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Adoption Appointment Confirmation Policy

The Adoption Unit at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China has been instructed by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of the Department of Homeland Security (formerly the INS) not to issue immigrant visas to any orphan whose adopting parents do not have a valid I-600a (Visas 37) and fingerprint check. All adopting parents have been advised not to travel overseas until they have confirmed the validity of their documents with their local BCIS office. However, some families have still been experiencing unexpected delays and expenses while waiting in China for valid I-600a (Visas 37) and updated fingerprint results.

In order to avoid such delays in China, effective immediately, adoption agencies must provide the expiration date of the I-600a (visas 37) and validity date of the fingerprint check before an interview appointment can be scheduled and confirmed with the Adoptions Unit. We will NOT confirm appointments until we have received valid I-600a (visas 37 cables) and fingerprint records.   While this may cause some delays to some parents who wish to make flight arrangements in advance, the Adoption Unit does not have the legal authority to issue a visa without CIS approval and feels that these documents should be in order before flight arrangements are made and families arrive in China. If the I-171H and fingerprint check has expired or will expire soon, we encourage families and agencies to contact the local CIS office to re-file an I-600a and have their fingerprints re-taken before sending us the appointment request.

The ACIVU respectfully requests all adoption agencies to pass this appointment policy to adoptive parents and adoption facilitators. Again, we sincerely regret any inconvenience or delay this new policy may cause, however this will minimize costly inconveniences and delays once families have arrived in China.

Please note that the wait time for appointments can be as long as three weeks so please plan accordingly.