Guyana is a country often overlooked in South America, but its natural beauty and the fact that it is the only English-speaking country on the continent makes it a special place for those who like to be off the beaten path. Bordering Venezuela, Brazil, Suriname and the Atlantic Ocean, Guyana’s landscape is a gorgeous mix of rainforest, mountainous waterfalls, savannahs and beaches. Guyana was first colonized by the Dutch, but later became a British colony, achieving independence in 1966 from Great Britain.

Children in Guyana are vulnerable to violence and child abuse, sexual exploitation, trafficking and general neglect. There are over 800 children in Guyanese orphanages waiting for adoption, and as the first U.S. adoption agency to be working with the Adoption Authority in Guyana, we hope to place many of these children with their forever families.

Guyana is not party to the Hague Treaty on International adoptions.  Children of All Nations works hand-in-hand with the government, and works with an experienced lawyer to handle all adoption cases successfully in court. Our in-country staff will take great care of you while you travel to Guyana for your adoption. If you would like more information about our program, our specialized adoption consultants are standing by to help! To have your questions answered, call us today at (512)323-9595 or email us at info@childrenofallnations.com

Children available for adoption from Guyana range from toddlers to older children. Guyanese children are usually of African, East Indian, Amerindian or Asian descent. Many children are of mixed ethnicity, as there is quite a melting pot of different ethnicities in Guyana. Most children will have brown eyes, light brown or dark brown skin, and black or brown hair. Children are available for adoption due to neglect or abuse, abandonment, or death of one or both parents in most cases.

When adopting from Guyana, consider you will be adopting the following:

• Healthy boys and girls 3 years and older
• Children with special needs and older children
• Two or more siblings at one time
• Two or more unrelated children at one time

Adoption laws in Guyana also allows US families to adopt relatives living in the Guyana. Adoptive parents must be able to provide proof of the relationship in their dossier. Generally, when considering a relative adoption, the following must apply for a child to be eligible:

1. The adoption should be last option and it is for the best interest of the child.
2. The grounds to pursue adoption: the child is an orphan, the parents separated, the parents abandoned the child, the child is neglected by biological parents. Note: Financial difficulty of the biological parents is not typically reason enough for adoption, but is evaluated case by case.
3. The biological parents need the parental consent (the process will go through the CCPA).
4. There will be an investigation process done by the CCPA before the relative adoption can be approved.

Families considering adopting a child will have access to the child’s background and medical information before travel. In most cases, additional information is available upon request.

In addition to the USCIS eligibility requirements for prospective adoptive parent(s), Guyana has the following requirements. If you feel you are not eligible to adopt from Guyana, or you are unsure we may be able to work with you. Please contact us for a free case-by-case consultation.

• Citizenship: One parent must be a U.S. citizen
• Age: Adoptive parents must be at least 25 years of age and at least 17 years older than the adoptive child. There should be no more than 50 years between the age of the parents and children. In special circumstances, one parent may fall within this range if the other does not.
• Marriage Status:Married couples should be married at least 3 years, and common law married couples should be in a stable relationship for at least 5 years. There are no specific prior divorce restrictions. Single women may also adopt a child of either gender.
• Income: There is no minimum income required. However, you need to meet the income requirements provided by USCIS for the child to immigrate.
• Medical: There are no specific restrictions, but if you have a medical condition, please contact our adoption consultant to determine your eligibility.
• Children in Home: No specific restrictions have been identified.

Guyana’s adoption eligibility requirements are subject to change per the country’s adoption laws. CAN updates these guidelines as necessary.

The timeframe to complete international adoption from Guyana is currently estimated at about 22 to 33 months, depending on the time families take to complete their dossier paperwork, their preferences for age and special needs, and country processes. This is a pilot program, so all timelines are estimated at this point. The wait for a referral is generally 12-18 months. Children ages 6 or older may be referred as soon as 6 to 8 months! This timeframe is subject to change; please consult CAN for the most current processing times for your adoption from Guyana.

1. Application and Approval
To adopt a child(ren) from Guyana, please complete our agency application. For your convenience, you may access the application on our website. We will review your eligibility to adopt from Guyana based on the guidelines the country’s adoption eligibility requirements once we have received your application. If approved, we will provide you with our agency contract that outlines our fees, services and important information regarding the international adoption process. Upon receipt of your signed contract, CAN will start to provide you placement services for a child(ren) from Guyana.

2. The Paper Chase
Once your agency contract is in place, it is time to get started on your dossier. This will include a home study to assess your readiness for international adoption from Guyana and help prepare you for adoptive parenthood, filing with USCIS for international adoption approval, and gathering your dossier documents. These dossier documents must go through the appropriate notarization and authentication processes. Your dossier will be reviewed and assembled at our headquarters in Austin, TX before being sent to the Guyanese adoption authorities for approval.

To ensure that prospective adoptive parents are prepared for their international adoption journey, our agency requires that parents complete 10 hours of adoption training as mandated by the Hague Convention. To satisfy these hours, we have developed an online parent training program that we are proud to include in CAN’s service plan. For an overview of the program, please click here. Please contact your Adoption Consultant at CAN for more information about international adoption from Guyana.

3. Identifying a Child(ren)
Your dossier will be sent to the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA), the adoption authority of Guyana, first being legalized by our in-country lawyers and staff. After your dossier is approved by the CCPA, you will be entered into a national wait list for a referral. Although timelines are hard to predict, you can generally expect a referral 12-18 months after your dossier has been turned in to the Child Care and Protection Agency, depending on the age of the child you wish to adopt, whether they have special needs or are a sibling group, etc. Once you receive a referral, you must travel toGuyana to be interviewed by the CCPA and accept your referral.

4. Picking up Your Child(ren)
After your first trip, your application will go to Court and the Adoption Board for approval. If approved, the Board will require both parents to travel and appear before the Board with the child, and spend time bonding with the child if they have not done so. The Court issues the final approval at this point. If the final court order or mandated bonding period is expected to take longer than a few weeks, you may leave and return to Guyana to finish the process. If you travel back to Guyana for a third trip, you will receive your court order and then visa, you are ready to head home with your child! The second trip takes approximately 4-5 weeks, and if a third trip is needed, both the second and third trips would be approximately 2-3 weeks each.

5. Post Adoption Requirements
Guyana’s post adoption requirements vary according to the Adoption Board’s decisions on a case by case basis. Typically, they require 2 post adoption reports done by a social worker at 6 and 12 months following the adoption, but occasionally they will ask for reports every 3 months. These reports demonstrate to the Guyanese government the benefits of international adoption for their children.

CAN also provides Online Hague Parent Education Courses to help adoptive parents meet the minimum credit hours required by the Hague Convention. These services, along with the other amenities available to CAN families, are designed to make your international adoption process as effortless and enjoyable as possible.

The international adoption process requires proper document preparation, filing and approval with the USCIS. Adoptive families are responsible for paying the set fees associated with each step. International adoption also involves traveling to the foreign country from which you are adopting. Travel costs include airfare, accommodations, meals and ground transportation, in addition to the requirements for your child(ren)’s entry into the US (visa and its required medical exam, as well as airfare). All fees are set by and are paid to third parties and may vary from case to case.

For more details on the adoption process and estimated costs, you may request our CAN Outreach Guide.

Exclusive savings are available to current Great Wall China Adoption clients in the process of adopting from China and to previous clients who have completed their adoption. Please contact your Adoption Consultant at CAN for details.