Search

The U.S. Department of state released the following information pertaining to non-hogar Guatemalan Inter-country adoptions:

On March 30, 2009, USCIS assumed responsibility from the DOS for adjudicating any Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, filed within the Russian Federation, this release provides responses to commonly asked questions on the issue.

On September 29, 2009, the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of Children's Issues issued an alert informing that: The  China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) has announced that all prospective adoptive families will be required to work with a U.S. Hague accredited adoption service provider for both transition cases and Convention cases beginning December 1, 2009.  This will require all families to work with an agency that is both U.S.

Notice for Guatemala “hogar” adoption cases

On September 17, 2009, the State Department Issued an Alert informing of the suspension of adoptions in Sierra Leone. The Government of Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs suspended adoptions on May 29, 2009 due to concerns on the legality of adoptions and the welfare of adoptees.&

The U.S. Department of State is cautioning American citizens against filing an application to adopt a child from Liberia while the moratorium on adoption remains in effect. The U.S. Embassy remains in frequent contact with adoption officials, but there is no indication when the moratorium might be lifted.

On September 30, 2009 the U.S. State Department issued an Adoption notice informing the following: Kenya is party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention).  As such, all adoptions between Kenya and the United States initiated after April 1, 2008, must meet the requirements of both the Convention and U.S.

On September 29, 2009, the U.S.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that filing location of forms relating to the adoption of a foreign child under the Hague Adoption Convention has changed.  Beginning today, U.S.

USCIS updated the following forms:

Form I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status

01/20/2025 04:15 PM EST

Edition Date: 01/20/25. As of March 3, 2025, the currently effective version is the 01/20/25 edition. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.

Form I-485 Supplement J, Confirmation of Valid Job Offer or Request for Job Portability Under INA Section 204(j)

01/20/2025 10:54 AM EST

USCIS recently updated the following forms:

Form N-400, Application for Naturalization

03/04/2025 11:37 AM EST

Edition Date: 03/04/25. Starting 4/4/25, USCIS will only accept the 01/20/25 edition. Until then, you can also use the prior edition(s).

Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records

03/04/2025 11:37 AM EST

Agency successfully meets 60-day implementation date

USCIS recently updated the following form(s):

Form I-485 Supplement J, Confirmation of Bona Fide Job Offer or Request for Job Portability Under INA Section 204(j)

12/23/2022 11:45 PM EST

Edition Date: 12/23/22. If you file Form I-485 Supplement J on or after Dec. 23, 2022, you must use the 12/23/22 edition or USCIS will reject your filing. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.

On December 9, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Help Haitian Adoptees Immediately to Integrate Act of 2010 (Help HAITI Act of 2010). This new law will make it possible for certain Haitian orphans paroled into the United States to become lawful permanent residents (LPR) of the United States and get green cards. Applications to get a green card under this law may be filed at any time on or before December 9, 2013.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that it has published new versions of the Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, Form I-600 and the Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, Form I-600A .  The new date on the bottom of both forms is “12/30/09 N.” Due to the changes on the forms, previous versions will no longer be accepted after a 60 day transition period. 

The Department's Office of Foreign Labor Certification has established a mailbox for questions regarding LCA policies.  Those seeking policy guidance should submit a question to LCA.Regulation@dol.gov. Questions will be answered in the form of FAQs. The interested public should continue to direct all general inquiries regarding the H-1B program to the Chicago National Processing Center at LCA.Chicago@dol.gov.

CIS Ombudsman recommends USCIS to strengthen the Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJ) program by standardizing practices, stop RFEs on state court determinations of dependency, and issue guidance regarding adequate evidence.

Please check the attachment to see the CIS Ombudsman Recommendation.

Release Date 

04/21/2023

Effective immediately, USCIS is updating Volumes 5 and 12 of the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify how U.S. citizenship and naturalization provisions apply to adopted children.

This policy manual update consolidates and clarifies existing information in Volume 5 and supplements policy in Volume 12 of the Policy Manual on citizenship and naturalization. The updated guidance: