[Annod]

Hello all,

My husband and I are looking to adopt in Mexico, but after hours on the internet have not been able to find agencies or attorneys who could help with our situation. We have a child in mind, she is an orphan, living in the state of Sonora. We are therefore seeking either an agency or an attorney who can help facilitate the adoption, but we do not need an escort service, videos, chold location, or the other services associated with full program participation. I would be extremely greatful for any assistance that you can offer.

Thank you,
Donna

[hsmusicmom]

Dear Donna,

My husband and I are in the same situation as you. If you find out anything could you please pass it on to me, and I will do the same!

God bless you!

Sue

[mgummere]

I'm not sure if this can help but I collected quite a few links for Mexican adoption, including agencies and a facilitator. There are also a couple of yahoo groups for families that have adopted from Mexico - and someone there might have some help for you as well.

http://www.myadoptionlinks.com/Mexico

Hope you find something that helps.

mary

[sscv]

What do you do after you have acquired a targeted child for adoption in Mexico, Most adoptive parents feel that the majority of the adoption effort is accomplished. This however is not so! The identification of the child is essential for without a child there is no adoption. However the morass that is the legal side of the adoption is still the same. Most facilitators should discount some of the expense for this pre-existing potential child, but until the consents are signed the proper approvals in place and all the blessings of the appropriate governmental and judicial agencies are had the identified child remains just that “identified”.

In essence the differential of having acquired a child for potential adoption might save you approximately 10% for a non-new born and as much as 25% for a newborn (presuming you will not as part of the adoption need to recompense either the mother or the physicians for the birth expenses).

In short the basic premise here is that if you identify the child and the mother is concretely willing to surrender the child to you, you then must move rapidly to acquire a law firm / facilitator group to represent your interest and solidify the potential of the targeted child for adoption. Then have or get the ball rolling on your homestudy and form I-600A ASAP.

As to the horror stories about Mexican adoptions, I simply state that your effort is only as good as your service provider.

Good luck.


SSCV

[thesojourners]

Dear Sue and Donna,

I saw your posts. My husband and I adopted our beautiful daughter in Nuevo Leon, Mexico two years ago. Since then, I have tracked the progress of four other private adoptions in the same state. Every single adoption (same city, same state) been different in some way . . . and only mine has been finalized so far.

We could not find an agency in the US to help with the process. If you find one, let me know! :-)

Mexico adoptions are not for the faint of heart. The laws change without warning, they are complex and frustrating, and you have a cultural and language barrier that is difficult to cross. If you want a simple adoption, pick nearly any other country!! That said, we all will swim oceans for the children we love, and I would not trade my daughter for anything.

Questions: are the whereabouts of your child's birthparents known? If so, they need to BOTH sign in court for the adoption. If not, you are out of luck unless you hire a detective to find them. At least in Nuevo Leon, they reserve all their rights up to the day they finally appear in court . . . even if they abandoned their child in infancy and disappeared, the child cannot be given in adoption without their permission or an official search for them.

Is your child in a private orphanage or one run by the DIF? This will determine how you proceed.

You should also realize that you may invest thousands of dollars into your legal fees and that the birthparents can back out at the last minute (up to 30 days after the last court date in our city). If you are doing a private adoption, you will have no way to get your money back . . .


As far as process, you face two major hurdles:

1) adopting in Mexico
For this, find the very best adoption attorney that you can locate in Sonora, preferably the city where your child is located. He should be familiar with international adoptions. You may need to go through the DIF, or the Mexican version of children's protective services. They are not usually helpful, but a good attorney on your side can often accomplish a lot. I'd recommend finding the attorney first, then approaching the DIF with his help.

2) immigration to the US
You will need an approved homestudy in the US and an approved 1-600 to bring your child to the US. The US Immigration Services (not sure their new name, it changed recently. Go to www.ins.gov and be re-directed) has a good booklet with information about adopting children from other countries. A good US immigration attorney may be invaluable here! Also, Lutheran Social Services has a branch (International Social Services) that may be able to help with this part. They are good to work with.

I could add a lot more here, but perhaps this is enough to get you started. Good luck!

Anne

[sscv]

It seem that it has finally sunk in to adoptive/potential adoptive parents seeking or contemplating Mexican adoptions, that the key to the entire success after identification of a child for adoption, is the legal prowess and facility of your professional services providers (primarily lawyers). A good lawyer can get the job done!

As to the statement that an adoption cannot proceed without both parents, this is simply not true since the civil law contemplates service by publication in the federal registrar as sufficing to establish notice to the putative father, be he known or be he a "john doe". The matter here is that the process of publication be carried out as prescribed.

Generally speaking most Mexican mothers giving up their children are single, un-wed mothers who generally do not name the father on the BC (Birth Certificate) and thus no legal rights are established. What is preferred is to have mom name the putative father(s) and run the publication(s) as a matter of customary practice.

Make sure your lawyer is bilingual and fluent not only in language but in custom and political correctness. A professional who knows both US and Mexican law would be ideal. The best approach in any Mexican proceeding is a firm cordial request for implementation of the law, and the law allows adoptions.

Finally, the best of all worlds is to get the child before it enters the DIF as an unwanted child. This means the difference between a private (birthmother to adoptive parent) and public adoption (child acquired from the DIF after orphaned) could be the difference between a year long proceeding and a 2 year or longer proceeding. So good luck and may god bless.

sscv

[thesojourners]

Yes, you're right. Just a couple more comments from my experience here in Nuevo Leon, Mexico . . .

#1 Only the parent(s) on the birth certificate legally have to sign in Mexican court, usually.

#2 If a birthfather is listed on the birth certificate but is missing, the birthmother can publish and follow a legal process to have his rights terminated. In Nuevo Leon, we were told this process (publication, plus legal paperwork) could take eight months or more before the adoption proceedings could begin.

#3 Adoption is generally legal here in Mexico. However, SOME states do not have a system that allows international adoptions (the adopting parents must live in the Mexican state to adopt).

A WARNING: Please be careful to verify that your child meets the US Immigration's definition of an orphan. At the moment, if a child has two living parents and they both sign for her adoption in court, she will not be eligible for immigration unless you plan to live with her in Mexico for two years first. There are other fine requirements she must meet also. A US Immigration attorney is an essential resource, I think.

JUST BECAUSE A CHILD LIVES IN AN ORPHANAGE DOES NOT MEAN SHE IS TECHNICALLY AN ORPHAN IN EITHER OR BOTH THE US AND MEXICO.

Best of luck in your adoptions! Even though adoption can be a tough and frustrating road, it is so worth it.

Hope this helps.