[sak9645]

Maggie,

Please remember that there are two components to every international adoption -- the adoption itself, and immigration of the child to his/her new country.

The adoption must be completed under the laws of the child's country of citizenship. So Italian citizens would be able to adopt from any country whose laws permit Italian citizens to adopt. Although I don't know for sure, Guatemala's adoption laws probably would allow Italian citizens to adopt.

Immigration of anyone to a new country requires compliance with that country's laws. If the Italian citizens were living in Italy, their child would have to qualify for immigration under Italian law. If the Italian citizens were living in the U.S., their child would have to qualify for immigration under U.S. law.

Most countries do have laws that restrict immigration in certain ways. The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act is the law that governs immigration to this country. The Act permits two kinds of visas for adopted children -- IR-3 and IR-4. (IR, by the way, stands for "immediate relative.") To qualify for an adoption visa, at least one of the adoptive parents must be a U.S. citizen. The child also has to meet certain requirements. For example, he/she must have been adopted lawfully in his/her country of citizenship, the birthparents cannot have been coerced or bribed, and he/she must be categorized as an "eligible orphan" under a definition unique to the law.

Many people have sought to change aspects of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act. For example, there are a lot of folks who think it's ludicrous that a child who is not seen by all relevant parents prior to finalization is issued a different visa from a child seen by all relevant parents, and must be readopted or have his/her adoption "recognized" in a state.

However, at this time, the chances of liberalizing the Immigration and Nationality Act do not appear good. Maybe down the road, but not now.

Sharon