Adoption Guidelines - Understanding the Role of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in International Adoptions

Please check the USCIS web site or contact a USCIS Officer to assure that you have all updated information. Visit the USCIS web site and the Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of Children's Issues for updated information relating to international adoptions.

Contact the USCIS overseas office in the jurisdiction in which you are living.  Locate a USCIS Office in your U.S. state of residency

U.S. immigration law is designed to protect the adopted child, the adoptive parents, and the birth parents. An American seeking to adopt a foreign born child overseas and bring that child to the U.S. must comply with the regulations of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and those of the foreign country where the child resides. Simply locating a child in a foreign country and bringing that child to the U.S. Embassy for adoption and a visa to return to the U.S. will not meet the USCIS requirements.

USCIS regulations require that all foreign adoptions undergo an investigation to guarantee compliance with the laws of both the United States and the foreign country where the child resides. USCIS makes a determination as to whether prospective parents are able to care for the child properly, whether the child is an orphan as defined by U.S. immigration law, and whether all legal requirements have been met.

There are three different paperwork procedures that USCIS uses to guarantee compliance. The process used depends upon the adoptive relationship between the parent(s) and the adoptive child.

The three processes are:

• Advance Processing—when you intend to adopt and have not yet identified a child
• Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative—when you have identified a child to adopt; and
• Petition for Alien Relative—when the child has been in your legal and physical custody for a period of over two years

1) Advance processing - when you intend to adopt and have not yet identified a child

Prospective parents who have not identified a child can follow a procedure called advance processing. When the child is unknown, the prospective adoptive parents must submit the advance processing application packet to the local USCIS office having jurisdiction over their state of residence in the United States.

The Advance Processing Form – I-600A

Prospective parents file the I-600A before a child has been identified. A number of documents must accompany the form, including:

• proof of U.S. citizenship;
• fingerprints;
• proof of marriage (if married);
• proof of termination of prior marriages;
• a home study that meets USCIS requirements;
• and proof of compliance with pre-adoption requirements, if any, in the state of residency of the child’s proposed state of residency in the United States.

More information about the I-600A on the USCIS web site

After filing the I-600A and once a child has been identified, prospective parents must file the I-600 Orphan Petition Form, officially titled “Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative,” with the following accompanying paperwork:

• Proof of approval of the I-600A(if an I-600A was submitted)
• Proof of the child’s age and identity
• Proof that the child is an orphan (See Chapter 3)
• If there is no final foreign adoption decree, the parent(s) must meet the pre-adoption requirements of their state of residency in the U.S. This is also required if the adoption was completed abroad, but the parents have yet to see the child.
• If there was no adoption abroad, proof that the prospective parent(s) has legal custody of the child for emigration and adoption in the U.S.
• If the child has been adopted overseas, a final foreign adoption decree must be submitted at the same time. For the adoption to be recognized as full and final, the parent(s) of the adopted child must submit proof that they saw the child prior to or during the adoption proceedings.Other forms must also accompany the I-600

The Orphan Petition (I-600) must be filed within 18 months after the date USCIS approves the Advance Processing I-600A form. If the I-600 paperwork is not filed within 18 months, the application is considered “abandoned.” The I-600 form may be filed with the USCIS office or at the Embassy or Consulate in the country in which the child resides. The I-600 can only be filed overseas when there is an approved I-600A. The I-600A is usually sent to the appropriate office overseas to be combined with the I-600.

In order to file an I-600, prospective adoptive parents must have either a legal custody order or a final adoption decree. These are necessary documents that must be filed with the I-600.

2) Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative - when you have identified a child to adopt

If you have already identified a child, prospective parents may submit the I-600 form, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative.

The Orphan Petition Form – I-600

Prospective parents file the I-600 when the child has already been identified. The form can be filed at a BCIS office overseas in the country where the child resides, or if there is not a USCIS office in country, with the Consular Officer at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

More information about the I-600 on the USCIS web site

Supporting documents to be submitted with the I-600 include:

• Fingerprints.
• Proof of the petitioner’s U.S. citizenship.
• Proof of marriage (if married).
• Proof of legal termination of all prior marriages.
• Proof of compliance with pre-adoptive requirements, if any, of the state of the child’s proposed residence in the United States.
• A home study that meets USCIS requirements.
• Required filing fee.
• Proof of the child’s age and identity.
• Proof that the child is an orphan.
• If there is no final foreign adoption decree, the parent(s) must meet the pre-adoption requirements of their state of residency in the U.S. This is also required if the adoption was completed abroad, but the parents have yet to see the child.
• If there was no adoption abroad, proof that the prospective parent(s) has legal custody of the child for emigration and adoption in the United States.
• If the child has been adopted overseas, a final foreign adoption decree must be submitted at the same time. For the adoption to be recognized as full and final, the parent(s) of the adopted child must submit proof that they saw the child prior to or during the adoption proceedings.

3) Petition for Alien Relative—when the child has been in your legal and physical custody for a period of over two years

The process for meeting USCIS requirements when the child has been in your legal and physical custody for two years or more is not to be confused with the Orphan Petition process. The requirements are completely different. A child may immigrate to the United States through the establishment of a different adoptive relationship.

If the child has lived with the adoptive or prospective parent(s) for two years and is under the age of 16, immigration benefits can be gained by submitting Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. The child must have been in the legal custody and have resided with the adopting parent(s) for at least two years before the petition is filed. No home study is required.

In using this avenue for adoption, one needs to consider unforeseen circumstances: what if the Foreign Service Officer must return home unexpectedly due to a post evacuation, a medical evacuation or an assignment curtailment? Can you remain overseas for a full two-year period? The USCIS will not negotiate the time limit.

Definitions for proving legal custody and resided with are outlined on the USCIS web site. More information about Petition for Alien Relative on the USCIS web site

Information provided by the Family Liaison Office, flo@state.gov
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