I Am a U.S. Citizen
How Do I…
Immigrate an Adopted or Prospective
Adopted Child or Help My Adopted
Child Become a U.S. Citizen
or U.S. Permanent Resident?
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Customer Guide
This consumer guide explains three different ways to immigrate an
adoptive child from overseas to become a lawful permanent resident
or to become a U.S. citizen.
The first way is through the Hague Adoption Convention program.
The Hague Adoption Convention became effective for the United
States on April 1, 2008, and created a new process for immigrating
adoptive children who reside in countries that are also party to the
Hague Adoption Convention. A Hague Convention adoption requires
filing of a Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability
to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, and Form I-800,
Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative.
The second way is through the orphan adoption program. This
requires filing Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of
Orphan Petition, and Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an
Immediate Relative. The orphan adoption program is not available if
the adoptive child is from a Hague Adoption Convention country.
Because of the many distinctions in these adoption methods, U.S.
citizens who are interested in adopting a child from another country
should first decide on a specific country from which to adopt. To
view a list of countries that participate in the Hague Adoption
Convention, please see the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov.
The third way is through immediate relative processing by filing
Form I-130, Petition for an Alien Relative.
The three methods to immigrate an adoptive child are separate and
distinct and cannot be combined.
I. ORPHAN PROGRAM
Who is an orphan?
To be considered an orphan under U.S. immigration law, a child
must meet very specific conditions:
• Be a foreign national child without any parents because each
parent has died or disappeared or has abandoned or deserted
the child, or because of separation from or loss of each parent;
or
• Be a foreign national child with a sole or surviving parent who
is unable to provide for the child’s basic needs, consistent with
local standards of the foreign sending country, and who
has irrevocably released the child (in writing) for emigration
and adoption.
Who can file an orphan petition?
You must be a U.S. citizen and, if unmarried, be at least 25 years
old prior to filing Form I-600. You may file Form I-600A at age 24 if
you are unmarried. If you are married, you and your spouse must
go through the immigration and adoption process together. You must
meet the processing requirements, which are designed to protect
the orphan. For example, each adult member (18 years of age or
older) of your household will need to be fingerprinted, and we will
conduct background and criminal checks on all household members.
A “home study” by a licensed adoption agency or a home study
preparer is required.
How do I apply for orphan petition processing?
We offer the following two options to apply:
• Option 1: You have not yet identified a child for
adoption, but want to start the process. Getting your home
study completed, documents, background and criminal checks,
and our review of your eligibility often take the most time.
Option 1 allows you to complete these steps early by using the
two-step process below.
1. Step one is to file Form I-600A. The I-600A focuses on your
eligibility and suitability as adoptive parent(s). Please note that
USCIS cannot approve the application for advance processing
using I-600A until after home study has been approved by
the home study preparer and received by USCIS. After an
I-600A application for advance processing is approved and you
identify a child for adoption, you are ready to begin the next
step.
2. The second step is to file Form I-600, which focuses on the
child’s situation and eligibility as an orphan. When we approve
the I-600, we will notify the U.S. Embassy or consulate so they
can issue the child a visa to come to the United States. If you
plan on traveling abroad to identify an orphan to adopt, we
strongly recommend that you file your I-600A application for
advanced processing and wait for it to be approved before
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you travel. The forms are available on our website at www.
uscis.gov.
• Option 2: You want to wait to start the process until
after you have identified a child to adopt. While this is a
one-step process, it means the procedures that often take the
most time, such as the home study, background and criminal
checks, and our review, must be done while the child waits
overseas. When we approve the I-600, we will notify the U.S.
Embassy or consulate so they can issue a visa for the child to
come to the United States. If you plan on traveling abroad to
find the orphan you wish to adopt, we strongly recommend that
you file an I-600A application for advanced processing and wait
for it to be approved before you travel. The forms are available
on our website at www.uscis.gov.
How old can an orphan be and still be eligible under this
program?
If you adopt through the orphan program, generally the I-600 must
be properly filed before the child’s 16th birthday. The adoption can
occur after the child’s 16th birthday, but only if the Form I-600 was
filed before that day.
A Form I-600 may be filed after the orphan’s 16th birthday, but
before the orphan’s 18th birthday, but only if the orphan is the birth
sibling of another foreign national child who has immigrated or will
immigrate based on adoption by the same adoptive parents). If the
other sibling immigrates as an orphan, then the Form I-600 for the
other sibling must have been filed before that sibling’s 16th birthday.
If the other sibling immigrates as an adopted child under section
101(b)(1)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, rather than
as an orphan, the actual adoption must have occurred before that
sibling’s 16th birthday. This provision for the immigration of an older
sibling does not apply to adoptions under the Hague Convention.
What happens after the Form I-600 orphan petition is
approved?
After the I-600 is approved, we will notify the U.S. Embassy or
consulate so they can issue the proper visa for the child to enter
the United States. Regardless of whether or not you completed the
adoption overseas, the U.S. Embassy or consulate will issue the child
an immigrant visa for the child to enter the United States.
• If you complete the final adoption before the child enters the
United States, and you and your spouse have personally seen
the orphan prior to or during the adoption proceedings abroad,
then generally the child will automatically become a U.S. citizen
when admitted with the immigrant visa provided the child is
admitted to the United States before his or her 18th birthday.
The child will be automatically processed to receive a Certificate
of Citizenship instead of a Permanent Resident Card.
• If you wait to complete the final adoption in the United States
or the child is 18 or over on the day of admission, the child
will become a permanent resident when admitted with the
immigrant visa. The child automatically will become a U.S.
citizen as long as you finalize the adoption prior to the child’s
18th birthday. After you finalize the adoption, you can apply for
a Certificate of Citizenship for your newly adopted child using
Form N-600, Application for Certification of Citizenship. Filing
instructions and forms are available on our website at www.
uscis.gov.
For more information about immigration processing for orphans,
please see our manual M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and
Prospective Adoptive Children. It is available on our website, or by
calling Customer Service at 1-800-375-5283.
II. HAGUE ADOPTION PROGRAM
Who is a Hague Convention adoptee?
To be considered a Hague Convention adoptee under U.S.
immigration law, a child must meet very specific conditions:
• Be a habitual resident in a Hague Convention country and
adopted (or custody for adoption obtained) by a U.S. citizen who
is a habitual resident in the United States.
• Be released by the child’s last legal custodian who has freely
given written irrevocable consent to the termination of his or her
legal relationship with the child, and to the child’s emigration
and adoption. The last legal custodian(s) may be:
- Two living natural parents who are incapable of providing
proper care for the child;
- One natural parent, in the case of a child who has one sole or
surviving parent because of the death or disappearance of, or
abandonment or desertion by, the other parent; or
- Other persons or institutions that retain legal custody
of the child.
Who can file an Hague adoption petition?
You must be a U.S. citizen and, if unmarried, be at least 25 years
old prior to filing Form I-800. You may file Form I-800A at age 24 if
you are unmarried. If you are married, you and your spouse must
go through the immigration and adoption process together. You must
meet the processing requirements, which are designed to protect the
child. For example, each adult member (18 years of age or older) of
your household will need to be fingerprinted, and we will conduct
background and criminal checks on all household members. A “home
study” is also required by an adoption service provider authorized or
approved by the U.S. Department of State, which is the U.S. Central
Authority under the Hague Adoption Convention.
How do I apply for Hague Adoption Convention
processing?
Unlike the orphan process, there is only one way to apply under the
Hague Adoption Convention program. Further, prospective adoptive
parent(s) must use the services of an “adoption service provider”
authorized by the U.S. Department of State.
1. Step one is to file Form I-800A. The I-800A focuses on your
eligibility and suitability as adoptive parent(s). Please note that
your home study must be submitted with the I-800A unless your
State of residence must approve the home study and will then
forward it to USCIS. After an I-800A application is approved and
you identify a child for adoption, you are ready to begin the next
step.
2. The second step is to file Form I-800. Form I-800 can only be
filed after the approval of the I-800A. Form I-800 focuses on the
child’s situation and eligibility as a Hague Convention adoptee.
When we provisionally approve the I-800, we will notify the U.S.
Embassy or consulate, which will communicate to the Central
Authority of the Hague Convention country that the adoption
may proceed.
3. Step 3 is to complete the adoption. You may only proceed with
the adoption (or legal custody for purposes of adoption) of the
child after the provisional approval of your I-800 and after the
U.S. Embassy or consulate has contacted the Central Authority
of the Hague Convention country. After the adoption or custody
is granted, the U.S. Embassy or consulate will issue final
approval of the I-800 and issue the child a visa to come to the
United States.
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4. The forms are available on our website at www.uscis.gov.
How old can a Hague Convention adoptee be and still be
eligible under this program?
If you adopt through the Hague Adoption Convention adoption
program, the I-800 must be properly filed before the child’s 16th
birthday. Generally, the date on which you actually file the Form
I-800 is the official filing date. If you filed your Form I-800A after the
child’s 15th birthday, but before the child’s 16th birthday, then the
Form I-800A filing date also will be treated as the Form I-800 filing
date, provided that you file the Form I-800 within 180 days of the
day on which USCIS approves the Form I-800A.
Unlike the orphan program, there is no sibling exception as discussed
above.
What happens after the Form I-800 Hague adoption
petition is approved?
After the I-800 is approved, the U.S. Embassy or consulate will issue
the proper visa for the child to enter the United States. After the
I-800 is provisionally approved and the U.S. Embassy or consulate
has contacted the Central Authority of the Hague Convention
country, you can travel overseas and complete the adoption there,
or you can bring the child to the United States and complete the
final adoption here. Regardless of whether or not you complete the
adoption overseas, the U.S. Embassy or consulate will issue the child
an immigrant visa for the child to enter the United States.
• If you complete the final adoption before the child enters the
United States, in general the child will automatically become a
U.S. citizen when admitted with the immigrant visa, provided
the child is under the age of 18 on the day of admission. The
child automatically will be processed to receive a Certificate of
Citizenship instead of a Permanent Resident Card.
• If you wait to complete the final adoption in the United States,
the child will become a permanent resident when admitted with
the immigrant visa. The child will automatically become a U.S.
citizen as long as you finalize the adoption before the age of 18.
After you finalize the adoption, you can apply for a Certificate of
Citizenship for your newly adopted child using Form N-600. Filing
instructions and forms are available on our website at www.
uscis.gov.
For additional information regarding a Hague Convention adoption
and the countries that are Convention members, please see our
website at www.uscis.gov.
III. IMMEDIATE RELATIVE PROCESSING
• The child must have been in your legal custody for at least 2
years, either before or after adoption (if adopted in a Hague
Convention country on or after April 1, 2008, the 2-year period
of custody generally must be satisfied outside the United States).
After meeting all of these requirements, you can file Form I-130,
Petition for Alien Relative, for the child. See Customer Guide A1,
How Do I Help My Relative Become a U.S. Permanent Resident?, for
more information about relative petitions. Form I-130 can be filed
with a USCIS Service Center having jurisdiction over the petitioner’s
place of residence. Please refer to the instructions on Form I-130 for
mailing addresses.
How can my adopted child become a U.S. citizen?
After meeting the requirements listed above, you can file an I-130
relative petition. In general, your adopted child will automatically
become a U.S. citizen if the child becomes a permanent resident
before the age of 18. A Form N-600 may then be filed to obtain a
Certificate of Citizenship. However, if your adopted child was already
18 years of age when he or she became a permanent resident,
then your child may apply for naturalization using Form N-400,
Application for Naturalization, after being a permanent resident for
5 years. Filing instructions and forms are available on our website at
www.uscis.gov.
Key Information
Key USCIS forms referenced in this guide
Form #
Petition for Alien Relative
I-130
Application for Advance Processing of Orphan
Petition
I-600A
Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate
Relative
I-600
Application for Certification of Citizenship
N-600
Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt
a Child from a Convention Country
I-800A
Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an
Immediate Relative
I-800
The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective
Adoptive Children
M-249
Application for Naturalization
N-400
USCIS
• On the Internet at: www.uscis.gov
Who can file an immediate relative petition on behalf of
an adopted child who is neither an “orphan” nor a Hague
Convention adoptee?
For more copies of this guide, or information about other
citizenship and immigration services, please visit our website.
You can also download forms, e-file some applications, check the
status of an application, and more. It’s a great place to start!
If you adopt a child, but did not go through the orphan or Hague
adoption process, then the child is considered to be your child for
immigration purposes when you meet the following requirements:
If you don’t have Internet access at home or work, try your local
library. If you cannot find what you need, please call Customer
Service.
• The adoption must be finalized before the child’s 16th birthday
(or the child’s 18th birthday if you also adopted a birth sibling
of the child and the birth sibling is immigrating either as an
orphan or as an adopted child who is not an “orphan” or Hague
adoptee); and
• Customer Service: 1-800-375-5283
• Hearing Impaired TDD Customer Service: 1-800-767-1833
• The child must have lived with you for at least 2 years, either
before or after adoption (if adopted in a Hague Convention
country on or after April 1, 2008, the 2-year period of residence
generally must be satisfied outside the United States); and
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Other U.S. Government Services–Click or Call
General Information
www.usa.gov
Hague Adoption
Convention
information
1-800-333-4636
1-877-424-8374
New Immigrants
www.welcometoUSA.gov
U.S. Dept. of State
www.state.gov
1-202-647-6575
Disclaimer: This guide provides basic information to help you become
generally familiar with our rules and procedures. For more information, or
the law and regulations, please visit our website. Immigration law can be
complex, and it is impossible to describe every aspect of every process.
You may wish to be represented by a licensed attorney or by a nonprofit
agency accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals.
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