Guatemala is a relatively small country with population of nearly 11 million people, conveniently located not far from the United States. Guatemalan culture is very diverse: there’s the authentic Indian culture with lively and colorful markets in Solola, Chichicastenango and San Francisco El Alto; there’s the Mayan culture in the North; there’s a colonial architecture in Antiqua. The nature is very diverse as well: there’s the rainforest jungle of Peten, cloud forest of the Verapas, Carribean and Pacific coasts and the volcanoes around Antigua, Atitlan and Quetzaltenango.

As of September 16, 2003, Hague implementation in Guatemala has been overthrown according to a constitutional court ruling. Technically, things are charted to return to the "old way" of processing unless other legislative changes to the process are implemented. Adoptions by U.S. citizen parents in Guatemala are processed under a “notary system.”

Guatemalan attorneys receive and refer potential orphans to adoptive parents. If the parents accept the referral, the attorney will process the paperwork on behalf of adoptive families to complete their adoptions in compliance with the Guatemala law. The adoption is completed by proxy (permission granted to attorneys through Power of Attorney from adoptive parent) before the parents travel, so the stay is very short. By U.S. law it is necessary to re-adopt the child in the United States since the child is not seen by both parents before the adoption is completed in Guatemala.

The adoption process takes six to nine months from beginning to end. Dossier requirements are not difficult. Single women may adopt. There is no upper age limit on the adoptive parents, and no limit as to the number of previous marriages or length of current marriage.

Guatemala is one of the few countries that still allows private adoption and direct birth mother relinquishment. The children in our program live in foster homes, which are residential facilitates staffed with qualified individuals who provide excellent care for the children. Most children available for adoption are relinquished due to extreme poverty. The babies are tested for all the main communicable diseases. Adoption Pros will provide several updates on the referred child before the family travels. The babies receive the best care available until families travel to pick them up. Some of them are under one month at time of referral and 4-5 months at time of placement.

One trip for 3-4 days is required to process visa for the child. Parents may also visit the children at any time before the adoption completion.