Adoptions

How to Get Started

Form I-600A 

The I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, is the form that allows prospective adoptive parents to receive advance approval to adopt abroad before a specific child has been located.

The prospective parents file form I-600A with the BCIS office having jurisdiction over their place of residence. They may file this application before they have identified a particular child or children to adopt. If the parents have indicated they hope to adopt a child/children from Macedonia or Kosovo, BCIS will send a formal notice of approval to the Embassy in Skopje. This formal notice may be sent from BCIS by telegram or fax, or the original application itself may be forwarded to the Embassy. The official notice procedures may take several weeks. At around the same time, a second approval notice (Form I-171H) is sent to the adoptive parent(s). The Embassy, however, cannot process a visa solely on the basis of the I-171H approval notice. 

An approved I-600A is valid for 18 months from date of approval, provided the prospective parents' circumstances do not change. (Alterations in the parents' circumstances-marriage, divorce, change of residence, change of employment, additional dependent, etc.-requires an amendment to the home study and a revalidation of the I-600A.) The adoptive parents must re-apply for the petition with the BCIS office that approved the original application if they wish to adopt a child abroad after their I-600A has expired. If there has been a change of the parents' residence, they must apply with the corresponding BCIS office. Please check with BCIS to learn the exact requirements for a petition re-application.

The BCIS approves prospective parents to adopt a specified number of children, based on the home study. The BCIS informs the Embassy of the number of children the prospective parents may adopt, as well as any limitations on those children (i.e.: ages, health conditions.) The Embassy can only issue immigrant visas to the number of children for which the adopting parents have been pre-approved. If adopting parents wish to adopt more children than noted in their I-600A, they must contact the BCIS office in the U.S. where they filed their I-600A to obtain approval for additional children. In some cases, it may be necessary for the adopting parents to submit an updated home study in order to receive approval to adopt additional children. We recommend that prospective adoptive parents confirm they have BCIS approval for the number of children they wish to adopt before they leave the United States.

If prospective adoptive parents are residing outside the United States, their I-600A application should be filed with the appropriate overseas BCIS office. The Embassy can provide prospective adoptive parents with information on how this is done.


Form I-600

Once the adoptive parents have identified a particular child or children they wish to adopt, they must file a form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, on behalf of each child they wish to adopt. The I-600 is a petition to certify that the child is an orphan eligible to apply for a U.S. immigrant visa. A visa cannot be issued unless a valid, signed I-600 has been submitted on behalf of the child. 

If the adoptive parents have an approved I-600A on file at the Embassy in Skopje, they may file the I-600 in person at the Embassy. (If the adoptive parents do not travel to Skopje or if they do not have an approved I-600A, however, the I-600 must be filed with BCIS.) There is no charge for one I-600 if the prospective parents have already filed an I-600A. In cases where I-600's are filed for multiple children who are not siblings, however, the fee is $460 for each additional (non-sibling) child. (The first I-600 is free.) 

Each adopting parent must sign the I-600 personally. If one parent remains in the U.S. during the adoption process, that parent must complete and sign the I-600 after the child has been identified. One parent cannot sign the I-600 for another parent, even with a Power of Attorney. An I-600 that was signed before a particular child was identified is invalid and cannot be accepted. 

Approval of the I-600

The BCIS has primary responsibility and authority to approve the I-600 petition. The BCIS delegates to the Embassy the authority to approve I-600 petitions only when the BCIS has already approved the petitioners' I-600A, and the I-600 petition is clearly approvable. If the petition is not clearly approvable, the Embassy refers it to the regional BCIS office in Vienna for adjudication. (For example, a petition is not clearly approvable if there is any question as to whether the child meets the definition of orphan under U.S. immigration law, as explained in "Determining that the Child is an 'Orphan'.")

The fact that the Embassy cannot approve a child's immigrant petition does not mean that the petition has been rejected. Only the BCIS can deny petitions. Prospective adoptive parents should be aware that it may take several weeks to several months for the BCIS to adjudicate an I-600.

Fingerprints

An I-600 petition can be approved only if the petitioners (and all adult members of their household) have unexpired FBI fingerprint clearances. They are valid for 15 months and must be re-done after that period, if the parents want to apply for an immigrant visa after the expiration date. Please make sure before traveling to a foreign country to adopt that your fingerprint results are still valid and will not expire before you complete the whole procedure. If they are about to expire soon, please contact your BCIS office and re-do your fingerprints.