I-600A and Fingerprints

Fairly early in the adoption process you’ll want to pick up a copy of the I-600A. This is a BCIS form requesting advance permission to bring an orphan into the US. You can pick it up at your local immigration office–locations listed here. You can also print it off at this website. If you print it off the internet, it is a good idea to print it on salmon-colored paper if possible, since the special color of this form reminds the BCIS office to give it top priority and speedy handling.

You’ll need to submit the I-600A along with the filing fee of $545 plus a $70 per person fingerprinting fee. Usually within 2-4 weeks of submitting your I600A, you will be notified of a fingerprinting appointment time. Everyone in your home who is 18 or older will need to be printed.

Along with the I-600A and fees, you’ll need to submit your birth certificates, most recent tax return, marriage license, divorce decrees (if any), and your completed homestudy. In some states, you can submit the I-600A to USCIS before the homestudy is complete, which is really nice, because you can get your fingerprinting done a bit quicker that way. But many states require that the homestudy be complete and submitted along with the I600A.

Once you have a fingerprint appointment pending, you’ll want to take extra-good care of your hands for awhile, with lots of lotion and moisturizer. This will minimize the chance of your fingerprints being unreadable, which would necessitate yet another fingerprint appointment. “Cornhuskers” lotion and Eucerin cream are both good moisturizers to try.

Once your fingerprints have been done and you‘ve submitted your homestudy to complete your file at the BCIS, it will probably be another month or two before you I171H (your immigration preapproval) is issued. That means they have approved YOU to bring a child (or children) into the US. That does not approve a specific child, however. For that, your agency will submit an I600 close to the time that your child is ready to come home.

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