June 17, 2008


The new Guatemalan Solicitor General (Procuradoría General de la Nación) or “PGN”) advised the U.S. Embassy on June 3 that he planned to release approximately 300 cases that had been approved by the former Solicitor General, but which he had previously decided should also pass though the comprehensive review process.  Those cases were released on June 5.  The Deputy Solicitor General told the Embassy on June 10 that additional cases, both approved recommendations and requests for more evidence, are being released on a regular basis.  Guatemalan legal representatives should inform families as soon as their child’s case has been released. 

The Embassy has no backlog of adoption cases. The Immigrant Visa Unit is scheduling final immigrant visa interviews for one week after receipt of the matching DNA results and the approved final case from USCIS.  Currently, about 35 adoption immigrant visa interviews are being scheduled each week, but the Embassy has the capacity to schedule up to 120 adoption cases a week if additional final adoption cases are received.

The Embassy maintains close communication with the PGN and has expressed the hope that the review of the approximately 1,300 remaining cases can be accomplished as quickly as possible.  The Embassy understands that the new PGN has reviewed over 800 cases to date.  Of those, the PGN/CNA has found 22 cases that are not approvable.  The Deputy Solicitor General reported on June 13 that 452 of the reviewed cases complied with all PGN requirements and were ready for final processing. Another  350 cases were found to have no serious problems, but legal representatives would still be asked to submit additional information. 

The Department of State recognizes the responsibility of the Government of Guatemala to establish procedures that safeguard the adoption process for its citizens.  As the Government of Guatemala continues to develop new procedures and regulations, we will provide updated information as it becomes available on the travel.state.gov website.