Stakeholder Meeting on Guatemalan Adoptions
On August 19, 2011, the Guatemalan National Council on Adoptions (CNA) published an “Acuerdo” (Solicitud de Adopcion Internacional, Acuerdo CNA-CD-015-2011) that formed the framework for a new process for those pending intercountry adoption cases under the CNA’s processing authority. Since announcement of the Acuerdo, United States Citizenship and Immigrations Services (USCIS) and the Department of State (DOS) have worked with the CNA to solidify details of the new procedures required by the Acuerdo. Families seeking to complete their adoptions under this process must meet certain additional requirements. We received written concurrence from the CNA on December 9, 2011, of the new process. Now that the process has been defined, we would like to explain the new procedures and what they mean for U.S. prospective adoptive families. Please visit the Department of State website for more background.
The CNA provided us with a list of cases that are under its processing authority and may be eligible to move forward under the new procedure. USCIS and the Department of State are contacting these families individually with detailed information regarding next steps. We also anticipate that the CNA may identify additional cases for processing under the new procedures.
USCIS conducted a general information call on Friday, December 16th at 1:00p.m. (EST) to learn more about the new CNA procedures and USCIS and the Department of State’s roles in assisting U.S. families move their cases forward once the CNA identifies their cases as eligible to proceed.