http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/64596.htm (link to Department of State on-line Q&A re: Hague implementation)
Welcome to "Ask the State Department" -- an online interactive forum where you can submit questions to State Department officials.
Maura Harty, Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, recently discussed the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption and what the regulations for accreditation/approval of adoption service providers mean for U.S. adoption service providers.
April 20, 2006
Laurie from Maryland writes:
If I, as an adopting parent, file my I-600A now, will the Hague Convention have any effect on my adoption case?
Maura Harty:
Laurie, I can understand your concern, and Congress, in passing the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, took this situation into account. Section 505(b) of the Act states that neither the Convention nor the IAA (and its implementing regulations by implication) shall apply if the application for advance processing of an orphan petition (I-600A) or petition to classify an orphan as an immediate relative (I-600) is filed before the date the Convention enters into force for the United States. The date of the Convention’s entry into force will be posted on our web site well in advance.
http://www.jcics.org/Intercountry%20...0of%202000.pdf
Scroll down to page 22 and look at section 505(b)(1) (the Transition Rule).
All this means that it is federal law in the U.S. that the Hague regulations and statutes will not apply to adoptions between Convention countries (e.g., the U.S. and Guatemala) if the person seeking to adopt has filed their I-600 or I-600A before the U.S. ratifies the Hague (likely next summer).
But I wouldn't take that to mean that an adoption begun just before the U.S. ratifies the Hague will go smoothly. To the contrary, I would expect it to be a bumpy ride at best. Better to move quickly if one is sure one wants to adopt from Guatemala.