[Caropa]

Hello everyone,

New to this forum and not sure where to post this request. Wondering if anyone has any sample letters for accountants (self-employed) and doctors (good health letter) to complete a foreign dossier. We are not very good at writing these types of letters and since we are doing this on our own and most of you have gone through this we thought this would be a good place to ask.

We are in the process of adopting from Nicaragua (I know unusual) and doing this on our own directly with the Nicaraguan government (another unusual!). Anyone else tried or trying to adopt from Nicaragua?

Thanks in advance to anyone that can help.

Caropa

[Beryl Romero]

Be very careful. We tried going through Nic. about 4 years ago, spent a ton of money, held on to the hopes of getting two little girls for 18 months, before we finally realized they would never release those children. We too, tried to do it on our own, through their government. We decided to pull out before they drained us financially & emotionally, & went through Guatemala.
Just be very careful.
Beryl

[Pottsplus]

After a 4 year wait and many law changes, we were successful to bring home an 8 year old boy from Nicaragua. We did not have an agency but a contact through the country. The person who was most helpful was our attorney who knew the system and how to get around the red tape. He did not speak english at all so our host family was very important in this role. We are under the impression that not many children are adopted from Nicaragua because they wait a long time to declare them orphaned and available. No one seems to be incontrol of making this decision making it very frustrating if you are waiting. Our son came from an orphanage in Chinandega where he was with 18 other 7-8 year old boys and he was the only one up for adoption. Everyone seems to have good intentions, but not much is happening.!!! Our largest frustration was with the American Consulate. Our orphan petition had expired and we had to return to the U.S. and update the form and return 10 days later to bring home the child.

[Caropa]

Thank you for the information concerning adopting from Nicaragua. We are also working with an attorney in Nicaragua and through contacts. It is true that there are often changes that makes the process longer and somewhat frustrating. But we have very good contacts in Nicaragua that keep assuring us that this will happen and we just need to be patient. My husband speaks Spanish fluently so that's been a big help.

Caropa

[Rickrun34]

My wife and I are considering international aoption and our first choice would be Nicaragua (I have done mission work there and love the people). It seems like the only way people have had any success is through connections in the country....is that pretty accurate? If anyone knows of any agencies offering help in Nic, please let me know. Also, is the consensus time frame about 4 years? Thanks in advance for your help.

[Pottsplus]

At the time of our adoption, I searched many agencies for Nicaraguan adoptions and found none. I would contact reputable agencies in your area and find out what it takes for the agency to adopt from a country. It all starts with a contact within in the country to the child protection agency. Maybe there are connections through the churches you have done your mission work with. Our wait was around four years, another couple who went before us about 3 and a half.

[achosenchild]

I work for A Chosen Child, Inc., Adoption Agency in Orlando, Florida. We have been working with a facilitator and attorney in Nicaragua for the past two years. Earlier this year, they incorporated in Nicaragua to process international adoptions. The Nicaraguan corporation is A Chosen Child, Inc - Nicaragua. Although they are not yet ready to begin processing adoptions, they have spent a long time putting everything into place and meeting with the appropriate people in order to do so in the near future. My understanding is that they will begin processing adoptions sometime in early February, 2004.

Currently, Nicaragua is going through a complete revamping of their orphanage system and attempting to centrally locate those children who are adoptable and place them in an orphanage in Managua. Those children will then be available for foreign adoption (including A Chosen Child - Nicaragua) and will likely range from 2 years old and up.

Hopefully, this will change the face of adoption in Nicaragua, as the country is financially destitute and there are so many beautiful and needy children in need of loving homes.

[btnstultz]

Hello to all,
We are looking into adoption in Nicaragua. We have heard much of what we have read in this forum. A few additions we have come across. They are indeed changing the laws to try to make is a smoother process, but change takes time. It does seem like they are trying to locate an orphanage in Managua. It is sounding like they would ideally like for the parents to be in country for two years. A wonderful missionary we have found is Sandy; she is involved in the process and has adopted a child there. We found Sandy at the following site


http://www.gmenews.org/view_missionaries.php?region=nca

June 2005 we plan to be in Managua for two years, our hope is to be fortunate to be able to adopt. Any help or support would be greatly appreciated.

Best of wishes to everyone on their noble journey,


Becky

[dawnrenee58]

Hello! I am also new to this forum, and am also working with people in Nicaragua to adopt a 1 month old little boy. He is the product of a rape and was abandonded at the Ministry of Health. We are also trying to find a way around all of the red tape. Does anyone know about the "psychological-social evaluation" they will require? Does it need to be through a certain agency?

[Caropa]

The "psychological-social evaluation" they are talking about is simply the homestudy which you can get from a qualified licensed social worker.

Caro

[is43pam]

I just returned from Nicaragua, and I would like to adopt a little girl from there who is not technically an orphan. Does anyone know of a reliable attorney from Managua (if he speaks english it would be really helpful). I will also need a private investigator. Thank you for any help. Pam

[dawnrenee58]

I have a good attorney in Managua. She is great, but the process is taking forever and has tons of loopholes. Please e-mail me for her name. I woudl rather not post it here, and I walso need to ask he if she wants to take on another adoption. I am getting to know the nica process inside and out! Have fun!!

My e-mail is dawnrenee58@hotmail.com.

[NMmama]

Hi everyone! We adopted our 12 yo daughter from Nicaragua 2 years ago. We are now adopting her sister, age 9. The girls are biologically my husband's first cousins, so I know it is a bit of an unusual situation. We are using a great attorney as well, who actually used to run the Ministry of Family (MiFamilia). Email me if you would like her name and phone number. Her fee is reasonable and she really knows her stuff. It took two years to get my daughter, but this current adoption seems to be going more quickly. I am so excited to find this website!

[ajvacations]

We are in the process of adopting from NICA. The Orphanage director has been our biggest help as well as other nica parents in the US that already adopted. Our daughter already had her "abandon" paperwork so that has sped up our process a bit, but we are still waiting on la familia approval. A change in directors slowed things down. From there it goes to the judge and that process seems to be where a lot of the delays happen. We are praying we'll have her home by Navidad! I'm more than happy to answer any questions about paperwork etc. I don't know much about locating a particular child as our daughter's info came from the orphanage so she kind of found us But I do know all about the paperwork needed and how to get things authenticated etc here in the US so feel free to ask away. Other Nica parents were such a help to me I'd love to do the same for others. Our girl's pic is attached.

[ajvacations]

Are you referring to a letter verifying your employment required by la familia? I am self employed also and I wrote my own letter on our letterhead and had it notarized. I'd be happy to email it to you (word doc) As for the health letter we had to have that done for our home study so we used the form they gave us. We had the doctor fill out 2 of the forms, one to give the social worker for the home study and had them notarize the 2nd one for la familia.