Adoption

USCIS Announces Change to Filing Location for Nepali Adoption Petitions

 


U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that any U.S. citizen seeking to adopt a Nepali child, whose case is not affected by the suspension of processing of adoption cases involving Nepali children claimed to have been found abandoned, should file the Form I 600, Petition to Classify an Orphan as an Immediate Relative, with the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal. 

DOL Established Mailbox for Questions Regarding LCA Policies

The Department's Office of Foreign Labor Certification has established a mailbox for questions regarding LCA policies.  Those seeking policy guidance should submit a question to LCA.Regulation@dol.gov. Questions will be answered in the form of FAQs. The interested public should continue to direct all general inquiries regarding the H-1B program to the Chicago National Processing Center at LCA.Chicago@dol.gov.

USCIS Announces New Versions of Forms I-600 and I-600A

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that it has published new versions of the Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, Form I-600 and the Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, Form I-600A .  The new date on the bottom of both forms is “12/30/09 N.” Due to the changes on the forms, previous versions will no longer be accepted after a 60 day transition period. 

Successful Adoption of an Indian Orphan Under the Hague Convention on Intercounty Adoption.

We were retained to assist a single US Citizen woman to adopt a child from India.  Due to India’s rigid regulations pertaining to who is eligible to become an adoptive parent of an Indian orphan, our client was initially worried this dream would never come to fruition. She had received very discouraging advice from several sources.  Nevertheless, within about one year’s time after we started working, the process is completed. Both immigration related petitions (I-800/I-800a) were approved within a few weeks after submission.

Green Card

Adoption Notice Re: Guatemala

Casa Quivira Cases: DOS issued an alert on December 28, 2009 informing that the Office of the Solicitor General's (PGN's) appeal of the 2009 decision determining the adoptability of the children taken into custody from Casa Quivira was upheld by the appeals court. Note, these children include those who are already residing in the U.S.

Adoption Notice Re: Guatemala

Casa Quivira Cases: DOS issued an alert on December 28, 2009 informing that the Office of the Solicitor General's (PGN's) appeal of the 2009 decision determining the adoptability of the children taken into custody from Casa Quivira was upheld by the appeals court. Note, these children include those who are already residing in the U.S.

Adoption Notice Re: Cambodia Ratifies New Adoption Law; Adoptions Pending Implementation Have Been Suspended

On December 3, 2009 new laws intended to create a thorough nationwide child welfare system and an intercountry adoption procedure in conformance with The Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention were implemented in Cambodia. However, the processing of adoption petitions for Cambodia was still suspended on December 21, 2009 due to concerns relating to fraud, lack of legal framework, and lack of safeguards in Cambodia to protect children’s best interests.  USCIS remains unable to approve any Form I-600.