[smbcpc]

Has anyone received this email?

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Joint Council Update

Program Advocacy
Date October 14, 2008
Regarding I-600A Process

Dear Families & Friends,
After advocating on behalf of adoptive families for the past 6 months, Joint Council is very pleased to confirm that USCIS has announced a very positive ruling concerning the I-600A process.

In summary, it is our understanding that, effective immediately, families who filed Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, prior to April 1, 2008 and whose USCIS approval of that petition (aka the I-171H) has not expired, will be able to proceed with their adoption under the I-600A process if they take certain steps while their approval remain valid. This means that families with valid Form I-600A approvals will not be required to transition to The Hague process via Form I-800A. In order to maintain their status as ‘grandfathered’ cases, families with non-expired Form I-600A approvals must request a one-time free extension. Then, prior to the expiration of the one-time free extension, families must file a new Form I-600A and pay the appropriate fee.

It is also our understanding that families with a Form I-600A approval that has expired and who have not obtained an extension or filed a new Form I-600A, will need to undertake the Hague process. The Hague process will also apply to any petitioner who has not completed their adoption by 2014.

As we noted in our Position Statement, this ruling will save adoptive families thousands of dollars, eliminate countless sleepless nights and ensures that their adoption can proceed to completion.

On behalf of over 10,000 adoptive families, Joint Council extends its appreciation to the following individuals and organizations for their tireless efforts.
·Diane Kunz, Executive Director of the Center for Adoption Policy
·Dianne Pearce, Waiting Parent and Co-Organizer of the Fairness for Families Petition
·Debbie Reynolds, Joint Council China Caucus Co-Chairperson
·Kathleen Strottman, Executive Director of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute
·David Yurkovich, Waiting Parent and Co-Organizer of the Fairness for Families Petition
·Members of the United States Congress
·United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
We offer our collective congratulations to everyone who participated in the Joint Council Call-To-Action and the Adoption for All: Fairness for Families petition. And we also send our congratulations to all who participated in the countless meetings, conference calls and emails over the past 6-months. Joint Council is built on a principle of collaboration and this very successful effort clearly demonstrates this principle in action. Our collective voice is definitely stronger than any singular organization or individual.
Joint Council notes that our interpretation of the ruling is offered as a courtesy only and should not be used in making determinations or decisions. Please refer to the full text of the announcements by USCIS which can be found at USCIS Announcement and USCIS Q&A in making any decisions.
Joint Council will provide more specifics as they become available and asks you to visit our website for the latest news and updates.


Best Wishes & Congratulations,

Tom

[Happy2Bhere]

HI!
I got an email from our agency- I clicked print- and it's sitting in the printer.
We got our clearance in like April of 06. We let it expire. We had no intentions of refiling till next Summer- so I don't know what that email means for us- I figured I'd try to read it later.
Seems like a million moons away before we need to worry about it anyway-
Melissa

[JaeJae]

I read this email yesterday and was really excited and confused... Our LID is 09/30/07 and our fingerprints expire in 4 days.. So I went to the USCIS office in Oklahoma City this morning, worried that our fingerprints would expire and that would cause us problems. I was really upset and they were really nice about the whole thing. THey stated not to worry about the fingerprints expiring and to update the fingerprints when we get our free I-171H update. So I sent them an email this afternoon to confirm what they had told me this morning... Even though this email is great news, there is still alot of grey area.

Jacqueline

[Andi72]

I guess it is good news for some people, but I fall in the group of people that it does nothing for. Our's expired because of someone else messing up. Makes me mad. Oh well...

[mom3boys]

This is really only good news for those people who did not let their approvals expire. I am so thankful that my agency was adamant that we not let them expire. At the time I thought that they were being too conservative. Now, I'm very thankful that we won't have to file the I800A.
Melissa, since you let your approval expire then you will have to re-file using the I800A form. Unfortunately the process is much more complicated, more expensive and seems to be taking a long time to get approvals. New applications are taking 3-4 months. I would certainly hope that they can speed up that process.

[ashmilf]

I'm a I800 person and while I never filed a I600, I didn't think the I800 was all that complicated. It is taking 3-4 months for approval (I am at day 109 of waiting for my 797C). I would assume that it would be a GIANT pain to switch, but I want to at the very least encourage you that it's not hard, that you can do it, and that from everything I have read it will be in the best interest in the long run.

[jgrijalva1]

I need clarification if on the requirements to fill out I800a form .The child I am adopting if 15 years old and will be 16 in April 2009. it states that :1. The child is under the age of 16 at the time the I-800 is filed on his or her behalf (taking into account special rules on filing dates for children aged 15-16), is unmarried, and lives in a Convention country;.. can anybody calrify that a little more for me since I am just going to file I800A ...

[KarenInCa]

We didn't let ours expire because it was free to update. However, we are still needing to do the fingerprinting and HS updates. USCIS gave us 93 days to update I-600A, and 1 year to update fingerprints and HS. We waited on fingerprints and HS because we wanted to extend the new life of the extension. But I guess now, we can go ahead and proceed.

[jgrijalva1]

My I800A was denied stating that I did not have a writen letter from a accredited adoption agency .it was done by a sperate social worker which is approved by texas law to do home studies but I want to appeal it ,any suggestions