e-mail
When you read of an adoption that has received “preapproval” this is regarding the US embassy. This is in the earlier stages of the adoption. While this is a very important stage of the adoption, preapproval does not guarantee anything. To put it simply, preapproval is the US Embassy’s way of saying everything looks OK with the parents and with the status of the infant. Most of the time this includes a DNA test to check if the relinquishing parent is truly the parent of the infant. This is done to prevent fraud.
The time between submission of the documents and preapproval being granted is fairly short. The time consuming factor of the preapproval process is often the DNA tests that must take place. In most cases a time of 2-3 weeks is a generous allotment of time. However on occasion, a case will be placed under investigation and the timeline can be increased significantly. Causes for cases going into investigation can range from random screenings to discrepancies in the information provided.
Some things to be considered while waiting for preapproval are first that the US Embassy is generally understaffed in relation of the workload that these preapprovals present them. While frustration may come from waiting, remember that this process is to help prevent baby trafficking. The great majority of people handling the cases in the embassy are glad to be helping you.
All too often, the embassy only receives letters of complaint and frustration. Many times the emails and letters are about situations that are out of their control. While it is perfectly OK to stay on top of your case and check on your preapproval, be courteous in all of your communications. Finally, when the joyful day comes when you hear you have been “preapproved”, try and send an email thanking them for their hard work.
You can keep track of current preapproval wait times by visiting the Guatemala Adoption Forum on adoption.com. The list is know as the “PAW List (stands for PreApproval Wait List).
Your info here in paragraph two is WAY off. We have adopted three times from Guatemala over the past three years. Two involved DNA testing. (The third was an abandonment case.) We got the DNA results back in a week or two. After that we waited over a month each time for the pre-approval from the embassy. With the abandonment case (no DNA test involved), we waited 60 days for the pre-approval. None of our cases were flagged for investigation. Currently they are running 30-45 days – and that is AFTER the results are in. I don’t want waiting parents to read your blog and think “Why the heck haven’t I gotten my results…It’s been two weeks!” And then contact the embassy. Frequent inquiries from parents only cause more delays for everyone as embassy staff is forced to take time away from their jobs to answer the inquiries.
Thanks for your comment. I have posted in another area that currently things are running longer. I should have written here that it is not suggested to email the embassy until 30 days after submission at the earliest. We too had an abandonment case (no DNA) and our preapproval was done on less than 2 weeks. It goes to show that nailing down an exact timeline is not possible until you re looking at it in hindsight.
It is always good to keep us up to date on the latest. Thanks!