[beach4me]

Wow! The fifth child. That is great! It is also wonderful that she has been with you since six weeks. How lucky you are to have had her in your family all this time.

I think it is positive that they are promoting national adoption within Ecuador. Hopefully, more children can and will be adopted within Ecuador.

We are waiting on a toddler boy. Unfortunately, when it comes to international adoption the process does not move very smoothly. Whether it is a "normal" or "special needs" child. I have been trying to figure the "system" out for a while and have yet to make heads or tails of it.

What is the national timeline/process like?

Chante'

[equatormom]

Hi,
We ended up in sort of a catch-22 situation down here. The laws all changed in July 2003. However, when we started working withh our lawyer he knew the laws were changing. He told us to get all our paperwork done and submitted (i.e. homestudy--here in Ecuador and all in Spanish, etc). We did that all last Spring. The new law had a new residency requirement for national adoptions which changed from 2 years in country to 3 years in country. Since we submitted everything prior to the new law going into effect, we were grandfathered under the old law. Well, what happened here, is that once the new law went into effect no one here seemed to understand what to do. So, all placement committees ceased to meet. For 6 months there was not a single placement committee. Finally, at the urging of several orphanage directors, the President signed a decree stating that the placement committees had to meet. So, in January, just 2 weeks after we had met the residency requirement of 2 years in country the first placement committee in 6 months met and we were assigned our daughter "officially".
I think they just held another committee and another placement committee is rumored to be on the calendar for later this month (May). So, if you have paperwork submitted for an Ecuadorian child that came in before July, that could be why you are waiting so long. They are giving preference to national adoptions, also.

[beach4me]

The process sounds very similar of how the international one works (as it has been explained to me). Our dossier (homestudy, etc..) was submitted in December. So, we are after the July 03 deadline. I know of several families who received referrals from that Jan. meeting (all dossiers were in Ecuador before the July deadline).

We have been told that there might be a referral meeting this month for International Adoptions in Quito. We are sitting on pins and needles hoping it is true.

Chante'

[equatormom]

I know it is hit and miss about when the meetings occur. There are always lots of rumors just before a meeting occurs. When the January meeting took place, we didn't even know they were holding it and had heard rumors since December that there was going to be the first one since July. We found out the January meeting was held when our lawyer called and told us that our daughter had been assigned to us. It wasn't until 20 April that we actually finalized the adoption with a judge and then 3 weeks after that when we had all the legal documents (in Spanish) and could get the new Ecuadorian passport, birth certificate and cedula. Our documents are now with a translator and will have them finished by mid-June so we can turn them over to INS and file the I-600...we think. We have a meeting on 5/28 at the US Embassy with the INS rep and will find out exactly what we have to do.

[beach4me]

I remember hearing about all the rumors before the Jan meeting. It was wonderful when it finally happened! There were so many cases before ours that we had to wait for the next one. I don't think anyone expected it to be such a long wait.

Now the rumors have been circulating for the past couple of weeks. The latest is that the meeting is tomorrow. Who knows?? It could be our day .

So, do you file the I600 to come and live in the states? Have you guys lived in Ecuador a long time?

We would really like to bring our other 3 children to live with us in Ecuador during the adoption. But, having never traveled there, we are unsure. Do you have any suggestions?

Chante'

[equatormom]

Hi,
The hotels that are safe and nice and clean are: The Marriott, The Swiss Hotel, The Four Points Sheraton, and the Hilton Colon. There are Hostals which are less expensive but much more questionable.

Sometimes the orphanages (especially, if run by Americans) will help find an inexpensive place for their international adopting families to live.

Taxi service is very inexpensive. Just make sure they are using the meters in the cars. The taxis at the hotels charge a bit more but are extremely safe and reliable. It will still not cost you more than $3.00 to get to anywhere within the city. Once you are here, you should arrange a trip to Otavalo to the Indian Market and on up to Cotocachi (known as leather town)...leather jackets for about $60-$80 (if you are willing to barter them down and there aren't a lot of tourists in town that weekend).

Once you know when you might be possibly coming, feel free to email me at: seventxdemps@hotmail.com. Since, I believe you will have to be here for awhile, it would be nice to meet somewhere for lunch.

We have been in Quito for 2 1/2 years. We are leaving December 20th. My husband is with the USAF on assignment here in Ecuador. So, our adoption was a national adoption. We have an interview on Thursday morning for our daughter's tourist visa to take her to the USA for 3 weeks on vacation with us. Friday we will meet with the INS rep to find out exactly what needs to be done. Also, if you need anything translated into English we have found a great translator. She is currently working on translating all our paperwork for the INS applications.

[beach4me]

We have been told to expect anywhere from a 4 week to a 6 week stay in Quito. So, I would love to meet you for lunch! I always enjoy talking and sharing with another adoptive mom.
What are the ages of your children? I am not sure at this time where we will stay but thank you for the names of places to stay. I know it will come in handy in the future (hopefully sooner than later!).

My kids (11, 9 & 6) all want to come to Ecuador for the entire stay. I am afraid after a couple of weeks it might get old. They only know limited Spanish from school. But they travel very well and enjoy new experiences. We know they will definately come for some length of time.

How cool that you have been living in Ecuador! I would love to hear about your experiences.

Chante'

[equatormom]

Hi,
Our bio children are 13, 9, 7, and 4 and Bre is almost 2. If you send me an email to: seventxdemps@hotmail.com, I will send you my Quito telephone number and cell phone number. Keep me posted as to when you might be here. And yes, hopefully, it will be sooner than later. For your sake and the sake of the child you are adopting.

Blessings,

Tracy

ps We also have an excellent English speaking church that we attend here called English Fellowship Church.

[cwgmpls]

Originally posted by daga1629
Please help. If I can't adopt my mother's aunt grandson I still want to adopt from Ecuador. Does anyone recommend any agency\ies?

Hi Diana,

My wife is a U.S. resident but also originally from Ecuador and has dual US/Ecuadorian citizenship. When we first looked into adoption, we explored the option of adopting directly from Ecuador. We discovered that to legally do a national adoption within Ecuador, you have to be a resident of Ecuador for two years prior to the adoption, even if you are an Ecuadorian citizen.

So one option is to reside in Ecuador for two years. Then an adoption within Ecuador should be relatively easy, there are certainly many children needing families.

But as long as you are a resident of the U.S., you have to go through international adoption process to do a legal adoption of an Ecuadorian child. Even if you are an Ecuadorian citizen. And Ecuador will only do international adoptions through recognized agencies. Ecuador will not give an international adoption to a private couple directly.

There are many agencies in the U.S. that do international adoption from Ecuador. We used Childrens Home Society of Minnesota. Sure, it is not cheap. But being from Ecuador did allow us to save quite a bit of money in terms of lodging costs -- we were able to stay with Ecuadorian relatives while in Ecuador, interpreter costs -- knowing Spanish we could talk to the Ecuadorian lawyers and judges directly without having to pay for an interpreter, and trasportation costs -- knowing about how to get around in Ecuador meant we didn't have to hire a driver or a taxi every time we wanted to go somewhere.

Yes, it is possible to try direct adoption without following the rules for international adoption. But if you get "caught" anywhere along the way, either by Ecuadorian officials or by U.S. immigration, before the child is in the U.S., you risk losing custody of the child and possibly fines. Although I think the heartbreak of losing the child would be the biggest loss.

One common way to "fake" an adoption in Ecuador is simply to pay a doctor or a lawyer to falsify a birth certificate for the child, listing your names as the birth parents. You can probably do that for a couple hundred dollars, much cheaper than a legal adoption and many residents of Ecuador adopt domestically this way. However, if you are coming back to the U.S. you still have to apply for a U.S. visa to get the kid into the U.S., and U.S. officials are pretty aware of the practice and may require a DNA test to prove you are the parents -- espeically if you or your husband have only been in Ecuador for a short time. We decided the risk of losing a child that we've already become attached to would not be worth the money we'd be saving by going this route.

I'd encourage you to find a U.S. agency with experience doing international adoption from Ecuador. It may seem like alot of money up front, but I think the amount of stress you will save by doing it right will be worth it. And being from Ecuador will make the process that much easier and even save you some money compared to doing adoption from another country.

Best wishes,
Curt

[daga1629]

Thanks CWGMLS for the advice.
I was going to do everything the legal way. Family members did tell me about the whole scam about having my name & my husbands name on the birth certificate, but I do see it too risky also too expensive. When I do adopt I will definitely do it thru an agency. I will not do anything illegal. I am going to register in the Ecuadorian Consulate. I was born here in the U.S. and my parents are Ecuadoreans. The Consulate told me they can only register me as an American of Ecuadorian parents. The only thing that is holding me back as far as doing this is 2 things: 1. MONEY & 2. I need a copy of my fathers cedula. Ive only met my father once when I was 4 yrs old. We do not have any type of relationship. My mother only has a copy of his birth cert. Also right now we have stopped as far as adopting because we are both unemployed & are having a difficult time finding jobs. I know in my heart that we will adopt someday, but right now I guess its not possible. Im giving myself 3 yrs a least. MY youngest daughter is 21 months old, so I still have time. Thank you very much for all your advice again.

How long ago did you adopt Did you adopt a boy or girl
(Sorry my question mark does not work my computer is old & some letters on the keyboard do not work

Que Dios Los Bendiga a Usted y a Su Familia!!!!!

[cwgmpls]

Diana,

Gracias por las palabras buenas.

We adopted a boy from Quito in 2001. He was 10 months old at the time. As everybody knows, the international adoption system in Ecuador operates in fits and starts, just like everything else in Ecuadorian government. So the wait can be pretty unpredictable. We were fortunate in that our elegibility for adoption was completed just before there was the threat to shut down the Ecuadorian adoption system in the summer of 2001 for one of their unending "reorganizations". The knowledge that the system was going to shut down soon seemed to motivate the people down there to complete the adoption as soon as possible, as it was probably their last chance to make money for a while. (they do get paid for their work) That meant that our placement happened almost as soon as we were elegible. I've heard of other people waiting for a year or more for a placement, so we were pretty lucky in that respect.

Maybe once the "new" system gets in place things will be more regular again. I hear they are doing a placement meeting this month down there. We can hope for the best.

I understand your process to get registered as an American of Ecuadorian parents, but I don't think the official registration will make much difference in your adoption effort. As it stands, unless you are planning to live in Ecuador for three years and do a domestic adoption down there, you will have to adopt through a U.S. agency as an international adoption. Whether you are registered as having Ecuadorian parents or not won't make a difference in that process. Everyone just gets treated as an American in that process, whether you are Ecuadorian decent or not.

But being familiar with Ecuador will help in other aspects of the adoption, as I described. It will make getting around in Ecuador a little easier for you.

By far the biggest benefit of adopting from Ecuador, if you are of Ecuadorian decent yourself, is that you have that much more in common with the cultural heritage of the child you adopt. Every adoptive parent tries to teach their child something about their culture of origin. Since that is your culture of origin too, you and your child can both explore it together! And since you have contacts in Ecuador it may be easier to make frequent trips to Ecuador, which I'm sure the adopted child will appreciate as they grow older.

Best wishes to you. I wouldn't sweat the Ecuadorian parent registration too much as it won't have any bearing on your adoption effort. Unless you are doing it for other reasons. Since you are thinking in a three-year time frame, that should give you enough time to start saving money for the process. The cost of adoption isn't that much different than the cost of an average new car. And most people find a way to save money in three years to buy a new car, or at maybe take out a small loan to make up the difference. So I think if you start planning now it should be entirely possible to complete an adoption in three years.

I'd start by finding a agency with a record of success to work with and get whatever advice you can from them. Holt International probably places more Ecuadorian children in the U.S. than anyone, so they are a safe bet. I think Childrens Home Society of Minnesota is also very honest and good to work with too. There are many others, but that is my experience.

Good luck!

Curt

[daga1629]

Thank you again Curt. Your son must be 3 yrs old going on 4. Do you have any other children. I have 2 biological daughters and I want to adopt a boy. So hopefully within 3 yrs Ill have my son.

Do you live here in the U.S or in Ecuador

Gracias otra ves.


Diana

[beach4me]

Hi Diana,

I would also recommend looking into Villa Hope International. They place alot of children into Ecuadorian families living here in the US.

We currently are using them and hope to bring our son home very soon.

Chante'

[daga1629]

I will look into Villa Hope International. How long has this process been so far for you & your family. Well I will pray that your child will be home with you & your family very soon.

Diana

God Bless & Take care!!!!

[beach4me]

Diana,

We signed with VH in August 2003 (we already had our homestudy in hand). Received a referral at the same time. However, receiving a referral could be immediate or it could be a wait, depending on the children available.

Our dossier went to Ecuador at the end of November '03 and we have been waiting for the "meeting" since then.

So, basically, our process could have been a lot faster or it could continue to be a lot longer....depending on when the meetings happen. That is the frustrating part.

Research! Research! Research! before signing with any agency. The agency you chose to work with and their relationships in Ecuador makes a huge difference in your timeline.

Chante'