Message for U.S. Citizens – Barring of Two U.S. Adoption Agencies by IHNFA (January 30, 2012)

January 30, 2012

The U.S. Embassy in Honduras informs citizens that the Instituto Hondureño de la Niñez y la Familia (IHNFA ) has barred two U.S. adoption agencies from the local adoption process, effective immediately.  The IHNFA will no longer approve adoption requests filed by families  who utilized the agencies to facilitate the adoption of a local child, as the agencies are no longer registered in Honduras.  Only adoptions approved by the IHNFA can be processed for Immigrant Visas, as the IHNFA is the Government of Honduras’ Central Adoption Authority.

The following U.S. adoption agencies are no longer accredited in Honduras:

1.            Living Hope Adoption Agency, IHNFA’s resolution SG-016-2011

2.            Gladney Center for Adoption, IHNFA’s resolution SG-017-2011

The Embassy continues to monitor the adoption situation in Honduras and will update U.S. citizens accordingly.  Meanwhile, we recommended that families who have not finalized adoptions contact IHNFA directly at ihnfadopciones@yahoo.es or at 011-504-2235-3565 to be sure their applications are handled by an accredited adoption agency.  

If you are going to live in or visit Honduras, please take the time to tell our Embassy about your trip.  If you sign up, we can keep you up to date with important safety and security announcements.  We can also help your friends and family get in touch with you in an emergency.  Here’s the link to the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program.

U.S. citizens should consult the Country Specific Information for Honduras and the latest Travel Alerts and Warnings and Worldwide Caution at the State Department's website:  www.travel.state.gov

Current information on safety and security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States, or for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).  

The U.S. Embassy is located on Avenida La Paz in Tegucigalpa; telephone (504) 2238-5114, after hours telephone (504) 2236-8497; Consular Section fax (504) 2238-4357; E-mail: usahonduras@state.gov;  Webpage: http://honduras.usembassy.gov.

American Citizen Services at the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa is on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/acstegucigalpa.