Get original adoption papers from Guatemala??

Question

We adopted in 2003, but lost all adoption papers (birth cert., adoption decree, etc.) in Katrina (2005) except her passport and Green Card. We had yet to re-adopt her in the US, so we have no US birth certificate.

Asked for help from the TX agency we used and they said that they had no copies of our stuff and we're on our own.

Anyone had any experience trying to get documents directly from Guatemala, or should there be some copies elsewhere that we can obtain?

Answer 1

I would suggest joining the group below and seeing if anyone there can offer advice. There are over 4,000 members and it is specifically Guatemala related. Don't reply on Yahoo answers for something so important.

Please get this done - I have read a few cases in the past couple of years where young adult adoptees who were adopted internationally but were never readopted in the states and committed a crime and were deported.

Answer 2

My experience is with Russia, not Guatemala, but when we adopted in Russia, we had to submit a bunch of documents to the US Embassy in Moscow in order to obtain visas for our children.

When we received the visas we were given sealed packets of documents that we turned in to the Immigration officials upon landing in the USA. Inside that sealed packet were official copies of all the major documents (Birth certificate, adoption decree, etc.)

I assume you did something similar to get your daughter's visa in Guatemala. It's my understanding that you can file a form with USCIS to have the contents of that packet returned to you. I will see if I can find the form number for you. I have not done it myself, but I know a couple people who have. That might be an option for you.

Otherwise, would your agency be willing to contact the lawyer they use to facilitate their Guatemalan adoptions? Those papers have to be on file somewhere in Guatemala. Even if your agency doesn't have copies, they could probably help you *get* copies.

Edit: I think you'll want form USCIS G884 to request the return of your documents.

Edit to address Dory's deportation concern: I don't think readoption is really the issue here because since the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, internationally adopted children whose adoptions are finalized in the foreign country become citizens when they enter the US. (This was not true for children adopted prior to 2000, including the ones you heard about, probably, but it's true now.) It took a while for USCIS to get their paperwork changed over so many children still received "green cards" even though they were unnecessary. (My DS in 2001 was issued a green card. My DD in 2005 was issued a Certificate of Citizenship, but both are citizens.)

Readoption would make it easier for the asker to get copies of his DD's birth certificate (a US-based one)... But it would not change the legality of his adoption nor his DD's citizenship status.