[Chris Zarobe]

Someone on another board posed this same question and I'm wondering what everyone here thinks. I'm also concerned that my expectations may be way out of line. So, I'll start...

A few weeks ago, I was thinking we would bring Gabriel home by the end of Oct. But now that we're coming up on nearly a month since PGN's July 1 announcement and there has been no progress whatsoever, except for a few fortunate pre-March 5ers and those moving through Family Court, I am praying we can bring Gabriel home by the holidays. I feel very discouraged. And last week's riots just made me realize the kind of chaos we're dealing with in Guatemala - above and beyond the adoption process.

I know it depends where you are in the process, but everyone must have an expectation. So, do you think a holiday homecoming is unrealistic?

Christina
waiting with Gene for Gabriel
referral accepted Jan. 24
out of FC and waiting to file our case in CC, though they apparently either aren't accepting cases or they're just not equipped to actually start processing.
Gabriel is six and a half months old

[DKIM]

It really depends on where you are in the process. If you're in PGN/CA waiting for that last step, then you may be able to get your baby home by the end of the year. However, I really think if you're in Family Court or (like us) waiting to get into FC then I think a holiday homecoming is unrealistic. Guatemala basically shuts down for 1/2 of Dec and Jan.

Of course this is only my opinion, and we are prepared for a worse case scenario on our homecoming. We're praying our baby will be home sometime between December and the end of February, but think it's more likely she won't be home until April or May.

Praying all of our babies will come home soon!!!

[carolynn]

Hello to all of you awaitng your children from Guatemala. This is a unbelievable situation because no one seems to have answers. I will be hopefully go into PGN or Ca by the end of July, but I have no idea when the adoption will be final. My attorney is going to file an amparo as soon as I enter PGN/CA even though I am pre-March 5th. I started this process in September and was placed with a beautiful boy on Dec 3rd, I had some unusual circumstances so my case was held up. I will be making a first trip soon to see him, he is already 8 months old and I don't know if I will see him before he is a year old. It seems some people get out of PGN faster than others and there is no explanation. does anyone have a similar experience. And to all of you we have to have faith that we will bring home our children.

[Romans828]

When we first started this process I really thought I was being carefel in saying that maybe Isabel would be home around Christmas time. We accepted her referral in April so that put us at 8 months into the process. I thought that I was being careful to not set myself up for too much disapointment since the average adoption used to be 4-8 months from Guatemala.
Now I tell people that I will be lucky to have her home by the time she is 1. We just got into FC and are waiting to be assigned a SW. Even if we skate through this process quickly(which I am not anticipating) we have not had DNA done because we were waiting for approval right around July 1st and we did not get it before the big DOS announcement. So, there is that hurdle, and then of course PGN/CA(or whatever the heck they want to call it-I personally have my own names that I can't say on this forum)!!!!
I will be curious to read what others are thinking about this question-I have thought about it a lot lately!
I do plan to ask my Facilitator when I go visit if she has any idea how long our process will take. I don't think anyone really knows because this is all new, so we are the guinea pigs for Guatemala adoptions after the Hague so conveniently came into place(sorry for the sarcasm-it has been one of those days).

Praying for good news this week, or any news for that matter!!

[rosiedaffodil]

I think it depends more on how you are classified than whether or not you are in FC or not. You can be pre3/5 and still be in FC for some reason or you could be 3/5 - 6/30 and be waiting to go into PGN or where ever.
My feeling is that they will let all of us who have had referral and have been in FC with POA registered to go through with old rules.
Then I think they will close down for a while to develop new rules. I then think they will open up again in 2005.
This is only my opinion and has not been backed by any official person. There are Nella's birdies though that I would love to believe are correct.
I am betting on having my daughter here by Christmas. That is my thinking. I am 3/5 thru 6/30 because my POA was registered 3/7. What luck.
Lets keep our chins up. Remember that in other countries we would probably never have our referral even if the baby is not yet one year old.

rosie

I'm praying and really hoping to bring our daughter home by Christmas. I always think, well it may be as late as February. I can't imagine it taking longer than next April...

I don't think anybody has a good idea. At least if cases were moving, we could hazard a realistic guess.

[DKIM]

I should have clarified it better. Thank you. That's what I meant. I'm sure all of the pre 3/5 folks will have their babies home before the holidays.

I'm actually hoping once the pre 3/5 families clear PGN that things will move more quickly for the transition cases (post 3/5 to 6/30) to get us all out. Unfortunately, I think we're also at the mercy of our attorneys and agencies. I have seen that some move much faster than others, and ours is one that doesn't move that fast. We are thinking worse case scenario, but are keeping our eyes open for a miracle. We too don't think it will take longer than late Spring.

Waiting and praying!

[Maura]

Hi Everybody,
It's funny, I've been writing letters and fighting to get our children home AND to keep the opportunity for more Guatemalan children to find permanent homes in the US, so I haven't much been checking off the calendar. Our son was born 2/19/03, and we are a transition case. We were delayed for a little bit at the beginning (didn't get BCIS approval until 4/7/03), but once we did we sailed through FC. Then we had to wait for over a month for visa pre-approval. Then our POA had to be redone to give our attorneys permission to file lawsuits on our behalf. So, by the time our case was submitted to PGN (6/23) they were no longer accepting. Our attorneys filed an amparo on 7/7 to get PGN to take the case. PGN asked for the case on 7/17 and the amparo was withdrawn. If PGN has not reviewed the case by tomorrow, our attorneys will pull it and file another amparo to get them to review the case within 3 days of accepting it.
I know that we're fast approaching August now, but I'm still holding out hope that Jorge will be home by October. My husband has his 2 weeks of vacation scheduled for the end of September, and we were originally thinking that would be after Jorge is home. Now we're going to try to use that time to visit him in GC. I have taken leave for the fall semester so that I could ease the transition for Jorge and his brother (already here 1year) Andrew. I'm scheduled to have a double teaching load in the spring semester. Although I'm fearful that Jorge might not make it home for a few more months, I'm being optimistic that it will happen, and before Thanksgiving. However, I'm assuming this will be the case because of the amparos filed in our case...
Hope we are all overestimating our stay in PGN purgatory.

Maura

[KDhappygal]

We have no idea! When we started the process, know that there would probably be delays we hoped Sept/Oct but knew realistically that it might not be until later.

We have always hoped for Sept/Oct but tried to think more realistically by the end of the year.

Maura, please keep us posted on what happens with your ampara etc.!

[Alex's mom]

You know, it's just so sad and strange. We were fairly confident that Ayana would be home by the end of July or possibly the end of August. We even HOPED for the 4th of July but we knew that would have been VERY LUCKY. Then when "all of this" started happening we hoped she would be home by October 3 (when our I171H expires). Then I started thinking end of October, beginning of November and I am still HOPING for that, but realistically I think we'd be lucky if we had our daughter home for her first Birthday (12/23) and Christmas 2003. Dear Lord, please let her be home by then!!!! Anyway, we will welcome her home WHENEVER we can bring her home, at this point it doesn't matter how long it takes. I, of course, will suffer but she will not. And life WILL go on, so I guess I choose to either enjoy life while we are waiting, or choose to just wait (you know what I mean?). I am trying HARD to enjoy life while we wait. It's not always easy, but it's the healthiest choice. Let's HOPE and PRAY that God lays His Hands on the officials in PGN and they assist us in getting our children home way EARLIER than we are all predicting. God Bless you all...what a strong and courageous group of people!!!!

Amy
mommy to Alex, now 20 mos, home from Guatemala 6/14/02
and waiting for Ayana, now 7 mos, in Guatemala (accepted her referral 2/3/03 and dossier--inc. POA-- to Guat 3/10/03)

[Karen Felisimo]

Hi everyone!

I'm really confused about my status. When I accepted my referral in early April 2003 I had completed my homestudy but that was it. I busted my behind to get everything for the dossier. I believe that a POA was done early in the process because I was told by my agency that I was registered because I accepted the referral. I didn't know that I could have started the BCIS stuff while I was doing the home study so that set me back. I recieved my approval from BCIS and my dossier was submitted around mid-July or a bit later. Am I considered post 3/5-6/30 or am I after 7/1 because of when my dossier was submitted??

My sister & I have been hoping to have the baby by Christmas but I know it isn't going to happen. I doubt I will even have her by her birthday on 2/24. I read everyone's posts but I was embarassed to ask this question for fear I would sound like an idiot for not knowing. The DNA wasn't done but I did visit the baby at the end of June and took a bunch of photos. I haven't really received any new photos or updates in a long time. Sometimes I cry at night because I could have been further along in the process if I had known then what I know now. I do have to see my lawyer before I go to work to sign a special POA ( I guess they can't find the first one maybe). One issue I'm concerned about is that the local background check was done at the police department but they don't have their own letterhead. They use the City Hall letterhead just like every other department in the city uses. How much can that hurt me?? Any information would be greatly appreciated. I'm sorry this is so long but as you can see I've been pretty confused and getting more frustrated.

Karen

[KDhappygal]

Karen,

If your POA was not signed and registered prior to June 30, then regardless of when you received your referral or sent your dossier you are probably considered and after june 30th case.

On the other hand you say:

I do have to see my lawyer before I go to work to sign a special POA

What do you mean by special? Did you already sign a POA? What is different about this new one? Was the original POA in Spanish maybe?

[Lisa Mays]

I too may be too optimistic here but I really feel our daughter will be home by mid to late October. Our agency said they too think that could be a reality and they have been very upfront and blunt about the whole process. We will just have to wait and see I guess.

[bennett]

well lets look at the facts

they usually process 250-300 a month

there are 1000 in pgn

half are pre 3-5 and if they start to process cases

that is sept and oct

then the next half in pgn ...nov dec

then everyone else

so if you are out of fc it is possible for the end of the year

but who is to say they will start processing cases?

or let more than a handful out each month?

we need help getting this done

i hope someone in the u.s. helps us

[snshaner]

I truly wish we could look into the magic ball of life and have all the answers(I am a self proclaimed control freak) (a lot of good that does me in this situation). I hope and pray that we will be able to at least be able to go visit our Abigail by the end of October. The agency originally told us that we would not bring her home until Feb. I am going to stick with that but then again who knows? We will be after 7/1. We sent her family album and I hope that they show it to her often. That way if this process takes even longer, she might know who we are.



Sharon and Steve
Waiting on Abigail
Always in our hearts