In my last post I wrote about fingerprinting as a part of the homestudy process, which is required for some adoptive families, but not for all.

Today I am going to write about fingerprinting as a part of the immigration process, which is required for all families adopting internationally (from the United States).

Most families adopting internationally will be fingerprinted as a part of the I600A application. The I600A, of the Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, is usually filed by the adoptive parent early in the adoption process, typically while the homestudy is being completed or immediately after the homestudy is completed.

Once the adoptive parents send in the application, the supporting documents, the $670 fee and the $80 per person over the age of 18 living in the home fingerprinting fee, they will receive notice that they can go and be fingerprinted.

Being fingerprinted by USCIS allows them to do a FBI background check, and this is one tool that USCIS uses to evaluate applicants' suitability to be adoptive parents.

The fee is $80 per person, which you must add to your check or money order of $670. Remember that if you have any children that are 18 or older living in your home or any other relatives, they must also be fingerprinted and you must include $80 for those fingerprints. A family with two adoptive parents and no older children or people living in the home would need to submit $830 with their I600A application.

When you receive the notice from USCIS telling you that you can now be fingerprinted (do not try to go until you get that notice, as they will not fingerprint you without that notice), it will either give you an appointment time and location, or it will say you can go at your convenience and list several options.

Typically, if you live more than an hour or two away from an USCIS field office or application support center, they will tell you to go at your convenience.

We always get the letter stating that we can go at our convenience and be fingerprinted, and then they list three application support centers that are more than six hours away from us (not convenient at all actually). We have called the USCIS information number several times during all of our different adoptions, and each time we were told we can use any application support center that we want, as the fingerprints go into a database that all field offices can access.

Since we have one less than two hours from our home, we have used that one, instead of driving over six hours to one of the ones listed on our form.

If you need help locating your closest application support center, you can use this page to find it.

Here is some information for U.S. adoptive parents who live abroad (from the USCIS website):

Prospective adoptive parents residing abroad (and adult members of the household) must have their fingerprint cards prepared by USCIS, by a United States consular officer at a United States Embassy or consulate abroad, or at a United States military installation abroad. While those prospective adoptive parents will not be charged the $70 fingerprinting fee, State Department consular officers and United States military offices are authorized to charge a fee for this service. These completed fingerprint cards must be submitted with the Orphan Petition or Advance Processing Application.

I will have more tips and info on fingerprints in my next post.