FAQs:  Transition Cases and the Hague Adoption Convention

The Basics:

1.  Is the Hague Adoption Convention in effect now?

The Hague Adoption Convention is not yet in effect with respect to the United States.  Therefore, cases do not yet have to be processed in accordance with the U.S. regulations that relate to intercountry adoptions covered by the Convention.  The date the Convention goes into effect with respect to the United States is known as the date the Convention “enters into force.”

2.  When will the Hague Adoption Convention enter into force with respect to the United States?

The Department of State (DOS) is finalizing the remaining tasks necessary to deposit its instrument of ratification by the end of 2007.  The date the Hague Adoption Convention will enter into force with respect to the United States has not yet been officially established.  The DOS will announce the exact date that the Hague Adoption Convention will enter into force with respect to the United States approximately three months in advance.  DOS will also publish the date on its website and in the Federal Register. 

3.  What is a Convention country?

A Convention country means a country that is a party to the Hague Adoption Convention and with which the Convention is in force with respect to the United States. DOS will post a list of those Convention countries on its website.  A list of countries that are currently parties to the Hague Adoption Convention is provided on the website of the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law:  www.hcch.net.

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/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. 

There are two types of transition cases:  incoming cases (where children are immigrating from another Convention country to the United States) and outgoing cases (where children are emigrating from the United States to another Convention country). The U.S. domestic implementing legislation for the Hague Adoption Convention—the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (the IAA)—sets out rules for both types of transition cases.

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.

7.  What happens with respect to an outgoing or emigrating case involving a U.S. born child that is in process before the entry into force date for the Hague Adoption Convention?

With respect to outgoing cases, if the prospective adoptive parent(s) of the child initiated the adoption process in their country of residence with the filing of an appropriate application 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.

8.  What does “file an appropriate application” mean in an outgoing (emigrating) case?

In general, the Department of State (DOS) will treat an application that prospective adoptive parent(s) have submitted to the receiving country’s Central Authority, or any accredited body, pursuant to Article 14 of the Hague Adoption Convention, as an appropriate application that initiated an outgoing case.  DOS plans to work with the most common receiving countries, namely, Canada and Mexico, to determine what constitutes an application to adopt in the receiving country.

More Details:

FAQs for Incoming Cases (where children are immigrating to the United States)

9.  What happens if an I-600A was filed before the date the Hague Adoption Convention enters into force with respect to the United States, but the child was not adopted before the Convention enters into force with respect to the United States?

As noted above, if the prospective adoptive parent(s) files the I-600A (Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition) 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, provided that the relevant I-600A remains valid (see question 16, below, for details).  For example, if the prospective adoptive parent files an I-600A on February 1, 2008, and the Convention enters into effect for the U.S. on February 2, 2008, the case is not a Convention case.  If the I-600A expires after the Convention enters into force with respect to the United States, but before the parent files the I-600 petition, the case becomes a Convention case and the prospective adoptive parent must begin the process over again using the appropriate Convention case forms. 

10. May a prospective adoptive parent change a transition case to a Convention case?

In order for a prospective adoptive parent to change a transition case to a Convention case, the application and petition process must be started anew.  Convention cases have different processing requirements, and an I-600A or I-600 cannot be converted into the form(s) that will be required for a Convention case.

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).

12.  I have already filed a form I-600, Petition to Classify an Orphan as an Immediate Relative.  Does the Hague Adoption Convention apply to my case? 

No.  If you filed the I-600 (Petition to Classify an Orphan as an Immediate Relative) before the date the Hague Adoption Convention enters into force with respect to the United States, then the Hague Adoption Convention and IAA do not apply to your case.

13. If the Hague Adoption Convention applies to my incoming case, what does that mean?
If the Convention applies to your incoming case, then your case must be processed in accordance with the IAA, and applicable regulations, including 22 CFR 96 and 22 CFR 42.  DHS will also issue a separate rule to cover Convention cases.

In general, this means that you will need to use an accredited or temporarily accredited agency or approved person to provide adoption services in connection with your case.  You and all accredited/approved adoption service providers must also follow new case-processing procedures being established for Convention cases.

14. What happens if the case involves a country that is not a Convention country?

If the child being adopted is from a non-Convention country, then the Convention does not apply to the case, and the adoption will be processed under existing U.S. immigration regulations for orphan adoptions.

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.

FAQs for Outgoing Cases (where children are emigrating from the United States)

16.  What about Hague Adoption Certificates (HACs) and Hague Custody Declarations (HCDs)?  Will HACs or HCDs be issued for transition or other pre-Convention cases?

A Hague document certifies or declares that the adoption or custody case has been processed from beginning to end in accordance with the Hague Convention.  HACs and HCDs, therefore, will be issued only in Convention cases.

Hague Implementation Unit

Central Authority for Hague Adoptions

U.S. Department of State

Washington DC