The
I-600A and I-600 Petitions
Required
Documents for the I-600A
Required
Documents for the I-600
THE I-600A AND I-600
PETITIONS
Adopting and prospective adopting parents must obtain
approval of a Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative
(Form I-600) from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS)
before they can apply for an immigrant visa on behalf of an orphan. The
adjudication of such petitions can be very time-consuming and parents are
encouraged to begin well in advance.
A prospective adopting parent may file Form I-600A
Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition with the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) office having jurisdiction over
their place of residence. This form allows the most time-consuming part of
the immigration process to be completed in advance, even before the parent
has located a child to adopt. In addition, a parent who obtains an
approved I-600A may file an I-600 in person at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv,
Ukraine.****
**** If a married couple is adopting the child and only one
of the parents will travel abroad from the U.S., that parent must be an
American citizen. REMEMBER both parents must still sign the original
I-600.
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REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR THE
I-600A
- Completed Form I-600A (Application for Advance Processing
of Orphan Petition);
- Fingerprints of each prospective adopting parent, taken at
a local U.S. CIS office;
- Proof of the prospective petitioner's United States
citizenship;
- Proof of the marriage of the prospective petitioner and
spouse, if applicable;
- Proof of termination of any prior marriages of the
prospective petitioner and spouse or unmarried prospective petitioner,
if applicable;
- A "home study" completed by the appropriate State
organization with a favorable recommendation;
- Proof that the pre-adoption requirements, if any, of the
state of the orphan's proposed residence have been met, if the orphan is
to be adopted in the United States; and
- Filing fee of U.S. $670
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REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR THE I-600
The I-600 is filed at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine
after an adopting parent has legal custody of a child. If an I-600A has
already been approved, there is no fee. However, if parents are adopting
two or more biologically unrelated children, there will be a $670 fee for
the second child.
-
Completed Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an
Immediate Relative;
-
Proof of the orphan's age;
-
Death certificate(s) of the orphan's parent(s), if
applicable;
-
Proof of orphan status (for example, evidence of
abandonment, or proof that the orphan's sole or surviving parent cannot
give the orphan proper care and has, in writing, forever or irrevocably
released the orphan for emigration and adoption);
-
A final decree of adoption; and
-
If not submitted previously in an I-600A, the documents
listed above in the I-600A section must also be provided with the I-600
(in this case, the I-600 must be filed with the CIS office with
jurisdiction over the prospective parent's residence, rather than the
Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine).
Detailed information about filing these forms can be found
on the U.S. CIS web site at http://uscis.gov/. U.S.
citizens who have adopted or hope to adopt a child from Ukraine should
request, at the time they file these forms, that U.S. CIS notify the U.S.
Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine as soon as the form is approved. Upon receipt of
such notification, the Embassy in Ukraine contacts the adopting parent(s)
and provide additional instructions on immigration procedures. U.S.
consular officers may not begin reviewing an orphan adoption case until
they have received formal notification of approval from a CIS office in
the U.S.
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