USCIS Drama

Well, as I sure my fellow adopters have heard by now, USCIS is allowing people who filed an I600A and have a current I171H to file (for a fee) another I600A when their free renewal is about to expire. Got the following info from our agency today:



Q: My/our initial I-600A approval or extension is still valid, how does this new USCIS announcement impact my/our case with immigration?
A: This new USCIS announcement speaks directly to those families who will receive or have already received the one time USCIS fee free extension. As of TODAY, October 14, 2008, you will be able to submit a new I-600A prior to the expiration of your current I-171H/I-797C. A new I-171H/I-797C approval will be issued and you will have the ability to file for one more extension then if necessary. If your immigration paperwork is nearing expiration, please contact your home study agency as soon as possible to initiate the process.

Q: My/our I-171H/I-797C has expired. What does this news mean for my/our case?
A: At this time, USCIS is not allowing a family with expired I-171H/I-797C to file a new I-600A. You will ultimately need to file an I-800A with immigration to receive your approval prior to being matched. We will continue to work with you as to when to file the I-800A.

Q: I/we have already filed the I-800A or am/are preparing to start my/our I-800A filing. How does this affect me/us?
A: You will need to continue to file the I-800A if you do not have valid I-171H/I-797C immigration approval. We are watching timelines and continue to advise you on filing the I-800A.

When we first were reminded by our agency that our I171H was going to expire, they offered us 2 choices, go for the free renewal using the I600A or let the I171H expire and renew using the I800A when we are closer to be matched. The reasoning behind letting it expire was that the free renewal was only good for 18 months and chances are we will not have a referral in 18 months at which time we'd have to re-file and pay all the fees associated with the I800A as well as the 10 hours (I believe) of parent training. This sounded reasonable at the time. First, in order to do the free renewal, we'd need a homestudy update and our social worker changed homestudy agencies and we'd have to go through them and do more paperwork/approvals etc. We figured if we have to go through that just to have to do the I800A anyway in another 18 months, we might as well just save the money and wait till we get closer to referral and do it then. Plus, I looked at the application and spoke to our agency and social worker and the I800 didn't seem so impossible. Made sense to us at the time.

Then the drama started. Probably a couple of weeks before our I171H was to expire (too late to do anything about that). Started reading all over the boards and groups about how families might be denied the I800A because they don't meet China's May 1 restrictions even though they were "grandfathered" in with China. Well, talk about stressing! BUT, after talking with our agency yet again, twice and reading a few more things, our agency very clearly stated that the USCIS approval and China's restrictions are two entirely different things. Now, to clarify there is a section in the I800A that states that you have to put that you meet the country's requirements to adopt from that country and I guess that is what was freaking people out, because you figure if you file the I800A after May 1st 2007 (obviously) then you don't meet China's requirements (assuming you rushed to meet the May 1st deadline and were grandfathered in like us). Well, again our agency, unworried, told us that when the time comes they will tell the social worker how to word that, stating something like at the time our dossier was logged in with China and was accepted we met the requirements to adopt from China and that's all there is to it. (I'm sure they would word it better..). I believe our agency. I'm a lot less worried about it than I was before.. because if you think about it, how many March/April 2007 LID'ers would be denied when it would be time to file an I800A if people started putting that they don't CURRENTLY meet the restrictions?? MANY! When the fact is, the dossier was already "accepted" by China prior to May 1st 2007 and that hasn't changed.

We even called USCIS who told us they knew about no pending decision to allow people to keep filing an I600A and that if we were not going to be travelling in the next 18 months then we would have to file the I800A eventually. Well, what do you know. Now you can keep filing an I600A IF you didn't already let the paperwork expire. Thanks USCIS. A little late though.

I'm not going to worry about it now anyway. Well, I'll worry a little because that's what I do. But I trust our agency and what they said makes perfect sense about USCIS having nothing to do with China's restrictions because we are already logged in with China, already grandfathered in with China. It will be a pain to do the I800A though as the homestudy will have to be worded in a certain way and I hear it is many more pages and with many more details and clearances, but that part I am not worried about. Also I think it takes much longer to process the I800A.

I can't really second guess at this point the decision to let our paperwork expire. It was the right decision for us at the time (when there was no chance for continuing the I600A). I've read about other people letting theirs expire too so we are not the only ones out there.

At least we know we are still in line to adopt from China and that's all that really matters.

Now if another road block comes up in a couple of years when we go to do the I800A.. well then I am going to be one very unhappy camper. I can't even imagine coming this far, being approved for everything (assuming we get through the Review Room), then being rejected years later due to a paperwork technicality. That would be a cruel cruel joke. It really shouldn't be this difficult to adopt.

Vent over. (I think that's all I do on this blog anymore.. sigh)

ADDED: This is the exact wording from my agency, which when read makes me feel so much better!
The NBC also confirmed families who file the I-800A application will be reviewed under the United States immigrationlaws, and guidelines set forth by China will not be considered. In other words, the review process of your immigrationapplication by US immigration personnel is independent from the review process of your dossier by CCAA authorities.Your dossier will be reviewed by the CCAA according to the guidelines that existed at the time your dossier was logged in.