[CarmJoeMom]

I know a few of you were starting the process in Guatemala, but with the Hague and all the talk of shut downs, are you going to adopt from another country? If so, which one?

My heart is in Guatemala and if Guatemala isn't open, no other programs are jumping at me. I just really love the hispanic children and culture.

[Pipercub]

El Salvador (next door) recently opened. I know someone who traveled last week to pick up her three year old daughter. Yes, the children are older - but they share the beautiful culture and need homes too. If your heart is pulled to this culture - you might look into there. BTW, the cost works out to be a tad less expensive than Guatemala too. <3

[ERAmy]

We are going ahead with Guate regardless of the rumors. I feel my agency is being very factual about everything (just got an update from them) and yes things could change but we are holding out hope it wont change for awhile.
We are not interested in any country either at this time and signed with a Guate only agency.

[alliej]

My husband and I are going to adopt again after this one. We wanted Guatemala again but obviously not looking so good. I haven't done much research yet but I am going to look into Columbia.

[Snow girl]

I think Columbia is a great option if you are able to handle the travel requirement (6-8 weeks I believe).

[pjkay720]

I'm hoping Guatemala. If this POA rumor is not true and I get my POA registered I will stick with Guatemala throughout all this mess. However, if they do shut down before I get in I'm starting to think Panama & Vietnam. They are just my initial thoughts which would require a lot of research. I just wouldn't want to lose money I've already sent to Gautemala.

[GuatMommy2Be]

We are looking into Colombia and Vietnam next..

[CarmJoeMom]

Wowee I just went and looked up most other programs. We simply couldn't do them becaues they all have such long in country stays! There is no way my husband could take that time off work or I could leave my two children at home for that long! Wow. What a shock! I was so sad to read all that.

Colombia sounds like a nice program if it wasn't for the fact that the incountry stay was so long.

Sooo discouraging. Well since I'm not ready to go through with an adoption right now, maybe by the time we are 100% ready, Guatemala will be reopened or never have shut down ......

[Carrie7310]

Have you considered Ethiopia? It is a great program and there is tremendous need.

[havensd]

We are going forward with Guatemala and hoping and praying for the best. Our agency is keeping us informed and asking us to not panic at this point. We just sent in our I-600A application, so maybe by the time we are fingerprinted and get our I-171H approval we'll know a bit more about what is going to happen.

[mamaskoby]

Does anyone know if the Colombian program requires both parents to be in country for the long 6 week period? Or is one parent ok???
AC

[MNStarr]

I think for Colombia both parents must be there at least 2 weeks or until some procedure is done? And then one parent can remain the final 4 weeks. This is just what I understood after looking into it so maybe someone else will know more.

[CarmJoeMom]

I understood it as travel was 3-4 weeks and that both have to be there for 10 days, then the other has to stay the remainding time. That would work for us with regard to DH, but I just couldn't leave my children for 4 weeks without me! I don't have anyone to watch them for that long!

[Pipercub]

There are something like three different Columbia programs that I am aware of. I will tell you what I know about each.

Your agency can go through ICBF (Instituto Colombiano De Bienestar Familiar). The children are typically infant under age one up to age eight. Some children are in foster homes and some are in orphanages. Singles and couples are eligible. First priority is given to couples with no children, Second priority to couples with one child. Marriage requirement is four years. One prior divorce per spouse accepted. If you are age 25-35, you can adopt age six months and up; if you are age 36-44 you can adopt age 3 years and up. If you are 45-50 you can adopt age 7 years and up. The wait is about 6-15 months after you submit your dossier until referral. You travel (both spouses) about 2 months after referral. It can take 2 weeks - 2 months for the adoption to be finalized (depending on the city/court). One spouse can go back to the US and return at the very end if they cannot be away that long.

There is a near-identicle program for Bogata, Columbia with the ICBF. The differences are a five year marriage requirement (sometimes exception made for 4 years). Couples 25-38 can adopt age 3 months and older; couples age 39-41 can adopt age 3 years to 4 years; couples age 42-44 can adoption children age 5 years - 6 years. You first have to wait for your dossier to be approved (which can take 2-12 months) and then a referral takes 2-6 months for older children, or 18-24 months for infants. Your time in country is approximately 5-6 weeks.

The last program I am aware of is for children in Medellin, Columbia. The agency here in the US works with a Columbian agency I think. Similar requirements to the first program I mentioned. Marriage requirement is 4.5 years. (If proven infertility, you can be approved for 4 years of marriage.) Couples age 25-35 are eligible to adopt 6 months and older; couples age 36-44 are elgible to adopt children age 3 years and older; those age 45-50 may adopt children age 6 and up. Like the second program, your dossier has to first be approved, which takes 2-12 months. Then time for referral is 2-6 months for an older child; 24-36 months for an infant. You travel 2-3 months after your referral, and the adoption is finalized about TWO WEEKS later.


All this to say....there are ALOT of Columbia programs with varying qualifications and VASTLY different amounts of time for travel. As you can see, the last one I mentioned is 2 weeks. The information I have is old (I got this information a year ago) so it would be wise to interview a number of agencies and find out what programs are available and what the time frames look like. But take heart that not all of them require months of in-country stay. <3

[BellaMia]

Guatemala is the country that we feel called towards, but we've also been looking into other countries as well so that we have more choices. Ethiopia was one other choice and we attended an Ethiopia adoption meeting but really felt that it is not for us at this time. We also got excited about El Salvador, but found out you have to be married 5 years and we've only been married 3 1/2. We are not qualified for China because I am not 30 and so many other countries we are either not qualified for or the travel times are just way to long than what we can do right now.

So, if we decide to adopt this year, it's either Guatemala or nothing really. If it's supposed to happen for us, than it will, if not than we may just wait and see what happens with Guatemala or wait until we qualify for other countries.