[123456]

Does anyone know if you can be matched with a child before you do your I800 A? I have been told that you can't. But I keep getting different stories. We started our adoption in 2005. Not knowing if it would ever come to an end, we did not keep our I 600A and finger prints upto date. Our agency kept telling us that we were grandfathered in and not to worry about it. Now that the other country says we can proceed with our adoption, we aren't able to. I have several quesions if anyone can help. Thank you!

[MN_Mom]

We also started our process in 2005. You may renew your fingerprints and approval ONCE for free if you do so BEFORE they expire (it is two seperate renwals - one for fingerprints and one for the I-600A). If your country has since changed to Hague, you may be grandfathered in only if your I-600A forms are still valid. Otherwise you need to submit the I-800A.

We fell into the category of having our I-600A expire, and then a month later getting a referral. We accepted the referral and then had to fill out the I-800A. It is not the process the USCIS likes, but they acknowledge that there are special circumstances and sometimes happens.

We are currently still waiting for our I-800A approval. They do not process your application any faster whether you already have a referral or not.

Not sure if that answers your question, but feel free to PM me if you have more specific questions. I'd be happy to try to help, although I am by no means an expert.

~sarah

[my3chinakids]

Hi - we were pre-approved to adopt a sn child before we did our 1800a and there wasn't any problem. We are adopting from China. Hope you find out...