Documentary Requirements for the I-171H
Completed Form I-171H (Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition);
Fingerprints of each prospective adopting parent, taken at a local U.S. CIS office;
Proof of the prospective petitionerТs United States citizenship;
Proof of the marriage of the prospective petitioner and spouse, if applicable;
Proof of termination of any prior marriages of the prospective petitioner and spouse or unmarried prospective petitioner, if applicable;
A Home Study completed by the appropriate State organization with a favorable recommendation;
Proof that the pre-adoption requirements, if any, of the state of the orphanТs proposed residence have been met, if the orphan is to be adopted in the United States; and
Filing fee of U.S. $525.00. The I-171H is filed at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev, Ukraine after an adopting parent has legal custody of a child. If an I-171H has already been approved, there is no fee. However, if parents are adopting two or more biologically unrelated children, there will be a $525.00 fee for the second child.
Documentary Requirements for the I-171H
Completed Form I-171H, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative;
Proof of the orphanТs age;
Death certificate(s) of the orphanТs parent(s), if applicable;
Proof of orphan status (for example, evidence of abandonment, or proof that the orphanТs sole or surviving parent cannot give the orphan proper care and has, in writing, forever or irrevocably released the orphan for emigration and adoption);
A final decree of adoption; and
If not submitted previously in an I-171H, the documents listed above in the I-171H section must also be provided with the I-171H (in this case, the I-171H must be filed with the CIS office with jurisdiction over the prospective parentТs residence, rather than the Embassy in Kiev, Ukraine).
Detailed information about filing these forms can be found at the U.S. CIS web site at http://uscis.gov . U.S. citizens who have adopted or hope to adopt a child from Ukraine should request, at the time they file these forms, that U.S. CIS notify the U.S. Embassy in Kiev, Ukraine as soon as the form is approved. Upon receipt of such notification, the Embassy in Ukraine contacts the adopting parent(s) and provide additional instructions on immigration procedures. U.S. consular officers may not begin reviewing an orphan adoption case until they have received formal notification of approval from a CIS office in the U.S.
Fingerprints
An I-171H petition can be approved only if the petitioners (and all adult members of their household) have unexpired FBI fingerprint clearances. Though fingerprint are taken and checked by the FBI at the time prospective adopting parents file an I-171H, they are valid only for 15 months and must be re-done if the 15 months have expired.. The validity period for the I-171H is 18 months and is not tied to the fingerprint checks. Thus, it is possible for adopting parents to have a valid I-171H and expired fingerprint checks at the same time. Prospective adopting parents should verify that their fingerprint check are current and will not expire before traveling to Ukraine to adopt. If the fingerprints are about to expire soon, prospective adopting parents should contact their USCIS office and have their fingerprints retaken. If your fingerprints are not valid when you come to file the I-171H petition in Kiev, the Embassy staff will have to take them and send them to the FBI for the background check, which will delay an adopting familyТs return to the United States by several days.
Official site http://travel.state.gov/
Sample I171H Form
