October 27, 08

NEWS / Notice on Requirement for valid fingerprints

Dear Members of the American Adoption Community Interested in Ukraine:

Families adopting from Ukraine are advised that an I-600 petition filed at an overseas post after an adoption has been completed abroad can be approved and an immigrant visa issued for the child only if the petitioners (and all other adult members of the household) have unexpired FBI fingerprint results. Even though your I-600A approval is valid for 18 months, the FBI clearance is valid for only 15 months and must be resubmitted for clearance after that period.

Please make sure before traveling to Ukraine to adopt that your fingerprint results are still valid and will not expire before you come to file an I-600 petition and apply for a visa at our office. If your fingerprints are about to expire, please submit a new set to USCIS for clearance before leaving the U.S. If your fingerprints are not valid when you come to apply for the immigrant visa for your adopted child in Kyiv, we will have to take them here and send them through the State Department to the FBI for check. This process cannot be expedited and currently takes from seven to ten business days or longer.

http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/intercountry/intercountry_4375.html