[carterj6]

My husband and I are on waiting for a referral for an infant girl from Guatemala and I have a couple of questions for anyone who could help. Our agency has told us that the Hague convention is coming into effect in Guatemala. They said that because of this there is a strong possibiblity that Guatemala could close their doors to adoption within the next 2 years. (They said it would eventually open back up, but they did not know how long it would remain closed.) THey said if you already have your referral then you would be ok. They also said that if you were just getting started then you might want to consider a boy since there is no wait for a boy referral. Our agency currently has a wait time of 12+ months for a girl referral. Here are my questions: Has anyone else heard of this? and Isn't 12 months a long time to for a referral? It seems like other agencies only have a wait of a few months for a girl referral. I don't want to alarm anyone, but I do feel like I need some answers. Thanks to anyone who can help!

[Bonnee]

I'm no expert, but 12+ months seems too long. We are waiting for the referral of a little girl, but we only expect to wait 1-2 months.

[Anne1377]

We are also waiting for a referral for a little girl from Guatemala. I believe there are five people ahead of us on the list for a referral. We are expecting a call in February if things progress as they have been at our agency. Our total wait time ( after submission of our dossier) will be about 4 months. This is pretty much the exact time frame that was given to us by our agency when we first spoke with them. At our agency, the referral time for either a boy or girl is about the same. (4-5 months)

We received information about Guatemala signing the Hague treaty in September. At first we were very concerned about how this would effect us. We spoke with our agency first. They were optimistic that nothing would change but were more than willing to let us send our dossier to another country as well as to Guatemala "just in case". We also spoke to international adoption attorneys. They, too ,did not seem too concerned that Guatemala had signed this treaty. The United States signed the treaty in (I believe) 1995 and it still hasn't been ratified here! It is almost 8 years later and still not ratified. I tend to think that Guatemala will not be able to ratify the treaty any faster than the US. From everyone I have spoken with ( and there have been many professionals involved in the international adoption field), I do not think there will be any changes made quickly due to the signing of the Hague treaty. When it is ratified in all participating countries, I think it will be wonderful for adoptions. From my understanding of the signing in Guatemala, I don't think Guatemala will be closing international adoptions anytime soon, if at all! I am confident in my decision to keep my dossier in Guatemala and am looking forward to the phone call that will soon be coming!

Good luck!!!

[psychd3]

I heard something similar about a month ago and frantically sought to verify that information. I posted on any list or message board I could think of. The replies were all similar... yes, it looks like things could change at some point. But as of yet, they have not. No one was clear on when or how this was going to be implemented. And business seems to be as usual. I just decided I was going to keep moving forward till someone says stop.

Daryl

[marsupial24]

Our agency currently has a wait time of 12+ months for a girl referral

I think 12 months is extremely too long for a wait time. I would say either something is wrong with that or their is A LOT of people in front of you. This is on of the things we looked at when looking for an agency. The bigger agencies "turned us off", because they would have bigger wait times. Did you ask your agency why the wait time is so long???? I know a boy is pretty quick and girls are a little longer, but a year is way too long. I would investigate that a little more!

Meg

[Rosebud]

Okay, I need info. I know I might sound stupid, but what is the Hague convention? We just got our INS approvel today and all I have been reading on the Guatemalan message boards is about Guat. closing it's doors for adoption. I went from this really big high to a big low, our agency never has menationed this to us. Part of me is remembering back to our first adoption from Korea and someone had told me that Korea was going to shut there doors also. Which was not true. Can someone explain? thanks

[becky]

The Hague Convention is an international 'treaty' of sorts that gives guidelines for adoption. Many countries have signed the treaty, but it can take YEARS to implement it. Guatemala just voted on the Hague this fall. Most adoption experts believe it will be several years at the earliest before there are significant changes due to the Hague.
It is possible that adoptions will shut down for a while while the Hague is being implemented, with the expectation that they will open again. Of course, as I said...it may be years before that happens.

Good Luck, and do not let this situation get you down, enjoy your adoption experience!!

Becky

[Rosebud]

Thanks Becky,

I do feel better now. Adopting is so emotional, and sometimes I let things like this get to me before I get all of the answers. I will be turning in our Dossier today and hopefully it will be State sealed by the end of this week and onto Guatemala thanks again!

[jcarter31]

Our agency gave us some good advice about the Hague Convention. The United States signed the Hague Convention 8 years ago. The U.S. has still not ratified it, it has taken this long and longer for us to figure out how to implement it. Our agency felt that even though Guatemala has recently signed it, it would be years before we see anything happen. I hope this helps!

Jennifer