The I-171H

The I-171H form

The I-171H is a document you ultimately receive from the INS after filing form I-600A - Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, along with the application fee and all required documents. You should begin this process as early as possible because it takes a while. Specifically, the fingerprint check through the FBI can take up to 3 months (and possibly longer). It doesn't always take this long, and seems to vary considerably state by state, but, to be safe, you should get this particular ball rolling right away.

IMPORTANT: Instead of the good old I-171H, some families have been receiving from INS a form called - I-797C. This basically serves the same purpose as the I-171H, but looks a bit more official; apparently this is a trial run, and only a few families are receiving it at this time. I have noticed on some of these that a box has been checked saying that the cable has been sent to the US Embassy in Beijing. Please check your I-797C if you have one and make sure it has been sent to Guangzhou, not Beijing. Contact your local INS in writing (return receipt requested) if your says Beijing, to point out that the cable should go to Guangzhou.

As soon as you make the decision to adopt, call the INS Forms Request number at 1-800 870-FORM (3676) and ask for the I-600A and all related documents(see below for a list of all the related forms). It is an automated system, but you leave a message at the end, so be sure to tell them it is for an international adoption from China (or wherever).

You should receive a package of documents in about a week. Some of the documents you will receive are informational only, and some you do not need to worry about until much later in the process. To avoid confusion, all the documents you will most likely receive are listed below, with an explanation of which ones you need to process immediately.

Downloading I-600/ I-600A forms: Although INS will permit you to download these forms directly from the INS website,
some local INS offices were rejecting the forms because they were NOT on the appropriate colored paper. This problem was brought to the INS' attention and INS has confirmed that they will issue notification to ALL local offices that they are to accept these downloaded forms.

Many of representatives from the local offices confirmed that the greatest priority is placed on orphan petitions. They had further input that the colored forms HELP them to realize that THIS particular document should be a priority and should be processed immediately. Without seeing the color of the paper, it could easily get mixed in with everything else coming
through their office.

HELPFUL HINT: To help insure the expediting of the I600/ I600A, after you download the form - take the form to Kinkos or any other copy store and have it photocopied onto the appropriate color ( I-600A salmon color paper - I600 light blue color paper)

IF YOUR LOCAL OFFICE DOES NOT ACCEPT THE DOWNLOADED FORMS - PLEASE NOTIFY YOUR REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS IN WRITING.

To help decrease the processing time, do Not Pay With Personal Checks: Any time a personal check is submitted to INS, before the case can be processed, the check must first be sent to the National Processing Center, where they must wait for the check to clear, and then for the local office to be notified of clearance. To help cut down on processing time - PLEASE SEND A CERTIFIED CHECK OR MONEY ORDER.

As an FYI, processing times vary greatly throughout the US depending on the size of the local office, the volume of applications received and the staffing available. The INS has confirmed that ORPHAN PETITIONS take priority. However, I think it will still be a long time coming before we see any uniformity among the varying local offices in processing time.

**INS forms you will receive as part of your I-171H processing**
Quantity	Form #	Form Name	Comments	Description
1	I-600A	Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition	Fill this out NOW, and submit this with all required documents. Click here for details	This is an orange form (BTW, it appears that everyone at INS knows "the orange form means babies" so they really like to help)
4 (2 each)	FD-258 ORP	Fingerprint card, Orphan	The rules concerning fingerprints are very specific. Click here for details	After March 28, 1998, you no longer submit these with your I-600A. We don't know if you will still receive them in the packet. Click here for details.
1	ER-750 EFC	Notice of INS Copies policy	Sign this and send with I-600A	5 x 8 white form
1	M-249	Notice to Prospective Adopting Parents	This form is informational only, and deals with the INS' definition of an "orphan"	This is a blue form you can pretty much ignore
1	N-643	Application for Certificate of Citizenship in behalf of an Adopted Child	You can worry about this one after you return with your baby	White form
1	I-600	Petition to Classify Orphan as an immediate relative	Bring this with you to China and fill it out after you have adopted your baby	This is the blue form
1	ER-739 HAR	I-600 Notice	These are the directions on how to fill out and submit the required information.	This is a white, cover letter. The directions are fairly clear, and should contain the phone number you can call, should you have questions, or if you want to check the status of your paperwork.

It’s very important to realize that though it is required, the homestudy does not have to be submitted at the same time as the rest of the documentation. So, as soon as you have all of the documents required to begin the INS processing (they are listed in the table below), with the exception of the homestudy, put them, and a cover letter, in a large envelope and mail it (registered, at least), or hand deliver it to your local INS office. Again, the address should be in the packet you received from the INS.

Just a note about hand delivery to the INS office: Many INS offices will not take hand delivery of the I-600A forms. For those offices, you must mail them. If you plan to drop them off yourself, call the INS office first to make sure hand delivery is allowed.

Ok, listed below are all the documents you need to submit to the INS. Let me repeat that you should do this right away without your homestudy, and send that later when you receive it.

**Documents Required For I-171H Processing**
Document/Fee	Copies	Comments
I-600A form	1	Make sure this is filled out properly, including section 16 on the back, which should be filled in with “Guangzhou, China” under the section that reads “The American Consulate or Embassy at”; also, be sure that it is signed and dated by the adopting parent(s). Click here to see an image of the I-600A and for info on filling it out.
$405.00 Application Fee	1	Pay by money order so they don’t have to wait for the check to clear. As of October 13, 1998, this fee has been raised to $405.00.
$25.00 Fingerprint Fee for each person to be fingerprinted	$25.00 each	You must include, in addition to the $155.00 application fee, an additional $25.00 for each person to be fingerprinted. After March 28, you no longer submit the fingerprint cards themselves with your I-600A form. However, even though you do not send the fingerprint cards, you must send the $25.00 per person fee.
Birth Certificate(s)	1 each	These don’t have to be notarized or anything, and they can be copies *
Proof of Current Marital Status	1	NOTE: The INS requirements for this are different than those for your dossier. As with dossier, you need one of the following: single, never married letter or marriage certificate or divorce decree or spouse's death certificate. In addition, you must include all divorce decrees from any prior marriages. None of these documents have to be notarized or anything, for the INS, and they can be copies *. Click here for more info.
Divorce Decree (if applicable)	1	NOTE: As mentioned above, the INS requirements for this are different than those for your dossier You must include all divorce decrees from any prior marriages. None of these have to be notarized or anything, for the INS, and they can be copies *. Click here for more info.
Copies are OK (ER-750)	1	This form comes with the INS packet, and must be signed if you include any copies of the above documents (which, most likely, you will).
Homestudy	1	You don’t need to have this to submit everything else listed above. This takes a couple of months to complete, so get the above documents together (hopefully only a week or two), and submit them. Then, when the homestudy is complete, submit it, along with copies of everything you originally submitted (just for safety). That way, the fingerprint process, which can take up to 3 months or longer, can get started while the homestudy is underway.

* If you send copies of any of the documents listed above, as opposed to originals (and in almost every case, you will), you must sign and include the 5” x 8“ “Copies are OK” (the ER-750 form) document that comes with your package. This document simply states that you are sending valid copies.

Some important information about your I-171H when you do finally receive it:

When the INS approves your petition to adopt a child, they'll send you an I-171H form. When you finally receive your I-171H in the mail, you'll probably be somewhat surprised, that for such an important document, it's really kind of unprofessional looking. In fact, often it will have lines crossed out or whited out. It may look strange, but that is indeed the document you have been waiting for all this time. Click here for an image of an I-171H form, if you want to know what it looks like.

Once your I-171 has been approved, there are several key steps that must occur of which you should be aware.

The INS office must either cable or fax a VISAS 37 or send the original approved I-600A to the Consulate General in Guangzhou in order for your file to be opened. There is additional information on the VISAS 37 that does not appear on the 171H. Overseas Immigration and Consular Officers are prohibited from accepting visa applications or orphan petitions based solely on the 171H.

You will know that the VISAS 37 has been received because you will receive a packet of information and forms from the Consulate in Guangzhou with about a month of the approval of your I-171H.

The 171H is NOT sufficient in and of itself to permit you to file the orphan petition or visa application. The 171H is really just a notification to you that your application has been approved and forwarded.

Anyway, when you receive the I-171H, you'll discover that it does not have a "live" signature. And, if you've read our little treatise on authenticating documents, you already know that in most states, you need a live signature. There are exceptions to this rule (Pennsylvania and Ohio, for example). But, in most cases, here's what you do:

In most cases, the I-171H is the last document you'll receive. It's up to you if you want to have all your other documents authenticated prior to receiving the I-171H. If you do, and then send them to World Child, we can begin the translation prior to receiving the actual I-171H.

When you receive the I-171H, you can have that certified, and then send it for authentication by itself. Finally, send the authenticated I-171H to World Child and your dossier will be complete.

As mentioned above, this allows World Child to begin the translation process.

As of around 7/26/98, the CCAA is changing procedures somewhat related to how it processes / registers your dossier. In the past, we were able to send your nearly complete dossier (everything but the I-171H) to the CCAA and get you registered and in line. However, the CCAA is now requiring that the dossier be completely complete (home study, letter of introduction, police clearance, statement of net worth, photos, birth certificate, proof of current marital status, employment verification, physician's statement, and I-171H) and authenticated before they will even register your dossier.

By that, we mean if we send your dossier to China in January and follow up in April with your I-171H; the CCAA will treat your dossier as though it had been received in April. This is a very recent change (as of around July 26, 1998). So, from this point forward, plan on us waiting until your dossier is complete before sending it to the CCAA.

Ok, assuming all of the above makes some kind of sense, continue to the next step: Your Homestudy