The Hague, who is affected
The general consensus seems to be that if you already have an active I-171H then your adoption will be under the pre-Hague rules. But, you must not let your I-171H expire before getting a new one.
The following comes from the U.S. State Department
4. What happens to a case that is in process when the Hague Adoption Convention enters into force with respect to the United States?
An adoption case involving a Convention country already in process when the Convention enters into force with respect to the U.S. will not change into a Hague case on the day the Convention does enter into force. These transition cases will be continue to be processed in accordance with the immigration regulations for orphan adoptions which were in effect at the time the case was filed.
5. What happens with respect to an incoming case that is in process before the Hague Adoption Convention enters into force with respect to the United States?
With respect to incoming cases, if the Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition (I-600A) or Petition to Classify an Orphan as an Immediate Relative (I-600) has been filed before the date the Hague Adoption Convention enters into force with respect to the United States, then the Convention and the IAA will not apply to that case.
6. What does “filed†mean in an incoming case?
The Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) considers a case properly filed when it receives an application or petition along with any required filing fee. The filing date will be stamped on the application or petition to show the time and date of actual receipt.
11. I already submitted a form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition. Does the Hague Adoption Convention apply to my case?
If you filed the I-600A before the date the Hague Adoption Convention enters into force with respect to the United States, then the Convention and the IAA do not apply to your case provided that the I-600A has not expired (see question number 16, below).
15. What if my fingerprint check approval or I-600A approval expires after the Hague Adoption Convention enters into force with respect to the United States?
The Hague status of a case (indicating whether a case is processed according to the Hague) is not affected if an I-600A expires after the Convention enters into force with respect to the United States provided that USCIS extends the approval of the I-600A before the approval of the I-600A expires. If USCIS extends the approval of an I-600A that was filed before the Convention entered into force with respect to the United States, the prospective adoptive parent(s) will also be able to file an I-600 after the Convention entered into force without changing the Hague status of the case.
Prospective adoptive parent(s) may be re-fingerprinted as often as needed to keep the clearance current without changing the Hague status of the case. Unlike an I-600A or I-600, a fingerprint check does not “open†an adoption case, or begin an application or petition process. Should a fingerprint clearance expire after the Convention enters into force with respect to the United States and while the I-600A or I-600 are valid, the prospective adoptive parent(s) need only submit a request for a new fingerprint clearance in order to continue processing the adoption case under the U.S. immigration regulations for orphan adoptions in effect at the time the case was filed.
Prospective adoptive parent(s) may be re-fingerprinted as often as needed to keep the clearance current without changing the Hague status of the case. Unlike an I-600A or I-600, a fingerprint check does not “open†an adoption case, or begin an application or petition process. Should a fingerprint clearance expire after the Convention enters into force with respect to the United States and while the I-600A or I-600 are valid, the prospective adoptive parent(s) need only submit a request for a new fingerprint clearance in order to continue processing the adoption case under the U.S. immigration regulations for orphan adoptions in effect at the time the case was filed.
November 25th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
was planning to renew this Febuary anyway. Question does anybody know how many children in the US get adopted IA?
November 25th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
So what does this mean? We let our fingerprints expire in September and are planning on letting our 171 expire in January. Are we now required to rush and get those updated and what happens if we don’t? Please help if you can.
Thanks,
Matt
LID 9.20.06
November 25th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
OK Im more confused than ever. Although, I never really was un-confused about all of this. What are the down sides of being in the Hague category of adoptive parents?
Anyone who is applying now will be in that category, what do they have to look forward to? More paperwork? More wait time to be DTC? Less children available to adopt internationally?
Is there more paperwork and more time waiting if someone (already DTC) does let things expire? Or is it all just a matter of a big unknown, and who wants to really find out?
November 25th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Any ideas on what happens for those of us who switched our I-171H from China to another country for a concurrent adoption? We’ll complete our concurrent adoption next Spring (fingers crossed). We had planned to just file a new I-171H for China. What happens with that now? I want to echo the previous post’s questions…What does it mean to be a post-Hague IA case?
November 25th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
MattandHeather, from everything I have read, you would need to renew your I171 before the Hauge goes into effect in late April/March if you want to continue to have your application under the old regulations. If you don’t make the cutoff before the Hague goes into effect, your I171 would be subject to the new Convention rules. I would anticipate that the USCIS offices will be very busy in the coming months. In MN for example, they are still processing applications from early August. The application for extension is free now, so I would think there is not as much financial impact felt to renew now as compared to the potential for more paperwork under the new regulations later.
Does anyone know if extension requests are placed in the same “line” as original applications, or processed separately?
November 25th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
I know our agency has said to not let our fingerprints or I-171H expire the entire time we are waiting.
November 25th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
RQ~ thx for the links from yesterday and the post today. It has answered most of my questions. I guess as long as we keep our I171 current, the new rules won’t affect us. That’s fine, we’re waiting on our new one now (after letting our old one expire in July 2007) and we’ll probably travel in 9/08 or so.
But, does anyone have a handle on how the new rules are going to change IA? Certainly if the waits go to 4 yrs or so there will be some families who will not be able to complete their adoption even within the extension periods, plus, we may be looking at a future IA, I’d like to know what the Hague has in store for us.
November 25th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
Ethica has a good summary of how agencies will be required to operate under Hague at: http://www.ethicanet.org/HagueRegComments.pdf
A lot of Hague is about agency/facilitator oversight — which has been sorely lacking.
November 25th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
I had just decided last week to let our I797C expire in Feb as our LID is 9/06. We thought…why renew if we just have to do it again in 18 months? Dare I say it…possibly again in 36 months? It’s not the expense, really, it’s running around to get together the 10 documents required for another home study…and going to another meeting, fingerprints, etc, etc. But now this has me thinking that perhaps we SHOULD go through the hassle of renewing. What will be involved in re-applying post-Hague? I know our agency was going to make us take a few online classes anyway. Advice is welcomed!
November 25th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
I received my first I171 and before it expired, I applied for my one time free extension/renewal. I understand that this new extension will not fall under the Hague but I fully expect it to expire too and I will be filing for a new one 18 months from now. Anyone know whether those filings will have to comply with the new rules?
November 26th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
I let mine run-out because I didn’t expect to get a referral for 12mo+ (again!)…so didn’t want to blow the $1k+ for it to just run out on me.
So, now I need to renew documents that I know will be of no use?!
So much for Christmas gifts :(
November 26th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
RQ,
I was wondering if you could blog about the implementation of the Hague and what affect it may have on adoptions from China. I was also hoping that you could give us your educated opinions on what implementation will mean for international adoption in general (i.e. what other countries will this open up for IA?). Appreciate your work and research.
Bridget
November 26th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Rumor Queen, I am wondering if I need to panic - My I-171-H expired this past July - before the option to renew one time for free and I didn’t want to have to redo fingerprints two more times so I did not renew yet. If I sent out all paperwork for background checks… and requested a re-fingerprinting appointment in the next few days and got my home study update home visit appointment ASAP it will still probably take at least 2 months, maybe even three months for everything to be done for my new I-171-H - I am single and don’t meet the new requirements, am I going to be kicked out of the program?!? I am anxiously waiting for a clarification - I have not heard anything from my agency telling me I needed to have this done by March of 2008 or I will be out of the program, am I reading this correctly? I am in Jacksonville, FL. Do I have enough time to get all of this done in time?!?