While when most of us picture someone getting fingerprinted we picture a criminal of some sorts, all adoptive parents must also be fingerprinted during the adoption process, and sometimes they need to be fingerprinted two or more times. Here is some info on the when, where and why of fingerprinting and adoption.

For your homestudy - If you are adopting domestically, most states now require that you are fingerprinted locally to check for a criminal background, during your homestudy process. This is usually required before your homestudy can be officially approved, so you should try and get this done as soon as possible as not to slow down your process.

If you are adopting internationally, some states also require that you are fingerprinted before your homestudy can be approved. As most people know, families adopting internationally must be fingerprinted as a part of the USCIS I600A application (see my next post for more information and tips on that). Here is where things can get complicated.

Some states allow parents who are adopting internationally to have it stated in the homestudy that they are fulfilling fingerprint requirements by being fingerprinted by USCIS for their I600A (this is the easiest possibility).

Some states require that all adoptive parents are fingerprinted once during the homestudy process and then again for immigration purposes, no two ways around it.

And, even more complicated, some states seem like it is possible to only do fingerprints once, however some USCIS offices will not allow parents to be fingerprinted until a homestudy is completed, and some of the states will not allow a homestudy to be completed until the fingerprinting is done, and so those parents end up having to be fingerprinted twice to jump through all the hoops and meet everyone's requirements.

Since each state has their own requirements regarding fingerprints, and since each USCIS office can have their own requirements and procedures to some extent, it can be difficult to figure out just what you need to do and when you need to do it.

The best way to find out is to ask a reputable and experienced homestudy agency in your state. They should be able to tell you what is required on the state level for the homestudy and at what point your USCIS office will allow you to be fingerprinted. Be careful of asking for advice from other adoptive parents and other agencies if they are not in your state, and again, things vary greatly from state to state.

In my next post I will share information and tips on the fingerprinting involved with immigration and adoption and take a look at some of the complications that can arise.