[rel8ted]

We are looking for info on the PROCESS of adopting from Belize to US, hopefully from someone who has actually done it. I know the odds look bad, not many visas issued, etc.. Please feel free to PM me. Thanks!!!

[sak9645]

Belize

This website tells the requirements for adopting from Belize; it is authoritative, as it was created by the U.S. State Department.

The fact that the country ratified the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption is positive, as it means that there will be an orderly adoption process.

HOWEVER, the website indicates that the prospective parents MUST live in Belize for one year before a final decree of adoption is issued.

Sharon

[rel8ted]

Again, we are looking specifically for someone who has completed an adoption - Belize to US. Everyone is offering advice based on the first part of the info in the website and not reading down far enough. The country can and does issue interim visas for you to complete the adoption in your home country. The one year residency is for Belize to issue the original final decree. I know of two instances in teh last year where this has been done (without 1 yr residency), but not in the US.



Under this circumstance, the prospective adoptive parent(s) will have custody of the child for a probationary period of one year during which there must be quarterly reports regarding the child’s care and progress. Prospective parents who receive an interim order from the Belizean Court and would like to carry it out in the U.S. may seek an IH-4 visa for the child. This visa is granted to the prospective parents only with the understanding and agreement that they will also seek a final adoption decree from their state of legal residence.

[mommytoEli]

you may want to look through some of the older threads and see if you can find someone who has, who is still around:

http://forums.adoption.com/search.php?searchid=1867153

because so few kids come home from belize, we don't get alot of traffic from families who have btdt. i found one family for you, but they haven't logged on in 2 years. lol. as the moderator, i read alot of threas! i do believe there is one family out there who has "recently" brought home a child....but by recent, i mean in the last 2 years. this board doesn't get alot of traffic as it is, so you may have to do some footwork. click on the above link and look through some of these threads. good luck! have you tried to ask whatever agency you are considering if they have a reference from the belize program you could talk to? that might be helpful. there may also be a yahoo group or two where these parents are......i just wanted you to know i really don't see them here.

[maggie_va]

Maybe a 1.5/2 years ago, I was a member of a yahoo group for those interested in doing Indepedant adoptions from Belize.

There was one woman on the list who had completed an adoption and another who had submitted an application and dossier. She had originally been told by the social worker that adoption was possible but months went by and it became apparent that it wasn't likely to happen. The woman who had actually completed an adoption - the child was pre-identified and it may have been a family member's child but I can't recall. Anyway, I would look for that group and join to get the most up to date info. It was obvious to me it would be nearly impossible to adopt a child without some serious in country connections, so I dropped out of the group.

The process as it was then was to obtain an application from the office in Belize that handled adoptions - you could call them and ask them to mail it to you - put together a dossier and have a homestudy. Once they accepted your application in Belize, they were supposed to meet every month I think and review applications they had and match families with children. It was those meetings that never seemed to occur.

hope this helps...

[DPline]

In addition to checking old posts here as MommytoEli suggested, you might try the Yahoo group Adoption_Agency_Research. There was a lot of discussion about Belize a while back. (Can't remember how long. 1-2 years?) Might be a place to do some searching as well as ask anyone with experience.

Good luck!