Family Requirements

Meet Eligibility Requirements for Your Family

What You Should Know

Regardless of the country and agency you select, all prospective adoptive parents must:

1. complete a home study
2. submit paperwork to start the USCIS process
3. put together a dossier with your family’s personal records.

Complete the home study process. The home study process involves a series of interviews with a social worker to help assess your family’s capacity to provide a safe, loving environment for a child. (Typically, at least one of these interviews will take place in your home.) The home study process is also designed to help your family think through how the characteristics of the child you are seeking to adopt will be a fit for your family, your support network, and your community. A home study report (reviewed and approved by a licensed agency) must be submitted to USCIS.

Start the USCIS process. All prospective adoptive parents must meet USCIS eligibility requirements in order to adopt a child from another country. The USCIS application process involves two steps.

1. The first step is designed to document your family’s capacity to provide a safe, loving home for a child.
2. The second step, which usually comes later in the adoption process, makes sure your child can be defined as an orphan as described in the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act . (See Stage 5.)

The USCIS process usually starts when you submit Form I-600A: Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition for non-Hague compliant countries, or Form I-800A: for Hague compliant countries, along with supporting documents and filing fees. This form helps USCIS determine that your family is eligible to adopt. Filing Form I-600A is not required but is recommended by USCIS to speed up the adoption process later on. You can submit Form I-600A even before you have selected a country or agency. However, it is valid for only 18 months after it is approved by USCIS, so you may not want to submit it too early. After receiving your application, USCIS staff will schedule an appointment for all adults aged 18 and over in your household to be fingerprinted. Fingerprint reports are valid for 15 months and must be current when your child is placed in your home.

Gather documents for your dossier. A dossier is the packet of documents your family will have translated for those involved in the adoption in your child’s country of origin. The sending country will use the documents in your dossier to identify a specific child whose needs your family can best meet. Required documents vary depending on the country but generally consist of official records that prove your identity, finances, health, and good character.

Typically, these documents include:

• birth certificates
• marriage licenses (if applicable)
• financial statements
• proof of employment
• criminal and child abuse clearances
• health statements
• and
• personal references.

Some of this information also will be included in your home study. Most agencies require you to provide multiple copies of the signed and notarized documents. In addition, some countries will require authenticated translations of the documents.