GREAT JCICS Announcment

[Moderator]

Joint Council Update

Program International Relations Initiative
Date December 21, 2007
Regarding Guatemala 5000


Dear Colleagues,

Through our very recent dialogue with the Guatemalan government, U.S.
Department of State, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S.
Congress and UNICEF, Joint Council is now highly confident that
Guatemalan adoption cases currently in-process will proceed to
finalization under the current notarial process.

Virtually all indicators, including the following, now point to a
successful conclusion.

Guatemalan Decree 77-2007 (including Article 56, the 'grandfather
clause') allows for in-process adoption cases to be completed under
current law.

· In line with the recommendation of Joint Council, U.S.
Department of State (USDOS) has learned Government of Guatemala may
consider the filing of the notification ("Aviso") with the PGN as the
"registration" required by the law. (See USDOS below for a full
statement by the U.S. Department of State).

· U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services informed Joint
Council and others that there are no plans to stop adoption processing
after January 1 2008. (See USCIS below for a full statement by USCIS
in Guatemala.

Collaboration amongst all stakeholders indicates a strong desire to
establish a clearly defined process (by which in-process cases may be
completed) within the coming days.

While a formal definition has not yet been provided by the Guatemalan
government, Joint Council does remain highly confident that a workable
definition is imminent. In anticipation of a formal definition, it
may be appropriate for all adoption service providers to consider
'registering' cases with PGN via the Aviso.

We extend our thanks to all who have advocated on behalf of the
Guatemala 5000 Initiative and assisted in ensuring that the right to a
safe, permanent and loving family for over 5,000 Guatemalan children
becomes a reality.

Best Wishes for a Joyous Holiday Season,

Tom

Thomas J DiFilipo
President
+1-703-535-8045
www.jcics.org


USDOS
Since May 2007, the Guatemalan Solicitor General's office (PGN) has
requested that notaries notify the office within 10 days of initiating
a new adoption case. This notification is a 42-field information form
called an "Aviso," and it is filed together with a copy of the
notary's initial legal document linking the adoptive parents, the
child to be adopted, the and relinquishing birth mother. While
failure to submit the notification does not legally jeopardize the
adoption, it can slow down case processing if not submitted before the
case is formally filed with the PGN.

The adoption law passed by Guatemala's congress on December 11, 2007
permits adoption cases initiated before its effective date of December
31, 2007 to be completed under the current notarial process, if those
cases are "registered" with the new Central Authority for adoptions
within 30 business days after the effective date of the law. At this
time, the Government of Guatemala has not formally defined what will
be required to "register" a pending adoption case. U.S. Embassy
Guatemala has learned that the Government of Guatemala may consider
the filing of the notification ("Aviso") with the PGN as the
"registration" required by the law. The Embassy, therefore,
recommends that prospective adoptive parents confirm with their
Guatemalan legal representatives that this "Aviso" has been filed with
the PGN for their adoption case. Prospective adoptive parents,
however, should be aware that other definitions of "registered case"
are under consideration and should remain in direct contact with their
adoption service providers to ensure that any requirements set forth
by the Government of Guatemala are being met.


USCIS Guatemala
Guatemala's new adoption law goes into effect December 31, 2007. The
law allows for the processing of all pending adoptions under the old
law that have a Guatemalan Power of Attorney prior to December 31,
2007 and have had the adoption registered with the new Guatemalan
Central Authority within 30 days after the new law goes into effect.
USCIS Guatemala will continue to receive and adjudicate all initial
document packets for the I-600 and all finalized adoption packets. It
is the petitioner(s)' responsibility to coordinate with their agency
and / or Guatemalan representative to assure that their adoption is
registered with the new Guatemalan Central Authority. If an adoption
is not registered with the new Guatemalan central authority, despite
receiving the USCIS pre-approval, the adoption may not approved by the
Guatemalan government under the old law process. To re-iterate at
this time, USCIS Guatemala has no cutoff date for accepting and
adjudicating initial document packets or finalized adoption packets.
It is the petitioner(s) responsibility to make sure their adoption is
in compliance with Guatemalan law.

Tom

Thomas J DiFilipo
President
+1-703-535-8045
www.jcics.org