Citizenship

Once our adoption became final according to the Guatemala government, which took a year after the girls came to live with us, there was a mandatory 2 year wait by the US government before we could apply for citizenship for them.  At the time, we were not exactly sure what we needed to do.  Guatemala is closed to international adoptions so we did not adopt our girls as US citizens but rather as Guatemalan residents.  The guidelines from the US perspective are not clear because Guatemala is a “closed” adoption country.  We did not know anyone personally who had gone before us and knew exactly what to do.  So, we asked the US Embassy in Guatemala and they were unsure but their ultimate advise was to apply for green cards as the girls cannot obtain citizenship since we do not reside in the US.  At their recommendation, we started the green card process with the thought that we would have what we needed for the girls to travel to the US this summer when we bring Jack back after he graduates. 

As we were almost at the end of that process and over a thousand dollars in application fees paid, a friend heard something different from the embassy when she inquired about her son - we need to file for a path to citizenship.  Now we were completely confused!  Note - since our original contact with them embassy, the administration has changed.  The new group  confirmed that the green card was not for people who reside outside of the US and we can petition citizenship and only need to be in the US for the interview.  So much time, money and efforts have been wasted on the wrong thing!

It took several weeks to get all of the paperwork together for the citizenship applications. We consulted with an attorney who specializes in this process and followed her instructions. Once we the applications submitted, we applied for emergency visas so we could all get back in time for Jack.  Our embassy contact was able to help us get the visas quickly.  Since the N600K takes 3-15 months to process, we've decided to take a little "furlough" and stay in the US while we wait.  Once it's processed, the girls will be called for an interview.  If all goes well, they will be sworn in as citizens and get passports.  This is the final step of the adoption process for them.