I-600a, I-600 - Determining Suitability and Orphan Status for Guatemalan Adoptive Children

April 8, 2007 by sachinskg

The DHS will not approve your application until all stages of a rather time-consuming process have been completed. And it is worth bearing in mind that this will be the case even if you met your child whilst you were in Guatemala.

The first stage of this process will involve presenting your I-600A form and relevant documents to the USCIS. It will then be decided whether you are eligible and suitable to adopt a Guatemalan child. An extensive list of I-600A requirements can be found on the Department of Homeland Security’s website, at http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/index.htm. Examples are given below:

  • The Homestudy that you will have submitted to the DHS
  • Your co-operation with any adoption rules or regulations in your state
  • Copies of yours and your partner’s fingerprints
  • Your or your partner’s birth certificate or evidence of US citizenship – this documentation must be certified
  • A copy of your marriage certificate, and this should also be certified
  • If you or your partner have previously been married to someone else, you will also need to provide a certified death or divorce certificate

You will be sent form I-171H by the DHS once it has approved your I-600A petition; and they will contact the Embassy in Guatemala with a “Visas 37” confirming their approval. You must then submit your petition within eighteen months or your DHS approval will expire.

The fingerprint records that you are obliged to present at your child’s immigration interview are valid for only fifteen months after the prints are taken. The date these records expire will be noted on your I-171H form, and you must have presented your petition to the Embassy before this time or you will need to reapply. Processing of these fingerprint records usually takes two or three weeks.

If your records do expire and you need to have them retaken, you are advised to do so before traveling. If you do not, you will be obliged to have your fingerprints retaken in Guatemala. For this you will be charged a fee, and your I-600 will not be approved until it is dealt with.

While your I-600A is being processed, you will work with the local Guatemalan authorities to select a child for adoption. The child will be selected from those understood to match the US legal definitions of a “child” and an “orphan”, to better his/her chances of being granted entry to America.

Having a child allocated to you is not a guarantee that the child will be granted entry clearance to the US, and a final decision on this matter in made when your I-600 is submitted to the DHS. If you or your partner travel to Guatemala, you will present the form at the DHS/ICE office in Guatemala city. If an escort brings the child to the US, the I-600 will need to be submitted to the DHS office in the state in which you live.

Please note that your I-600 must have been approved before you or your escort can apply for an immigrant visa for your child, and without an immigrant visa, your child will not be permitted to enter the United States. If you are not traveling to Guatemala, your petition will have been filed in the US and you must wait for the Embassy to be informed that your application has been approved.

You are advised to contact the Consular Section in Guatemala to confirm your visa application appointment before making any final travel plans.

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