Next Steps

I have received a lot of questions about when little Evelyn can come home. There are many steps that must now occur down in Guatemala to get the adoption finalized. I am listing the steps so you can see all that must happen before she comes home. As you will see as you read, there are a lot of steps and a lot of people (including lots of beauracrats (sp?). I feel very good about my agency and the attorneys that they utilize in Guatemala so hopefully she will be home at the shorter end of the spectrum instead of the longer side.

1) I go in on Monday to sign my Power of Attorney which will be sent along with all of my "dossier" paperwork to the attorney in Guatemala.

2)Dossier is translated into Spanish for the courts in Guatemala.

3) Dossier is presented to the Ministry of External Relations who registers the case and certifies all the documents. (steps 2&3 usually take 2-3 weeks)

4) DNA Authorization--Attorney in Guatemala submits a request for DNA test to the US Embassy in Guatemala; Embassy issues the approval to move forward with the DNA test (this takes 1-2 weeks)

5) DNA test performed--birth mother and child will have DNA taken (cheek swab usually); specimen is overnighted to LabCorp in US. (this takes about a week)

6) Preapproval by US Embassy to proceed with adoption--DNA test is processed; results sent; results certified and notarized; results sent to the US Embassy in Guatemala who then opens a review of the adoption file to ensure that all US requirements have been met (this takes about 4 weeks).

7) Family Court (Guatemalan court)--Case is presented to the family court; social worker assigned to the case; social worker interviews the mother and foster mother (to see the child); social worker prepares a report for the court; family court judge approves the case to continue (this takes 5-6 weeks).

8) Procurderia Court (PGN)--case is presented to PGN where a PGN attorney is assigned (this is different than my agency's attorney); case is reviewed carefully to make sure all information and documents required are in the file. If the PGN attorney feels additional information/documentation is needed, the case is "kicked out" of the court and given back to the adoption attorney to secure the needed items. After the information is corrected, it is resubmitted to PGN (this process can happen in as little as 4 weeks or as long as ??? months).

**Note on PGN--A new director was named about 3 months ago and he is carefully reviewing each case. He has slowed the process down considerably. As of last week, my agency has hired an additional attorney to handle all of our cases as they go through PGN to try to expedite the process a little better. Currently, the PGN is where dealys seem to be occuring. No information is available while a case is in PGN unless the case is "kicked out" for additional information.

9) Birth Mother Signing--after the case exits PGN, the birth mother will come in and signoff on the final paperwork (this usually takes about 1 week).

10) Birh certificate reissued--The adoption attorney applies to the Civil Registry wher the child was born to issue a new birth certificate. The name will remain the same with the addition of my last name (Maria Fernanda Carter). This takes 1-3 weeks depending on where the baby was born (longer if born in Guate City)

11) Passport issued--a Guatemalan passport will be issued with the new last name of the child (this takes 2-4 days usually).

12) Final Embassy Review--The entire case is presented to the US Embassy who performs a final review to confirm that all documentation is in order. If they are all in order, a Pink Slip is issued (this takes about 48 hours, not counting holidays or Fridays).

13) Final Medical Exam--The child will go to the INS doctor to get a final review of the medical records and to be sure that all vaccinations are current. This exam is required to get the Visa to travel to the US (this takes 2-3 days).

14) Embassy appointment is set--the embassy sets an appointment for the family to go tot he Embassy to do the final paperwork for the travel visa. This appointment is usually set for about 6 business days after the pink slip is issued.

15) Make travel reservations to go pickup baby Evelyn!!!

16) Arrive in Guatemala City, travel to the hotel, receive Evelyn.

17) Embassy appointment interview (6:30 am) to turn in the paperwork required for the Visa. (2-3 hours)

18) Following day--pickup the Visa!

19) Home to Kansas City!