IR-3 / IH-3 / IR-4 / IH-4 · Timeline

Steps, in order

Each step describes the Hague process first, then the orphan process.

1. 1

   Home study and service provider

   Both processes require a home study by someone authorized to complete adoption home studies. Hague: you also choose a U.S. accredited or approved ASP as your primary provider; an ASP cannot give legal advice or represent you before USCIS. Orphan: the home study must be completed by someone authorized in your home state (or anywhere in the United States if you adopt while living abroad), and it, or its most recent update, must be no more than six months old when submitted to USCIS.^[1,2,3]

2. 2

   Suitability: Form I-800A or I-600A

   Hague: you file Form I-800A to be found suitable and eligible to adopt, before adopting a child or accepting a placement. Orphan: you may file Form I-600A before you identify a child, and USCIS fingerprints you, your spouse and each other adult member of your household. If the home study is not filed with the I-600A, it must be filed within one year, or the application is denied. An I-600A approval expires 15 months after the approval date. USCIS may extend it if you ask on Form I-600A/I-600 Supplement 3, filed no more than 90 days before, and no later than the day, the approval expires.^[1,2,3]

3. 3

   Child petition: Form I-800 or I-600

   Hague: after your I-800A is approved, you work with your primary provider to get a proposed adoptive placement from the country's Central Authority, then file Form I-800 before adopting, so USCIS can find the child provisionally eligible to immigrate. Orphan: you file Form I-600 for the child within 15 months of your I-600A approval, or within the extended validity period if USCIS extended it; if you have no I-600A approved or pending, you may file one Form I-600 that covers both steps once you have identified a child. USCIS (or, in some cases, the State Department) investigates overseas to verify that the child is an orphan.^[1,2,3]

4. 4

   Adoption or custody

   Hague: only after USCIS provisionally approves your Form I-800 do you adopt the child or obtain legal custody for emigration and adoption in the United States; USCIS warns that doing this out of order contradicts the Convention and may cause significant delays or leave the child ineligible for an immigrant visa. Orphan: you submit evidence of the adoption abroad, or that you (or someone working for you) have custody of the child for emigration and adoption under the laws of the child's country. An orphan petition must be denied if you, or someone working for you, gave or will give money or other consideration, directly or indirectly, as payment for the child or to induce the child's release; reasonable payment for necessary services such as administrative, court, legal, translation and medical services related to the adoption is allowed.^[1,3]

5. 5

   Immigrant visa and arrival

   You apply to a U.S. embassy or consulate for your child's immigrant visa (in the Hague process, USCIS lists this step for parents who reside in the United States). The State Department officer decides whether the child is inadmissible under section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA); for children, the most common ground is medical, such as certain diseases or missing required vaccinations. If the child is inadmissible, you may be able to get a waiver on Form I-601; in a Hague case, you may file it together with Form I-800 if you have reason to believe the child may be inadmissible. The child then comes to the United States for admission with the visa.^[1,2]