Changing I-171H from NSN to SN
I am hearing word that some USCIS offices are requiring extra paperwork and extra fees in order to change people’s status from NSN to SN. Families are being required to file form 290B, and to pay $585 to do so.
So far I’m aware of families in VA and PA who have been required to do this.
Most USCIS offices haven’t cared about this in the past. I don’t know if we are seeing a change that is coming about due to Hague, or if we just have a few offices needing to find revenue enhancements since I-600A applications are reported to be way down.
December 2nd, 2007 at 9:43 am
I can’t speak for the USCIS adoption officer for PA, but the officer in VA (in the Wash. DC office, not the Norfolk office) has been on a major power trip for the past year. She’s made adoptive families CRAZY with her made-up rules and incredibly picky interpretations of other rules. So the fact that VA is part of this doesn’t surprise me one bit. VA families are having to jump through unbelievable hoops that other states are not requiring.
December 2nd, 2007 at 9:55 am
Vermont hasn’t changed their rules. My husband and I added our name to the SN list and also had to get refingerprinted because our I 171 H will expire in Jan. We didn’t need anything extra (besides birth and Marriage certificates and updated homestudy).
i’m glad it’s over and done with. I would hate to have to jump through any extra hoops if it comes to that.
Andrea
December 2nd, 2007 at 12:52 pm
hmmm. We are in San Jose, CA and I am wondering if this might explain our delay in receiving our renewal. I hope its not an issue.
December 2nd, 2007 at 5:53 pm
It’s all a rip off! They’re going to make their money one way or another. What extra paperwork do they really need to do anyway? I swear, government agencies are the biggest $$$ soakers of all time. Could you imagine if someone was told they have to pay $585 every time they were in their first trimester of pregnancy, not for medical reasons or anything else that could be justified for payment to the federal government, just BECAUSE they got pregnant??
December 2nd, 2007 at 6:31 pm
You want to hear something really crazy? We are in KY and we had been home for quite some time when our social worker got a letter from USCIS saying we had to file that form and pay that fee in order to adopt a SN child! They called or wrote them back and told them we had been home from China for over a month. Nothing else ever came of it at that point. We were just glad that on the day of our consulate appointment it didn’t come up. So, KY may be requiring this, but I’m not sure. (We did switch from NSN to SN).
December 2nd, 2007 at 9:29 pm
I have to agree with the above comment about VA. I think it’s just the individual who is in charge. We had to file the I290B when we switched from China to Vietnam because we changed our requested age range from 6-12 months to 0-12 months (since referrals from Vietnam were coming in younger).
This was back in April and by the time we paid the fee for the 870 and the 290 we could have filed a new I600A.
December 4th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
I guess the one good thing about living in Miami is that our USCIS person is wonderful. I am so sorry that so many others are having such a hard time with their local office.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Just wanted to let the VA families know that in October a family from my agency using the Fairfax Office was required to file the 290B form with the 585 fee. We are also in VA, but used the Norfolk office and did not have to file the extra form. We both switched from NSN to SN.
December 5th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
In the VA/DC USCIS office we also had to pay the $585 and file I290B to switch from a girl to either a girl or boy even though the age and health ranges remained the same.