[CHRISTINE05]

Earlier this year, I completed an international adoption in a non-Hague country using a private attorney. While I live in that country part of the year, my employment situation has changed and I will no longer be working abroad. I was told to complete the i-600 (filed in the US)to bring my child to the US. I never completed an i-600a. Can anyone tell me what might be the processing time for the I-600 without the I-600a and any documents I should add to my package?

[Max'smom]

Hi,
I don't know if this is common - perhaps you might need to consult an immigration attorney. I have heard that you need to provide a variety of forms of evidence that your new child conforms to the US official definition of an orphan (which requires documentation).
Good luck,
MM

[sak9645]

Please remember what these two forms are.

The I-600A triggers a review ONLY of the prospective parents' eligibility, and is generally filed only by people who have not yet identified a child for adoption and have not yet traveled to complete the adoption. Filing the I-600A allows the USCIS to review the prospective parents' homestudy and other documents before a child is identified, in order to verify that the prospective parents are qualified to bring an orphan into the U.S. This allows some prospective parents to find out that they are ineligible before they spend time and money identifying a child. Also, although the prospective parents' qualifiications will be given a final review when the I-600 is filed, getting preliminary approval (171-H or 797-C) of the I-600A can shorten and simplify the review of the I-600 application.

The I-600 triggers a review of the eligibility of both the parents and the child whom they have adopted. All internationally adoptive parents will need to complete the I-600, in order to get an adoption visa (IR-3 or IR-4) for their child. In some cases, the I-600 is prepared while the parents are in the U.S., and in others, it is prepared after parents have traveled to complete their adoption and brought their child to the appropriate U.S. Embassy or Consulate overseas.

If an approved I-600A is already on file, the USCIS will check to see that it was done correctly and ensure that all updates (fingerprints, homestudy, etc.) are in place. It will also check to see that nothing has occurred since the I-600A was granted, to cause the parents to become ineligible. If an approved I-600A is not in place, a more thorough review will be done.

Whether or not an I-600A is on file, the I-600 reviewers will focus on the child's eligibility for immigration. The USCIS will want to be sure that the child's paperwork is not fraudulent (a big problem in some countries), that an adoption has been completed in accordance with the foreign country's laws, that there have been no unethical practices (for example, attempts to coerce or bribe a birthmother into relinquishing her child), and that the child meets the criteria for an adoption visa, as set forth in the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act. As Max's Mom indicated, one important criterion relates to the "orphan definition" in the INA; you cannot get an adoption visa for a child who was living with two parents prior to the adoption.

You can look at the I-600 and I-600A forms on-line at the website of the USCIS. Go to USCIS Home Page and click on "forms" at the top of the page. Then click on "adoptions based forms" on the left side of the page. Finally, click on the title of the I-600A or I-600 form, whichever you wish to view. Do not use the I-800A or I-800, since your child is from a non-Hague country.

Processing times for the I-600A and I-600 vary widely. If an I-600A is filed in the U.S., before a child is identified, processing times can vary from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the local USCIS office where you are required to file it; some offices are busier, or more lightly staffed, than others.

The processing time for the I-600 also varies. If you have an approved I-600A on file, and then travel to meet and adopt your child in-country, you can often be approved with a 24 hour turnaround. As an example, after I adopted my daughter in China and got her paperwork from the provincial government, back before the U.S. and China ratified the Hague, I went to the U.S. Consulate at Guangzhou, presented my I-600 and other documents, and returned about 24 hours later to pick up my daughter's visa. China has a very clean and organized adoption system, and virtually all of the children have been abandoned, so few parents get delayed. Parents who do wind up delayed usually have failed to update their fingerprints, homestudy, or USCIS approval in a timely manner, while waiting for their referrals.

Other countries may take longer to approve the I-600, even when parents have approved I-600A. A lot depends on conditions in the particular country. If there have been cases of fraud or unethical practices, I-600 reviews may take longer than a day or two, and some parents may find that they must stay in-country for weeks, in hopes of sorting things out. Unfortunately, there are situations in which the USCIS finds a child ineligible, despite the fact that the parent has completed the adoption and assumed legal and moral responsibility for the child. The parent must either stay in-country with the child and try to organize an appeal, undo the adoption and return the child to the orphanage, or put the child into foster care and then go home and try to appeal. Luckily, this is not a common occurrence, especially if a person uses a reputable adoption agency.

I'm not an expert on adoptions by Americans living abroad, so I'd appreciate it if others could weigh in here. With regard to adoptions by Americans living overseas, I believe that their I-600s must be filed in the U.S., if they have not previously filed the I-600A; the application would be sent to a USCIS office in Texas, if I'm not mistaken. The process would be similar to that for Americans who file their I-600s BEFORE travel to the foreign country. I would imagine that there could be considerable variability in time frame, depending on the country from which a person is adopting -- adoptions from some countries get greater scrutiny because of the frequency of irregularities -- and the accuracy of the paperwork. You might want to go to a listserv or bulletin board for expatriate Americans who are adopting, to find good information on what is happening, with regard to time frames. Just remember that the USCIS is not known for speed, so get an early start.

Sharon