print 
email INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION
GUYANA
July 2005
Disclaimer: The following is intended as a very general guide to assist U.S. citizens who plan to adopt a child from a foreign country
and apply for an immigrant visa for the child to come to the United States. Two sets of laws are particularly relevant: 1)
the laws of the child’s country of birth govern all activity in that country including the adoptability of individual children
as well as the adoption of children in country in general; and 2) U.S. Federal immigration law governs the immigration of
the child to the United States.
The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources
and our current understanding. It does not necessarily reflect the actual state of the laws of a child’s country of birth
and is provided for general information only. Moreover, U.S. immigration law, including regulations and interpretation, changes
from time to time. This flyer reflects our current understanding of the law as of this date and is not legally authoritative.
Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified
foreign or U.S. legal counsel.
PLEASE NOTE: Under Guyanese law only Guyanese nationals, former Guyanese nationals or non-Guyanese domiciled in Guyana may adopt Guyanese children.
PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF ADOPTED ORPHANS TO THE U.S.: Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to orphans.
| Fiscal Year | Number of Immigrant Visas Issued |
|
FY 2004 |
36 |
|
FY 2003 |
24 |
|
FY 2002 |
16 |
|
FY 2001 |
17 |
|
FY 2000 |
5 |
ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN Guyana:
Ministry of Human Service and Social Security
1 Water and Cornhill Streets
Georgetown, Guyana
Phone: 592-225-7450
Fax: 592-227-1308
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS: Adoption in Guyana is governed by the Adoption of Children Act, Chapter 46:06. To adopt a child the applicant, or in the case of a joint application, one of the applicants, must be 25 years old and be at least 21 years older than the child (18 years older if the child is a relative).
RESIDENTIAL REQUIREMENTS: Guyanese law dictates that Guyanese children can only be adopted by a person domiciled in Guyana; a Guyanese national resident outside Guyana; or a former Guyanese national who has acquired, by registration or other voluntary and formal act (including marriage), the citizenship of another country. Non-Guyanese nationals who are not domiciled in Guyana cannot adopt Guyanese children.
TIME FRAME: Adoptions in Guyana typically take 1 year to complete.
ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS : There are no private adoption agencies in Guyana. A list of attorneys who can provide legal services related to adoption can be obtained from the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown.
Prospective adopting parents are advised to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator they plan to use for adoption services. For U.S.- based agencies, it is suggested that prospective adopting parents contact the Better Business Bureau and licensing office of the Department of Health and Family Services in the state where the agency is located.
Please see Important Notice Regarding Adoption Agents and Facilitators at our Web site (../info/info_454.html).
ADOPTION FEES IN Guyana: The attorney determines the fees for adoption services rendered. No government fees are required.
ADOPTION PROCEDURES: A person considering the adoption of a Guyanese child should first apply to the Adoption Board, Ministry of Human Services and Social Security in Georgetown, Guyana using the required applications and medical forms.
A return date is then given for an office interview when the applicant(s), child and biological parents must appear jointly. In the event that the child's parents are deceased, proof must be provided in the form of a death certificate. At this interview the child's birth certificate and the applicant's marriage certificate (if married) must be presented. Other documents such as a death certificate (in case of the death of a spouse) as well as divorce papers may also be required depending on the circumstances of each particular case.
Consent of each birth parent or guardian of the child is required unless the birth parent or guardian has abandoned, neglected or mistreated the child, cannot be found or is incapable of giving consent. In cases where the parent(s) cannot be found, advertisement of the pending adoption must be placed for three consecutive Saturdays in a daily newspaper.
Once consent is obtained from the parents, or, if absent, after the newspaper publication, the applicants are advised via letter from the Board to file through an attorney two copies of their legal papers with the Supreme Court. The Court will then appoint the Board guardian ad litem of the child. This is a period in which the Board acts as the guardian of the child or children.
After the ad litem (or first order as it is also called) is granted, an officer of the Board visits the home of the applicant to ensure that the welfare of the child is being met. In cases where the child does not live with the applicant a probationary period is allowed for bonding between the two parties.
The Adoption Board meets on the last Wednesday of every month. Scheduled meetings are held with all persons involved at which time the findings of the report will be presented. A decision in favor of the applicant would be followed by a recommendation of the case to the High Court for the making of a Final Order. The Board can defer a case until it is fully convinced about the competence of the applicant or can reject it because there are no justifiable grounds for the adoption. At a later date the parties involved will be given notice to attend court before a judge in chambers for the issuance of the Final Order. Once the Final Order is issued, a copy of the child’s Adoption Certificate can be obtained from the office of the Registrar General.
Prospective adoptive parents should note that their presence is required at least for the start of the process and the issuance of the Final Order.
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION IN Guyana: Prospective adoptive parents are required to present certified copies of birth and marriage certificates, bank statements, employment verification, police clearance and a home study.
AUTHENTICATING U.S. DOCUMENTS TO BE USED ABROAD:All U.S. documents submitted to the Guyana government/court must be authenticated. Guyana is a party to the Hague Legalization Convention. Generally, U.S. civil records, such as birth, death, and marriage certificates, must bear the seal of the issuing office and an apostille affixed by the state's Secretary of State (an apostille is a special seal applied to a document to certify that a document is a true copy of an original). Documents must be apostilled in the state where they are issued. Tax returns, medical reports and police clearances should likewise be authenticated. Prospective adopting parents should contact the Secretary of State of the state where documents originated from for instructions and fees for authenticating documents.
Documents issued by a federal agency must be authenticated by the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office, 518 23rd St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20520, (202) 647-5002 Fee: $6.00. For additional information, call the Federal Information Center: 1-800-688-9889, and choose option 6 after you press 1 for touch-tone phones. Walk-in service is available from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 am Monday-Friday, except holidays and is limited to 15 documents per person per day (documents can be multiple pages). Processing time for authentication requests sent by mail is 5 working days or less.
Please visit our Web site at travel.state.gov for additional information about authentication procedures.
GUYANANESE EMBASSY AND CONSULATES IN THE UNITED STATES:
Embassy of Guyana2490 Tracy Place, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: (202) 265-3834
(202) 265-6900
Fax: (202) 232-1297
Consulate General of Guyana
370 7 th Avenue, Room 402
New York, N.Y. 10001
Tel: (212) 947-5115
(212) 947-5116
Fax: (212) 947-5163
In addition, Guyana has honorary consuls in Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; East Chicago, Indiana; and Waco, Texas.
U.S. IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS
Prospective adopting parents are strongly encouraged to consult U.S. CIS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adopting Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions. The U.S. CIS publication is available at the U.S. CIS Web site. The Department of State publication International Adoptions can be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs Web site, http://travel.state.gov, under “International Adoptions.”
Adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to read the flyer the requirements for filing I-600 petitions for orphans adopted by U.S. citizens before completing an adoption abroad. Please see our flyer How Can Adopted Children Come to the United States at our Web site http://travel.state.gov/.
APPLYING FOR A VISA FOR YOUR CHILD AT THE U.S. EMBASSY IN Guyana: The following is a guideline for U.S. citizens who are interested in adopting a child in Guyana and applying for an immigrant visa for the child to return to the United States. This process involves complex foreign and U.S. legal requirements. U.S. consular officers give each petition careful consideration on a case-by-case basis to ensure that the legal requirements of both countries have been met, for the protection of the prospective adoptive parent(s), the biological parent(s), and the child. Interested U.S. citizens are strongly encouraged to contact U.S. consular officials in Guyana before formalizing an adoption agreement to ensure that appropriate procedures have been followed which will make it possible for the Embassy to issue a U.S. immigrant visa for the child.
U.S. Embassy In Guyana: Prospective adopting parents should contact the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown by phone 592 225 7965/7966
or email – visageorge@state.gov as soon as they begin the adoption process to get information on applying for the visa. The Consular Section tries to work
with adopting parents to schedule an appointment as expeditiously as possible, but we cannot guarantee an appointment if the
adopting parents have not contacted us before they travel to Guyana. Once parents contact the Consular Section, they are sent
a tip sheet on assembling documents for the visa appointment. These documents include: birth, marriage, and divorce certificates
for adopting parents, birth certificates for the child, police certificate for children over 16, visa photos for child, $335
for each visa, medical exams for the child, and I-864 Affidavit of Support from parents who will adopt the child in the U.S.
(children adopted abroad by American citizens qualify for the Child Citizenship Act and do not require the I-864).
Note: Visa issuance after the final interview now generally takes 24 hours and it will not normally be possible to provide the
visa to adoptive parents on the day of the interview.
United States Embassy in Guyana
Americans living or traveling abroad are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State
Department’s travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov/ , and to obtain updated information on travel and security within the country of travel. Americans without Internet access
may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the
Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency. The Consular Section is located at:
99/100 Young & Duke Streets
Kingston, Georgetown
NATURALIZATION: Under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, which became effective on February 27, 2001, orphans adopted by U.S. citizens acquire U.S. citizenship automatically when all of the following requirements have been met:
- at least one parent is a U.S. citizen;
- the child is under 18 years of age;
- there is a full and final adoption of the child; and, the child is admitted to the United States as an immigrant.
A foreign–born adopted orphan who enters the United States on an Immediate Relative (IR) –3 visa is eligible to receive a Certificate of Citizenship upon admission. It is important that both parents (if married) or one parent if single have seen the child prior to or during the adoption in order to qualify for U.S. Certificate of Citizenship review. A foreign-born orphan, who enters the United States on an IR-4 visa and is adopted in a U.S. court, will be eligible to receive Legal Permanent Resident status until a final, legal adoption is granted in the state of residence, at which time they are eligible for U.S. citizenship. For further information, please consult with the consular section at the U.S. Embassy or the nearest office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. Additional information is available at: ../../childcitfaq.html or http://uscis.gov/graphics/index.htm.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Specific questions about adoption in Guyana may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Guyana. General questions regarding international adoption may be addressed to the Office of Children’s Issues, U.S. Department of State, CA/OCS/CI, SA-29, 4 th Floor, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818, toll-free Tel: 1-888-407-4747.
Useful information is also available from several other sources:
- Telephone:
- Toll Free - For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, call Overseas Citizens Services at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-202-501-4444.
- U.S. Department of State Visa Office - recorded information concerning immigrant visas for adopting children, (202) 663-1225.
- DHS Citizenship and Immigration Services - recorded information for requesting immigrant visa application forms, 1-800-870-FORM (3676).
- Internet :
- Adoption Information Flyers: the Consular Affairs web site at: http://travel.state.gov/ contains international country adoption information flyers like this one and the International Adoptions brochure.
- Consular Information Sheets: The State Department has general information about hiring a foreign attorney and authenticating documents that may supplement the country-specific information provided in this flier. In addition, the State Department publishes Consular Information Sheets (CISes) for every country in the world, providing information such as location of the U.S. Embassy, health conditions, political situations, and crime reports. If the situation in a country poses a specific threat to the safety and security of American citizens that is not addressed in the CIS for that country, the State Department may issue a Public Announcement alerting U.S. citizens to local security situations. If conditions in a country are sufficiently serious, the State Department may issue a Travel Warning recommending that U.S. citizens avoid traveling to that country. These documents are available on the Internet at: http://travel.state.gov/ or by calling the State Department's Office of Overseas Citizen Services Toll Free at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-202-501-4444.
- USCIS web site - http://uscis.gov/
Other Government Websites |
