USCIS Unable to Approve Cambodian Adoption Petitions

The Cambodian government has indicated that it intends to begin accepting intercountry adoption petitions on Jan. 1, 2013. Cambodia joined the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Hague Adoption Convention) on Aug. 1, 2007.

However, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) has determined that Cambodia does not have a fully functional Hague Adoption Convention process. Accordingly, DOS consular officers still cannot certify that adoption decrees or custody orders obtained in Cambodia for children who habitually reside there were issued in compliance with the Hague Adoption Convention.

Without this certification, USCIS cannot approve a Form I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative. 

Because U.S. prospective adoptive parents cannot complete the immigration process for an adopted child from Cambodia, USCIS advises these parents:

               Not to file any Form I-800 to adopt a child from Cambodia, as the USCIS National Benefits Center will reject these petitions; and

               Not to file Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, identifying Cambodia as the country from which they intend to adopt.

USCIS will promptly advise the public when DOS determines that Cambodia has a fully functional Hague Adoption Convention system. If DOS makes this determination, USCIS will begin processing Forms I-800 for adoptions from Cambodia.

The United States suspended orphan visa petition processing in Cambodia on Dec. 21, 2001, due to the inability to verify that any particular Cambodian child is an orphan as defined in U.S. immigration law. This suspension remains in effect for any Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, filed before April 1, 2008.

USCIS Announces Adoption Policy for Hague Transition Cases Grandfathered Form I-600A Affected

USCIS Announces Adoption Policy for Hague Transition Cases
Grandfathered Form I-600A Affected

WASHINGTON –U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that prospective adoptive parents already in the process of adopting a child from a country that has implemented the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) who filed a Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, prior to April 1, 2008, and who have received the one time no-charge extension, may file one additional Form I-600A, and continue to proceed with their intercountry adoption through the “orphan” process. The new Form I-600A must be filed before the current approval expires, and only if the prospective adoptive parents have not yet filed the corresponding Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative.



U.S. law and regulations allow individuals who began the intercountry adoption process by filing Form I-600A or Form I-600, before April 1, 2008, to continue using these pre-Hague Adoption Convention forms and procedures even if they are adopting a child from a Hague Adoption Convention country. However, depending on the time that it takes prospective adoptive parents to be matched with a child and file Form I-600, the approval of the I-600A might expire before the prospective adoptive parents are able to file Form I-600. By allowing the filing of one new Form I-600A prior to the expiration of the current approved Form I-600A, USCIS is allowing prospective adoptive parents who have been grandfathered into the pre-Hague Adoption Convention process to continue to proceed under this “orphan” process, provided the child’s home country agrees.



If the Form I-600A is no longer valid, prospective adoptive parents must file a Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, with a home study which meets all of the requirements for a Hague Adoption Convention home study. Once a Form I-800A is approved, the Form I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative may be filed on behalf of the prospective adoptive child.