NEWSFLASH! We are seeking accreditation in Colombia.  Two of our board members have long established ties with the country and it is a stable program we have long wanted to establish.  God willing, we expect to have accreditation soon in 2009.  We will be updating our informational materials, website, and application, so keep checking! 

We are currently working in two countries: Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic.  An overview of these countries' processes follows.  More detailed information is available at your request.

  GUATEMALA

NOTE:  The process below for Guatemala is the old process previous to the change in law.  As soon as there is a new process in place we will update it here.

Guatemalan adoptions, in a nutshell*, are divided into two phases:

Phase I ~The Paper Chase~

During this part of the adoption process, you will need to gather and prepare a certain amount of paperwork required by the Guatemalan and US governments.  We will give you a list with instructions of what you will require.  You will need to keep pretty busy until you have obtained all the documents needed.  This is what is known as the "paper chase".  When you have all the paperwork (dossier) ready, your homestudy ready and your USCIS (INS) approval, YOUR part in the adoption is complete.  If you are already paper ready, your adoption will proceed faster.

Phase II ~ The Wait~

Once your dossier is complete, including USCIS approval, you will submit it to us to process in Guatemala.  This is when the actual adoption process begins.  This phase has several steps and can last anywhere between 3 to 9 months.  After the DNA testing is done, we strongly encourage you to visit your child as soon as you can, to promote parent-child bonding, learn about the culture, and ease your waiting time.  Once the Guatemalan part of the process is complete, you will be notified to bring your child home. 

 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC