USCIS I600/I800 transition resolution

I was supposed to be a mom by now. Today marks 18 months of waiting for our adoption referral from China. As you may have read in the last post things weren't looking so good on the US immigration front. But that was quickly resolved yesterday, I say quickly because it took 6 months of getting no where for JCICS and then the second day into the the letter writing and petition signing campaign everything seems to be fixed. Thankfully, we didn't let our I171H expire. Some PAPs were advised to do so which would be very frustrating to me because then we would have to switch to the I800 process which is more involved. So now we have another 36 months to complete our adoption, if that isn't enough time then I give up. If we have to renew again we'll have to pay the fees but it is small in comparision to the alternative. I think deep down I thought this would be successfully resolved but the threat of this going unresolved was just too much for us to handle, emotionally... financially...

I agree with the I800 process and to note in New York we already have to go through parent training. We did 14 or 16 hours I think (it's been 2 years since we took it, maybe they should require the prep classes be taken towards the end of the wait time since it is taking so long it would be good for the information to be fresh in the brain not buried by 3 years of life while waiting).

Here is a list comparing the differences between I600 and I800 processes.

Comparison of I-600A vs. I-800A

Fee
I-600A $830
I-800A $830

Processing Office
I-600A Local USCIS
I-800A One centralized location/NBC

Processing Time upon receipt of complete filing
I-600A 6 weeks to 6+ months
I-800A 3-4 months

Home Study Update
I-600A Yes
I-800A Yes

Birth/Marriage Certificates, etc.
I-600A Yes
I-800A Yes
Child Abuse Clearances
I-600A Yes, last 5 years in the United States only
I-800A Yes, since age 18 in the United States or abroad

Parent Training
I-600A No
I-800A Yes/10 hours

Length of Approval
I-600A 18 months
I-800A 15 months

One time free extension
I-600A Yes
I-800A Yes

Comments

[Ruby]

Thank you, this was very helpful. I've never seen anyone compare the two before. Our first adoption was with an I600, but in our state the parent training was required anyway.

[Karin]

Thank you Ruby for your comments. I am glad you found it helpful. The parenting is required here as well. But from what I understand the I800 is much more documentation. We are debating whether to extend our 171-H at an $800 cost or let it expire and start over with the I800 when it seems an referral is actually on the horizon.