How hard are adoptions from India or Guatemala...

[liya]

Well my husband and i have recently had some news about my ovaries and for now outlook isnt so good. I havent talked to anyone about it been pretty much in denial and still think i may be. But we did talk about other options in the worse scenario case. If it comes to that i really would love to adopt from either India or Guatemala since my husband and I would love for the baby to look somewhat like me(since Ari looks like his daddy :) ). This is not something we want to purue inmediately it is something we want to start researching so when the time comes we will be ready for everything.

Has anyone here heard of adoptions from India or Guatemala?? How is the process?? Longer than expected ?? Etc...


TIA mamas

[jenmcadams]

Linda -

First of all sorry to hear about the problems you may have. As far as Guatemala, I have a good friend who is adopting from there and the process hasn't seemed too arduous. They were originally looking at adopting siblings from Columbia, but had problems with their agency and switched. Their new agency recommended Guatemala and they started getting adoption candidates right away. They've made one or two trips and are in the process of finalizing their adoption of a 4 month old little boy. I don't think they'll be able to bring over the baby for a few more months, but they've only been working on it for 2-3 months so far.

HTH,

Jen

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

Liya,
I'm peckimg one handed but dear friends adopted from G and have a gorgeous baby girl...i think they used holt agency...
Neve
http://home.nc.rr.com/ourbabytristan
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[emmiem]

I have a 3 yo daughter adopted from Guatemala. We used Small Miracles International. The program now is a little more difficult due to the political uncertaincies of the country right now. The process takes about 6-9 months post referral. The costs are somewhere in the range of 20,000-25,000. The children are in foster care while the adoption is in court. You do not have to travel and generally most people just go once at pick up time! The children are beautiful and healthy.

We are currently in the process of adopting another little girl from China. We have about another six months to go until referral. The process is a lot different than Guatemala. We are using FTIA for this adoption. Go to Families Thru International Adoption's website and you can get a overview of all countries and programs.

India is difficult to adopt from unless you are Indian national. They are given preference. The process is long and usually for older children.

Don't worry about your children looking like you. They really do pick up your mannerisms anyway and start to resemble you. I have one biological daughter, one from Guatemala, and will have one from China and I think we make a beautiful family.

You may email privately if you would like more info.
Michele

[liya]

Michele..I know..LOL I would love any baby that comes into my arms....thank you all for the posts..please keep on posting about angencies experiences etc...

you all have made my day..

[MelissaTC]

I began looking into Guatemala through Carolina adoption agency. The adoption coordinator, Terra (I think that is her name) is super nice and helpful. She told me that it could take up to a year from when you receive your placement and that a trip to Guatemala is not necessary but if you do go, it is a 3 day visit. She described it as being lovely. Anyway, just another place to check out if you want...I don't know anyone who has gone through a successful Guatemalan adoption through them but I do know someone who used them to adopt in the Ukraine...

[mharling]

Linda -
My brother and SIL used Holt for Korea. Here is Holt's webpage for Guatemala. There are links at the bottom where it talks about timeline and fees.

http://www.holtintl.org/guatemala/

Mary
Lane 4/6/03

[holliam]

I'm actually in the middle of a Guatemalan adoption! We are awaiting our referral any day now! At the latest, we should have it by the end of the month.

We are using an amazing agency--Mandala Adoption. They are based in NC, but work with folks throughout the country. They are smaller and have great connections in Guatemala. They know us very well, and I would never use anyone else:

http://www.mandalaadoption.org/

There is some political activity with Guatemalan adoptions right now. Nothing is certain, but things are moving along.

With Guatemala, you typically receive a referral for a newborn. The time it takes for a referral varies considerably by agency. There are also some awful agencies out there. Our agency estimates about 4 weeks from dossier completion for a referral for a girl. If we had requested a boy, we would have the referral already.

We started collecting our paperwork at the beginning of January. Our homestudy and all our paperwork was completed by mid February. We were fingerprinted for the Immigration approval last week.

After the referral, the children are placed in private foster care while the case proceeds through the court system. During this time, you are typically allowed to visit and actually have the baby in the hotel with you while you visit.

The typical time for these cases to proceed is 6-9 months. But, some people come home at 4 months, and some at 12 months. Every case is unique and variable. It's not centralized and standardized like the China process.

Although you are not required to visit before you pick the child up, there are some advantages with different types of visas. If you visit before pickup, your child would automatically be granted citizenship.

Here are some sites for more info:

http://www.guatadopt.com/

http://forums.adoption.com/f19.html

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Holli

[MelissaTC]

Thanks for the info! :)