[LAmomma]

Hi Everyone,

We are new to this process and I am feeling a bit buried and confused by paperwork! Here is my situation: We are in the middle of our homestudy, and expect to be finished by the end of January. We will be adopting a little girl from Korea off of our agency's "waiting child" list, which typically moves the process along a little more quickly. Here are my questions:

1. When should I apply for the I600? I'm worried that we may get a referral, then have to wait 3-4 months for the paperwork to clear

2. Do we need to get fingerprinted for the I600? My DH and I just had ours done at the local police department, which California requires to make sure we are not molesters/abusers.

Thanks for any input!

09/02 Bio son born
11/06 homestudy begins

[teachamy]

It's amazing to me that the details of this are slipping away from my memory, but I believe we applied for our 1600 once our homestudy was complete. And yes, despite the fact that Ahhhnold now has your fingerprints, the Department of Homeland Security of the federal government will want them too.
By the way, our son was a Waiting Child too. He is an amazing little boy! Congratulations on your daughter. If your federal office is as quick as ours was, it shouldn't take long to get your approval!

[Julia in CO]

Hi. Just went through this process, so it's still fresh in my memory. Yes...file the I600 paperwork ASAP, as it can take up to 3 months to turn around. You will need to do separate fingerprints for I600. Local fingerprints for criminal background check don't count for I600. Once you've filed initial I600 application, you'll get a letter in the mail from DHS with fingerprint appointment at your local DHS office. You'll get fingerprinted there for I600. Fun, huh?

--Julia

[Max'smom]

I would also ask your agency these questions. In many towns, the local processing of the I600 does not start and fingerprinting appointments are not made until after they receive your completed home study. But this varies -- and your agency will know the local practices of the CIS office you will deal with.

[sak9645]

Be sure to distinguish between the I-600A and the I-600.

The I-600A is the form that most adoptive parents fill out early in the adoption process, usually before they get a referral. (Occasionally, with Guatemalan adoptions, people get referrals first.) Basically, that form allows the USCIS to determine whether an American couple is financially, morally, and otherwise qualified to be allowed to bring a child into the U.S. When the USCIS approves the family, it issues the family a 171-H or 797-C; these forms are essentially the same. I think that, so far, you have all been talking about the I-600A.

People who have gotten I-600A approval use the I-600 when getting an immigrant visa for their child. In this case, the USCIS simply reviews the child's I-600 and foreign paperwork and determines whether he/she is eligible for immigration under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act. The child must meet the requirements of the so-called "orphan definition", must not have any "excludable" medical conditions, must have been acquired without fraud or baby-buying, etc. No form is issued if a child is approved. The fact that the child is granted a visa is proof of approval.

In the case of a person who is adopting a pre-identified child, such as the child of a relative, the I-600A can be skipped, and the I-600 can be used to approve both the child and the parent. However, this does not apply in the case of Korean adoptions.

Sharon

[mmcool]

I second what Max's mom said -- check with your SW. Different states have different requirements and different agencies have their own processes for doing things. Your SW will know where you are in the process.

Also, I would ask him/her if there is a checklist that they provide families who are going through the process. There is a lot of paperwork, and DH and I were very thankful that our agency provided one so that we could keep track of what we had done and what still needed to be done.

Good luck!

Melissa