The Paperchase...The Homestudy and the Dossier

What Is A Homestudy??

A home study is a report written about your family, finances, motivation to adopt, and background history of you. It will be conducted over several interviews depending on the guidelines issued by your state. How long does a home study take?The amount of time a homestudy will take from start to finish varies but on average it should take 8 to 10 weeks to complete. It will depend on the home study agency you use, and how much time your state takes to give background clearances.

What is a Dossier?

Just when we thought we were done with being a document “hunter-gatherer” – we got to do it all again to assemble our dossier!

Although it sounds presumptuous, a dossier (pronounced “doss-e-A”) is really just a collection of papers containing very detailed information about you. The vast majority of countries open to international adoption require prospective adoptive parents to compile a dossier. Compiling a dossier involves gathering documents, having these documents notarized, and then addingvarious seals from your county, your state, and the U.S. government.

There’s Good News & Bad News…
The good news is that some of the documents required for your dossier are the same documents required by the USCIS and your homestudy. The bad news is that the vast majority of these documents has to be notarized, certified, apostilled, and authenticated. We’ve all had documents notarized – where a Notary Public certifies that they witnessed a specific person sign a specific document. This is done to eliminate the possibility of forgery. A Notary Public can also certify that a copy of a document is a true and unaltered copy of the original document. Here’s a notary tip: Before you hand your local Notary Public a stack of documents that are bound for your dossier, ask when the notary’s commission expires. Most countries require that the notary’s commission be valid for at least a year past the date they witness a signature. Putting an apostille on something is the equivalent of having the Notary Public’s seal notarized. When a document is apostilled, the governmental body that registered the Notary is certifying that the Notary’s signature, seal, and license are valid. The government official will look at the signature and seal of the Notary on your notarized documents and then check their records to validate the signature and seal. They will then attach another paper to your document with their authorization seal and official signature. This apostille procedure certifies that the Notary’s notarization is authentic. To get something apostilled, contact your state’s office of Secretary of State and ask them to apostille your documents – they will let you know what to do.

What Goes Into a Dossier?

While dossier requirements are different for each country, the following list gives a general idea of what your dossier will need to contain:
Health statement for adoptive parents - usually a written report by your physician (on his letterhead) after you have undergone a complete physical examination

Financial information – usually written letters from the financial institutions with which you do business stating your account balances

Adoption petition (provided by your adoption agency)

Post Placement Agreement (from your adoption agency)

Form I-171H (this is the only time a copy of a document is allowed in the dossier) from the USCIS

For married parents: certified copies of birth and marriage certificates

For single parents: certified copy of birth certificate

Certified copy of divorce decree (if applicable) – obtained from the probate court of the county where the divorce was finalized

Certified copy of death certificate of former spouse (if applicable) – obtained from the state office of vital records

Proof of home ownership (or rental agreement) - a copy of your most recent monthly mortgage statement or your rental agreement

Employment verification - must be on company letterhead and have a recent date – ask your company’s human resources department for a letter stating how long you have worked for the company along with your current annual salary. (Note: You must include employment verification even if you are self employed.)

Homestudy – obtain a certified copy of your homestudy from the social worker who conducted the homestudy

License of your adoption agency (Note: check to be sure the date on the license is valid)

Results of your criminal background check – visit your local police station to obtain this document

Copy of the photo pages of your passport

Letters of reference – it’s okay to use the same references you used for your homestudy.

Copy of your most recent Federal income tax return – if you don’t have a copy, the IRS can provide you with a copy (go to http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq1-6.html for instructions on requesting a copy)

Power of Attorney (given to your adoption agency coordinator)

Photographs of your family, relatives, pets, and house

Do It Yourself vs. Do It For Me

The prospect of compiling a dossier can be overwhelming – it certainly was for us. We knew that any mistake in our dossier could delay the referral of our child and thus delay the adoption. If you are an extremely organized, detail oriented, and methodical person (if you view the term “obsessive-compulsive” as a compliment) you can probably compile your own dossier – many adoptive parents have successfully done so. There is another option, however, if the idea of putting together your dossier is causing you a great deal of stress: You can pay someone else to compile your dossier for you. (The average cost is between $800 and $1,000 to get your dossier completed.) There are dozens of companies that do nothing but assemble dossiers for prospective adoptive parents. Who knew? Chances are, your adoption agency can recommend someone to help you with your dossier. If not, check the Internet – do a search on “international adoption dossier” and you’ll find a smorgasbord of companies eager to help you. Is it worth spending the extra money to have someone else compile (or help to compile) your dossier? The answer depends on you. If you are overwhelmed with the prospect of making sure that the proper seals are on the correct documents, then reducing your stress may be worth the price. On the other hand, if money is tight and you are a very organized person, you can certainly compile a proper dossier yourself. But remember: your dossier must be absolutely perfect (according to the standards of the country you’ve chosen to adopt from) or it will be rejected.

The Guatemalan Adoption Process

Description of Guatemala Notarial Adoption Process (USA Adoptive Families Only)
(This Description was drafted by Families Without Borders)

Relinquishment is the most common form of adoption to the U.S. from Guatemala. A birth mother decides that she wishes to relinquish her child for adoption, and signs the child’s care over to a lawyer or a children’s home. Some birth mothers decide this during pregnancy; others may not decide on this until they have cared for their child for some time. While notarial relinquishment adoptions are a private (or “extrajudicial”) legal matter between the birth mother and the adoptive family assisted by a notarial attorney, such adoptions are subjected to rigorous and extensive review and approval by certain courts and governmental agencies including the Guatemalan Family Court, the Procuraduria General de la Nacion (PGN – the Guatemalan Attorney General’s office), and by the U.S Embassy and Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS). In a relinquishment adoption, the birth mother must appear a minimum of four separate times — which often spans a period of weeks to months—to give her unconditional consent to relinquish her child for adoption and to confirm her identity, her consent can be withdrawn at anytime through this process:
· To transfer custody to the attorney/hogar and request that child be placed for adoption
· For an interview with a social worker from Family Court
· Before a physician for DNA sample collection
· For her final signature on the adoption deed before the notarial attorney
Additional interviews and investigations can be required by the Family Court, the PGN, and the US Embassy/BCIS at their discretion.

Abandonment adoptions occur when a child has been abandoned by his/her biological family or when parental rights have been terminated due to neglect or abuse. In abandonment adoptions, a minors’ court judge is charged with determining whether the child truly is abandoned, which can take from 6 months to more than two years. The court conducts an extensive search for family members who may wish to accept custody of the child. If family members are not located, or are unable or unwilling to assume the child’s care, the judge issues a Certificate of Abandonment (COA). After a COA is issued, an abandonment adoption proceeds through most of the same steps as a relinquishment adoption.

Referral and Adoption Procedures*:
1. A woman who wishes to place her child for adoption contacts an attorney – directly or through an intermediary, authorizes the attorney to pursue an adoption, and assigns the attorney custody of her child with her Express Consent. The birth mother provides evidence of her identity to the attorney through her birth certificate, cedula (official photo identification card), and thumbprint, and provides records of the child’s identity and birth (hospital records, birth certificate). Copies of this information become part of the case file. The attorney places the child in foster care or a privately run orphanage.

2. The child has a basic physical examination by a pediatrician, and receives any required immunizations. The birth mother also is evaluated by a physician, and blood is drawn for HIV, hepatitis and syphilis testing.

3. REFERRAL The attorney or adoption agency refers the child to the (prospective) adoptive family with the following information: the child's and birth mother’s names, basic social and medical data (as available), and typically a photo of the child, his/her birth certificate, and the results of the birth mother’s blood tests.

4. POWER OF ATTORNEY The adoptive family accepts the referral and assigns Power of Attorney (POA) to the Guatemalan attorney to permit him/her to act on their behalf during the adoption process. Under Guatemalan law the same attorney may represent the interests of the birth mother and child, and the adoptive family.

5. The attorney registers the adoptive family’s POA with the Archivo de Protocolo, and .the family’s completed dossier, translated into spanish, is verified by the Minister of External Relations

6. FAMILY COURT The attorney submits the adoption file (dossier and POA, child’s and birth mother’s identity and medical documentation, birth mother’s signed Express Consent) to Family Court, and petitions the court to assign a social worker to investigate the case. The Family Court social worker reviews the dossier, interviews the birth mother, schedules appointments with the birth mother and foster family, and may visit the child in foster care or the orphanage. During the interview with the birth mother, the social worker explains that: (a) the adoption is irrevocable, (b) she will lose the patria potestas and guardianship of her child, and (c) she may never see the child after the adoption is final. The social worker asks the birth mother if anyone in her family can care for the child, and determines if the birth mother has voluntarily, freely, definitively, and irrevocably granted her express consent for her child to be adopted. The social worker writes a report that summarizes the facts of the case and attests to the birth mother’s reasons for deciding that she cannot parent the child. In most cases, the social worker recommends that the Family Court judge approve the adoption. The court reviews the social worker’s report and makes its recommendation. The birth mother appears before the notary and signs her second consent to place her child for adoption.

7. US EMBASSY – DNA TESTING. The US Embassy has required DNA testing since October 1, 1998, for all relinquishment adoptions of Guatemalan children by US citizens. After reviewing the adoption case file, the US Embassy authorizes DNA testing of the birth mother and child to confirm their biological relationship. The DNA process is as follows:
· The attorney presents all documents, photos, and medical test results to the US Embassy.
· The Embassy reviews the file and gives approval for the DNA testing, which is carried out by authorized medical personnel and analyzed by an approved laboratory in the US, under strict chain of custody procedures.
· The birth mother and child are escorted to the embassy-approved doctor where their identities are verified and saliva samples are collected for DNA analysis. The child’s thumbprint is taken and put into the adoption case file. To verify the child’s identity, US Embassy personnel compare this thumbprint to those taken when the birth was registered or when the birth mother signed custody of the child to the attorney. The birth mother’s identity is verified through her original cedula (photo identification card), a photocopy of which was entered in the adoption case file at the time the birth mother relinquished custody of the child to the attorney. The birth mother’s thumbprints are also taken. A polaroid photograph is taken of the birth mother holding the child on her lap and is attached to the DNA file. The birth mother and foster mother sign forms attesting to their identities, and the birth mother signs her consent for the DNA analysis.
· The laboratory sends a copy of the DNA test results (with photos) directly to the US Embassy in Guatemala, and to the adoptive parents and adoption agency.
· The US Embassy reviews the test results and all supporting documentation. If all documents are in order, the US Embassy/BCIS provides the attorney with the Consentimiento (consent form), which is required before the PGN will authorize the attorney to prepare the final adoption decree.

8. PGN REVIEW AND APPROVAL The attorney submits the adoption case file and a petition for approval of the adoption to a notarial** officer of the PGN. A PGN notary reviews all documents in the case file and, at his/her discretion, may independently investigate one or more aspects of the case. PGN may reject the file (issue a previo) any number of times for a wide variety of reasons that range from serious (e.g., irregularities in the birth mother’s or child’s identity documents) to minor (e.g., minor spelling errors, expired notary seals). The attorney for the birth mother and adoptive family corrects the problem and resubmits the case to PGN. Ultimately, the PGN typically concurs with the Family Court’s recommendation and issues its approval for the adoption to proceed.

9. ADOPTION DECREE. The attorney then prepares the final adoption Protocolo or deed, and meets with the birth mother for her to sign her final consent to the child’s adoption. The executed Protocolo is filed with the Archivo de Protocolo. At this point, the child is legally the child of the adoptive parent(s) under Guatemalan law.

CIVIL REGISTRY AND PASSPORT. The attorney presents the required documents to record the adoption at the Civil Registry where the child’s birth was recorded, and requests that a new birth certificate be issued to reflect the adoption, and to change the child’s surname to that of the adoptive family. The attorney then takes all documents including the new birth certificate and applies for the child’s Guatemalan passport. The child is again fingerprinted to affirm his/her identity.

US EMBASSY – FINAL APPROVAL AND VISA. The attorney presents the case file with the child’s passport and new birth certificate to the US Embassy. The Embassy again evaluates the file and, if all documentation is in order, issues a “Final Document Approval” or pink slip. (Note: Guatemalan passport is NOT required to submit the REQUEST for the pink slip, it is however required to PICK UP the pink slip from the US Embassy.) After the attorney receives this approval, the adoptive parents and child appear at the US Embassy for final verification, and an embassy official then issues a visa for the child’s entry into the US.

* These steps take place in the approximate order listed, but the exact order (especially of pre-Family Court steps) can vary from case to case.
** A notary in Guatemala is an attorney with additional legal powers, not, as in the U.S., simply a person who is authorized to certify signatures.

Guatemala General Information

Guatemala is a beautiful mountainous country which is located between Belize and Mexico and borders Honduras and El Salvador. It is the most populated country in Central America and approximately 52 percent of the people are Mayan Indians. The rest of the population is mainly of mixed Indian and European descent. Spanish is the official language, but 23 native dialects are spoken among the Indian people. The Mayans of Guatemala and the surrounding regions had one of the most advanced civilizations of the ancient world. Their cities flourished across Central America, complete with remarkable pyramids, temples, observatories and libraries, and their scholars produced works of literature, philosophy, art and architecture.

Guatemala offers Central America in concentrated form: its volcanoes are the highest and most active, and its Mayan ruins the most impressive. Guatemala is the Mayan heartland within Central America. Its indigenous culture is alive and well in the ancient ruins of Tikal, the Mayan/Catholic rituals of Chichicastenango and the blazing colors of everyday Mayan dresses.

Facts At A Glance:

Country name: Republic of Guatemala

Area: 109,000 sq km (42,500 sq mi)

Population: 11 million (growth rate 2.5%)

Capital city: Guatemala City (pop 2 million)

People: 56% Spanish descent, 44% Mayan descent

Language: Spanish, Garifuna and 21 Maya languages

Religion: Roman Catholic, Mayan-Catholic

Government: Democratic

Time: GMT/UTC minus 6 hours

Electricity: 110V, 60Hz

Weights /measures: Metric

Visa Requirements:

Depending on the country you come from, stays are limited to 30 or 90 days. Check with the closest Guatemalan embassy for up-to-date information.

Safety:

A new group of tourism civil police officers has recently graduated, making tourists security their goal. This group of specially trained officials cover most of the tourist attractions and routes in prevention of crime. Use the same common sense traveling overseas that you would at home. Be especially cautious in or avoid areas where you are likely to be victimized. These include crowded markets, bus stations, elevators, crowded tourist sites, festivals and marginal areas of cities.

We started looking at adoption in general during 2005. After months of research on the internet and reading as much as we could, we decided that adoption was for us. Once we decided that adoption was the way that we were going to add to our family, we had many more decisions to make before we could get started.

We had to decide what type of adoption we wanted to pursue. There were so many options to consider.

Closed/Semi-Open/Open

Closed Adoption
A closed adoption is an adoption in which the birthparents prefer not to select a family or have contact with them. No identifying information is exchanged, and the agency chooses the family for the birthparents. After the child is placed in the adoptive home, the family doesn't correspond or have any contact with the birthparents. Years ago, closed adoptions were the norm. Today, very few birthmothers choose this type of adoption.

Semi-Open Adoption

In a semi-open adoption, the birthmother and sometimes the birthfather, selects the adoptive family after reading the profiles of available families. After selecting an adoptive family, the birthmother may decide that she wants to meet the family in person. Additional meetings may take place as well, and adoptive parents may participate in things like doctor visits and the labor and delivery. In semi-open adoptions, however, identifying information (last names, addresses, and phone numbers, for example) isn't exchanged, and no face to face meetings are scheduled following placement. The adoptive parents and the birthmother can correspond through the agency, if they choose exchanging letters, photos, and gifts.

Open Adoption

Open adoptions usually proceed similarly to the semi-open adoptions, but at some point, the two parties identifying information. Following the placement, the adoptive family and the birthmother have direct contact with one another, with the agency acting as the intermediary. An open adoption usually includes regular meetings between the adoptive family and the birthmother. What constitutes "regular meeting" depends on what the adoptive parents and birthparent agree on. For some families, it means one or two meetings a year in places like the zoo or a park. For other families, it may mean that the birth mom is a regular visitor in the family's home and participates in holiday gatherings and birthday celebrations.

-Adoption For Dummies

Domestic (USA) or International

Domestic Adoption

The United States has many children who need loving families.

A healthy infant is exactly that.

You're more likely to have more information about and possible contact with the birthmother.

Infants are usually placed with you shortly after they're born.

International Adoption

Many families fee adopting internationally is easier than adopting domestically.

They see international adoption as a humanitarian act.

They feel that adopting internationally is a way to avoid having to deal with the birthmother.

-Adoption For Dummies

After lots of thought we decided to adopt internationally from Guatemala. Why or how did we come to this conclusion?

We wanted to adopt an infant and even though adopting internationally the infants are usually a little older (6 to 8 months old when they arrive at home), the process is fairly predictable, that is we can be fairly certain that we could have a child in our home within one year from start to finish. In a domestic adoption, we could wait for an undetermined amount of time for a birthmother to choose us as her child's forever family.

After researching the adoption costs, we came to the conclusion that taking all things into consideration, they all cost about the same. China and Russia may have less costly country or program fees than does Guatemala, but with the cost and length of travel figured, the costs are about the same as Guatemala.

Guatemala requires only one trip to pick up our new family member that is 3 to 5 days in length. When we arrive in Guatemala City to pick up our child, the adoption will be finalized. In the other countries, the finalization does not happen until either a court hearing in the birth country happens or until arrival back in the United States. In other countries, two or more trips may be required and can be as long as 6 weeks in length.

After careful consideration of all of the above and many other factors as well, we decided that Guatemala was the country that we would adopt from.

This is the story of our adoption journey. We decided to create this blog to help us remember the many milestones achieved during the adoption that we may some how forget as time goes by. We have also decided to put as much information into our adoption story as possible, so that our friends and family can more easily understand the process....as it is incredibly exciting, yet complicated and confusing. We hope you enjoy the information provided as much as we enjoy publishing it.
Stephanie