US DOS: Update on Casa Quivira and Semillas de Amor Cases

Guatemala

Adoption Alert

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Bureau of Consular Affairs

Office of Children’s Issues

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Update on Casa Quivira and Semillas de Amor Cases

February 5, 2009

Casa Quivira

According to our records, about 14 of the original 46 children at CQ still have cases pending. For six of these cases, the Attorney General’s Office (PGN) has identified irregularities. All six will have to be processed as abandonment cases; however, the Guatemalan government has agreed cases will be processed as transition cases and do not have to wait for the new procedures to drafted and implemented.

Semillas de Amor

The Embassy has obtained agreement from GOG officials that children whose adoptions have been completed, and who already have U.S. visas, should be allowed to leave the country. However, both the MP and PGN must complete their investigation and processing and then the Judge must lift to order for the children to stay at Semillas. Simply having the completed adoption and issued a visa will not automatically allow the child to leave Guatemala. Twelve more cases were released by the MP to PGN in January. According to the MP only five cases of the original 54 cases have irregularities; these likely will have to be processed as abandonments under Guatemala’s new laws.