Peru - The Country
Peru is located in western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean between the countries of Chile and Ecuador. Comparatively the country size is slightly smaller than Alaska. The country consists of various terrains including the western coastal plain, the high and rugged Andes of central Peru, and the eastern lowland jungle of the Amazon Basin. Peru has a long history of several prominent Andean civilizations including the Incas. Recently voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, Machu Picchu is one of the most familiar symbols of the Inca Empire. Peru shares control of the world’s highest navigable lake, Lake Titicaca, with Bolivia.
Why Choose to Adopt in Peru?
Children receive loving care in either private or state run orphanage in beautiful Peru. The people of Peru are a very proud people who are family oriented. Peru has put a number of programs in place to assist in the placement of the orphans including the “Angeles que aguardan” (Angels That Wait) campaign. Families will experience the rich culture of Peru during their stay.
Who Is Eligible To Adopt From Peru?
Adoptive parents must be at least 18 years older than the child they wish to adopt. For children older than 6 or sibling groups, adoptive parents may not be older than 55. Married couples or single woman may adopt from Peru.
Children Available
Children available for adoption are mainly the children of the Angels That Wait program. This program includes children who are over 5 years of age, sibling groups, or children with special needs. It is possible to adopt a child under 5 years of age but the wait for such a child will be long. The children of Peru are beautiful being from the ethnic groups of Amerindian, Mestizo, and Cacasian. There is also a large Asian population in Peru.
Peruvian Adoption Process
- Apply to Hands Across The Water for services.
- Complete your Home Study with Hands Across The Water or an appropriate agency in your state. Please contact HATW for assistance if you live outside of Michigan.
- File your I-600A with the U.S.CIS (INS).
- Review the Angels That Wait list and pre-identify a child or sibling group.
- Prepare your dossier for Peru. HATW can do this for you or you can take this on yourself.
- When you submit your dossier to HATW, HATW will submit the dossier to MIMDES in Peru for review and approval. This can take approximately 3 months.
- After your dossier is approved, you will wait for a referral or will receive more information on the child you identified from the Angels That Wait program. If you wait for a referral, your wait can be anywhere from 6 to 10 months.
- After you accept the child referred to you, you will travel within a month to Peru. You will arrive on a Sunday for your scheduled appointment at MIMDES on Monday. Monday afternoon you will travel to the department/city where your child lives. You will visit with the child for 3 days. On the 4th day the child will leave the orphanage to stay with you for 8 days. On the 9th day the adoption is complete and the paperwork is completed. When the adoption is complete, you will travel to Lima to prepare the child’s new birth certificate and passport.
- Documents are then submitted to the US Embassy in Lima for review and the issuance of the child’s Visa. Approximate length of stay is 4 to 5 weeks but is dependent on the adoption process. This is a very valuable time to learn about the country, people and culture of your child's birth.
Post Adoption Supervision
Your child’s adoption is finalized in Peru, but post adoption reports are still required. Reports are needed every 6 months for 4 years calculated from the date of the adoption. These reports are completed by the agency social worker and are mandatory by Peruvian law.
