Authorities of Hague Convention partner countries to express interest in participating in this program, in which four countries will be chosen to participate among countries that express interest.  The program is designed to re-open Guatemala’s Intercountry adoptions while ensuring compliance with the Hague Convention.  The CNA has so far provided little detail about how the pilot program would function.

After significant deliberation, the Department of State, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), decided to express interest in learning more about the pilot program.  Although we remain deeply concerned about the history of malfeasance in intercountry adoptions from Guatemala, we responded positively because of our strong interest in assisting Guatemala to reform its adoption system. 

This expression of interest on the part of the United States does not mean that new adoptions from Guatemala will start any time soon, and prospective parents should not make any plans to start new adoptions in Guatemala at this time.  Our expression of interest does not in any way signal that DOS has found Guate­mala’s intercountry adoption procedures in compliance with the Hague Convention on Adoption.  There is no pilot program yet, only a statement of intent from the CNA to start one.  Although the United States has ex­pressed interest in learning more about the proposed pilot program, we cannot commit to participating until we understand how the program will be designed and determine whether it is something in which the United States should participate.  We do not know if the CNA will accept the United States as one of the participants.

We also cannot predict how the pilot program will affect grandfathered cases currently being processed by the Guatemalan government. We will keep you updated on how the Guatemalan pilot program develops and whether the United States will be a participant.