Today I am trying to figure out how to file my 1-600A with USCIS. (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) So I thought I would give a little info on what this is and how it fits into the international adoption process. This form is for "advance processing of orphan petition." According to the USCIS website "Advance Processing enables USCIS to adjudicate the application that relates to the qualifications of the applicant(s) as a prospective adoptive parent(s)." This can get quite confusing as there is a form 1-600 I will file that is to petition to classify an orphan as an immediate relative. This happens after we get our referral. For now, I am filing the 1-600A I "think" to get a leg up on things. Once USCIS receives my completed homestudy from our agency, they will send me a fingerprinting appointment card and Daniel and I go to get fingerprinted to be processed by the FBI. We will have to travel to USCIS main office to get fingerprinted. Now I do realize we just were fingerprinted locally. Honestly, if someone could clear up for me why we need to have it done twice that would be super. I am thinking the ones we just had done are to clear us for our homestudy approval, and the ones for USCIS are for approval from the US to bring an orphan into the country.
If you are wondering on the fee, the filing fee is $670.00 Ummm..wow. Then an additional $160 for fingerprinting or "biometric services."
Once we get "pre" approved by USCIS to bring an orphan into the country our agency can send all our paperwork to Korea and we wait to be matched with a little girl.
Okay, tomorrow on my list of things to do is go by Barnes for an informative book on this international adoption process. I am taking it one step at a time but would like to be more informed on the what and why of all these steps we have to go thru. One step at a time, right?
And in case others were fuzzy on what adjudicate means it is :To hear and settle (a case) by judicial procedure
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About Me
- Elisabeth
- We are waiting to adopt our fourth child from the U.S.A. I am a momma to three other awesome children and wife to the love of my life. My boys are homegrown and my daughter is adopted from S. Korea . We cannot wait to meet our next baby!
From what I understand, the first round of prints is for your state criminal clearance. The second set is for national (FBI) clearance. Isn't is obnoxious?! And expensive!
ReplyDeleteI can highly recommend The Complete Book of International Adoption by Dawn Davenport. Very helpful and comprehensive.
Good luck!!!
Hi Elisabeth!
ReplyDeleteI got your comment on our blog and would love to add you to our list!! I will just need your email address so I can let you know what the new address will be. If you want to just leave another comment under that same post, that would be fabulous!
Thanks!!
Kelly
BTW, your children are WAY cute!!!!!!!!!
thanks Elizabeth - i went out and bought that book this morning after reading everyone loves it!
ReplyDeleteoh good! the book is soooo helpful!
ReplyDeleteYou had to get fingerprinted twice?!?! Wow. That's kinda annoying.
ReplyDeleteI hated the fees associated with this step. It's such a huge chunk of money and it just doesn't feel like there's any purpose to it (there is... but it just doesn't FEEL that way).