GUATEMALA

“Having two boys and no girls was an easy and obvious reason for wanting to adopt. Our prayers had always been for a larger family. Our decision to adopt in Guatemala was because of the need that presently exists there and because we have some friends who had been through the process without much difficulty. From our perspective, there are two things that potentially stand in the way of adopting from Guatemala and that is paperwork and cost, however, the paperwork process can be accomplished relatively fast if your desire to adopt is pressing. The costs are basically in the home study, which is done in the US by a local home study agency in your area. This consists of an interview of your family as well as background checks at the local, state, and international level. The international adoption agency costs consist of the work done by the adopting agency that uses the profile your family creates to make a match between your family and a child.

When we had been referred to our daughter, throughout out the course of months of going through the paperwork, we were sent DVD’s of her as well as photos, but we did not see her in person until the week we went over to finalize the adoption at the US embassy and bring her home. (You do need a valid passport).

By the time we had completed our journey, two years had gone by. This is not the norm by any means. We have seen adoptions from this country go a lot faster, as fast as eight months in some cases.

If you are interested, we would be more than happy to speak with you about your decision to adopt in this country.”

Darryll & Laurie Whaley
(Chad, Nick, Brooke)
(925) 939-5401 or (925) 260-1458 (cell)