The Adoption Process in Belize
Have you considered adopting a child from Belize. Here are some facts about Belize and the adoption process:
- Belize is an English speaking country
- Belize is located in Central America
- Belize has tropical rain forest areas, beautiful beaches and Mayan ruins scattered throughout
- It the longest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere
- Belize is well known for its fresh seafood and tropical fruits
- The average high temperatures are in the 80F range with humidity around 85%
Now that you know a little more about the country here is information about adoption in Belize.
- Who can adopt?
- Adoptive parents must be at least 25 years old and more than 12 years older than the child they are adopting
- Married and single men and women
- Must meet USCIS poverty guidelines
- Children available
- Children are school age (6+) and sibling groups and children with special needs of all ages.
- Children of Belizean, Guatemalan, Haitian, Mexican and Creole heritage
- Typical Time Frame?
- 12 to 36 months from time of dossier to bringing your child home.
- The Process?
- Locate Primary Provider and home study agency
- Complete home study
- File for I800A approval
- Prepare and file dossier with Belize adoption authority
- After dossier approval you will wait for a referral
- Receive referral and determine whether to accept or deny the referral (Article 16 report)
- If accepting the referral you will file for I800 approval with the embassy (Article 5 report)
- Once you have the article 5 letter you will have contact with the children and travel to Belize
- You will receive a provisional adoption decree and have a visa appointment to travel home
- Once home you will have 4 post placement supervision reports that are due quarterly the first year
- After completion of post placement reporting an application will be filed with the Supreme Court in Belize to finalize the adoption in Belize
- Finalize the adoption in the US in your state of residence
If you would like to learn more about the process to adopt a child from Belize you can call us at 607-756-6574, email us at info@adoptfamilyconnections.org or click on the link below for a free, one on one consultation with an adoption professional. Family Connections has been helping families with their adoption plans since 1994.
The attorney in Belize will send Family Connections Inc paperwork that will need to be signed for court. Your family cannot sign these until the Embassy issues a document called the Article 5 Letter. Once the embassy has issued this letter, they will contact the attorney in Belize to come pick up the letter. The attorney will pick up the letter and take to the Department. Once you sign the additional needed documents and update dossier documents that have expired, with apostilles, Family Connections Inc will forward the documents to your attorney.
Only after all of this is completed, DHS will also be recommending that you begin contact with the child through packages, letters, phone calls, skype calls or a visit. All contact with the orphanage, foster home or children’s home must come through Family Connections Inc prior to travel. All contact ALWAYS with the Department of Human Services must be done through Family Connections Inc and/or your attorney in Belize. You cannot be in contact with anyone prior to approval of such contact. These are the Hague Standards that you must follow. Not following these standards can jeopardize your adoption process.
Court
The process for finalizing the adoption or obtaining legal custody for purposes of emigration and adoption in Belize generally includes the following:
- Role of Adoption Authority: The Belize Central Authority (Belize Department of Human Services) processes the adoption application and upon approval forwards the dossier to the Supreme Court of Belize.
- Role of the Court: The Supreme Court of Belize determines the adoptability of a child, and issues the final adoption decree. Upon any application for an adoption order, the Supreme Court of Belize will usually postpone the determination of the application and instead issue a provisional adoption order giving custody of the child to the applicant for a probationary period that is typically one year and does not exceed two years. The court may include in the provisional adoption order provisions for the maintenance, education, and supervision of the welfare of the child specified as it deems fit.
All consents required for a final adoption order are also required for a provisional adoption order.
When a provisional adoption order is issued, the prospective adoptive parent(s) will have custody of the child for a probationary period, usually one year, during which there must be quarterly reports regarding the child’s care and progress. Prospective adoptive parents who receive a provisional order from the Supreme Court of Belize, and would like to complete the adoption in the United States, may seek an IH-4 visa for the child after issuance of the provisional adoption order. This visa requires that the prospective adoptive parents understand and agree that they will seek a final adoption decree from their state of legal residence after completion of the probationary period. Even though the child will be living in the United States, the Supreme Court of Belize may request home study reports from the adoption service provider and/or U.S. social services agencies during the probationary period.
Prospective adoptive parents may also complete the probationary period in Belize. In this case, prospective adoptive parents would obtain a final adoption decree from the Supreme Court of Belize after fulfilling the one-year period and apply to the U.S. Embassy for an IH-3 immigrant visa for the child after issuance of the final adoption decree.
All consents required for a full and final adoption order are also required for an interim adoption order. Under Belizean law, consents provided by birth parents or legal guardians of the child become irrevocable upon issuance of a provisional adoption order. However, once entered with the court, the consents by the parent or legal custodian are not revocable by the parent or guardian themselves, but are only revocable by court action.
According to sections 137 and 141 of Belizean adoption law, the Supreme Court of Belize may (and usually does) postpone the granting of a final adoption decree and instead issues an interim or provisional adoption order. Under this circumstance, the prospective adoptive parent(s) will have custody of the child for a probationary period of one year (in the US) during which there must be quarterly reports regarding the child’s care and progress. Prospective parents who receive an interim order from the Supreme Court of Belize and would like to carry it out in the U.S. may seek an IH-4 visa for the child. This visa is granted to the prospective parents only with the understanding and agreement that they will also seek a final adoption decree from their state of legal residence, and subsequently US Citizenship for the child. Even though the child will be living in the U.S., the Supreme Court of Belize will request four home study reports from U.S. Social Services agencies during the interim.
Prospective adoptive parents may fulfill the interim one-year probationary period in Belize. In this case prospective adoptive parents would obtain a final adoption decree from the Supreme Court of Belize after fulfilling the one-year period and would then apply to the U.S. Embassy for an IH-3 immigrant visa for the child.
The court process should take around 4 months after documentation is in order. Delays should be expected getting the court documentation in place. Again, patience will be required.
Time Frame for Adoption Processing
The processing time for adoptions can vary, depending on the circumstances of the case. The Belize Department of Human Services reports that “ward adoptions” (children in the custody of the Department of Human Services) can take up to one year or more to process because of the need for home study reports, matching, placement and legal proceedings. If the prospective adoptive parents request a specific child, the matching and placement determination can take less time if it is a relative.
Travel
You will have travel calls that will prepare you for the entire pick-up trip. After the adoption has been processed and documents for the embassy are in place, DHS will notify Family Connections Inc about a travel date for custody and the family will travel. The passport will be issued for the child through the DHS and you will file for an appointment (DS-260) with the US embassy for the Embassy Visa Visit. Do not book your travel without talking to the Family Connections Inc travel coordinator. If you go too soon to Belize, you may need to return back without the children.
You will visit the embassy after the Embassy approved medical clinic visit with your child. This trip could take up to 6 weeks to accomplish, depending on all the entities that need to get procedures accomplished. Expect that the medical could take up to a week to get appointment and testing. Please talk to your travel coordinator about any vaccination waivers that can be done for the child in Belize and in the US. The child will travel home on the Belizean passport which bears the Belizean name that the child has currently.
Post Adoption Requirements
Once you are home with your child, Family Connections Inc will send you a Post Adoption Packet and you will be assigned a Post Adoption Coordinator. You will begin your required post adoption reporting.
Under Belizean law, there must be quarterly reports done for 12 months regarding the process of the child; such reports must be submitted to the court in Belize. After the twelve-month period, an application will be made to a designated court for the adoption to be made final. Paperwork will again be sent to Family Connections Inc and then to your family.
Your family will need to do the adoption finalization steps after the Post Adoption Requirements are completed and after the Belize Finalization Court. During this time in the US court procedure your family can change the child’s name.
You will finalize the adoption in the US, change the child’s name, obtain US birth certificate, change the Social Security status of your child and you will apply for citizenship of your child. You will receive an adoption certificate from Belize in which to begin the process of adoption finalization in your state. After this process is when your child can take on your last name and finally get their US passport.
You case cannot be closed with Family Connections Inc until all of these steps have happened. Please be aware of the post adoption contract you have signed with Family Connections Inc as you are obligated to fulfill these requirements.
Closing your adoption case
You will need to send all the adoption finalization paperwork to Family Connections Inc including the Certificate of Citizenship. Family Connections Inc will close your adoption case and the process will then be finally completed.
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