My wife and I are currently in the process of adopting a little girl from from Guatemala. We started the process August of 2005 and hope to have her home in the next few months. She was born May 6th, 2006.
There are pro's and con's for domestic and foreign adoptions as welll as pros and cons to each different country for foreign adoption. WAY to much to cover in an email.
The process is long and complicated and tons of paperwork and sending documents to Secretary of States for verification and to Guatemalan Embassy, etc. etc. You will get to know your local Notary very welll!
I can offer some more specific advise if you want it on how to make the process smoother. Remember that there is only so much you can do to make things happen, its a waiting game, the key is to make happen the things you can.
Ours costs for this will be in the $22,000 range, not including travel, but we only have to go to Guatemala once and only for @ 4 days.
If you think that $22,000 is a lot of money or that I am "buying" a child, look at what the cost to have a child in the US would be and to pay for that child's well being for the first 9 months of its life and you will see that this is not that far out of line, it just that most people have insurance and therefore never see the actual cost of having a child.
Below is a picture of baby Gianna.
Erik
