1-12-09 I-800 process for Colobmia
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Adoption Process After Referral Prior to Travel
As of April 2008 the United States began processing adoptions with Colombia as a Hague Convention country. Currently there are some families who will be processed under the I-600 and others under the I-800. Families who receive immigration approval under the I-800A form need to be aware of additional steps that need to take place in the US and Colombia prior to being able to travel to receive their child/children. Since the I-800 is a new process, time frames are still unknown though the family should plan that the process may take 2-3 months before they are allowed to travel to Colombia. A family may not travel to Colombia until visa clearance has been issued by the US Embassy in Colombia. If a family travels to Colombia prior to having visa clearance, they jeopardize their adoption.
Referral
When a family has received a referral, they will give their official acceptance of the referral by sending the Letter of Acceptance to Bethany’s International Office. This is to be done within two weeks of receiving the referral unless the child/children are older or special medical needs in which case ICBF allows additional time for acceptance or denial.
If the family is adopting an older child, the family should send pictures of themselves, their home and extended family. A video and a very small gift must also be sent to the child to be used in preparation of your arrival.
After the family accepts the referral presented, they will be invoiced for the translation of the referral documents (approximately $200-800 per child) and for translation of future post-adoption reports which is $160 per child.
I-800 Form and Visa Clearance process
1. I-800 Form. The family needs to complete the I-800 form with the National Benefit Center. This form can be completed only if the I-800A is valid. The I-800 form and instructions are found on the uscis.gov website. The family should review this form and begin completing the document after accepting the referral.
2. Referral documents. Translated referral documents are required for the I-800 form. Once the acceptance letter has been received, the referral documents will be translated by an official translator in Colombia. (The family will be invoiced for the translation and notarization once it has been completed.)
3. Documents to be issued by Bethany Christian Services. There are a couple of documents that BCSI may need to issue for the I-800 form.
4. Shipping referral documents. After translation of the referral documents is complete, they will be shipped via DHL to Bethany Christian Services International office. Once the translated referral documents are received in Grand Rapids, they will be reviewed and sent directly to the family along with any documents that need to be issued by BCSI.
5. Submission of I-800 to National Benefits Center. The family is responsible to submit/file the I-800 form and all supporting documents to the National Benefits Center at the address listed on the instructions. The National Benefits Center (NBC) will review the documents and either issue provisionary approval known as I-797C provisionary approval or request additional documentation in order to issue approval. (Some families have found it helpful to contact NBC to follow-up on the approval. This can be discussed with the social worker and International office.)
6. DS-230 Form. The DS-230 form is required at the US Embassy in Colombia in order to issue the visa clearance for the family. The family should complete this form while waiting for the I-797C provisionary approval from NBC. Once the form is completed it can be scanned and sent via e-mail or faxed to BCSI. We in turn will send this on to Isabel so that she can present it to the US Embassy in Colombia. There cannot be any scratch outs or writing over on the document. A separate DS-230 form must be completed for each child.
7. I-797C Provisionary Approval. Once NBC issues the I-797C provisionary approval, the family receives a copy as well as the agency and National Visa Center begins their process.
8. National Visa Center. The National Visa Center (NVC) is responsible to cable the visa to the US Embassy in Colombia. When the visa is cabled, it is sent via mail to the US Embassy and therefore can take several days to arrive and be acknowledged at the Embassy.
9. US Embassy in Colombia. Once the US Embassy in Colombia receives the cabled visa from NVC and receives the DS-230 form, the consular officer will review documents and issue Article 5 letter to request from ICBF confirmation that the child/children meet Hague qualifications for adoption. The representative in Colombia will be checking with the US Embassy to pick-up the visa clearance and Article 5 letter from the Embassy.
10. Travel preparations. The US Embassy will inform the family through an “Article 5” Letter/Letter of “No Objection” that the family has been given visa clearance to travel to Colombia. At this point ICBF or the adoption house will give the presentation date and the family will be informed to obtain their temporary special visa for adoptions (Visa TS) from the appropriate Colombia Consulate and make travel arrangements.
Bookmark :
Adoption Process After Referral Prior to Travel
As of April 2008 the United States began processing adoptions with Colombia as a Hague Convention country. Currently there are some families who will be processed under the I-600 and others under the I-800. Families who receive immigration approval under the I-800A form need to be aware of additional steps that need to take place in the US and Colombia prior to being able to travel to receive their child/children. Since the I-800 is a new process, time frames are still unknown though the family should plan that the process may take 2-3 months before they are allowed to travel to Colombia. A family may not travel to Colombia until visa clearance has been issued by the US Embassy in Colombia. If a family travels to Colombia prior to having visa clearance, they jeopardize their adoption.
Referral
When a family has received a referral, they will give their official acceptance of the referral by sending the Letter of Acceptance to Bethany’s International Office. This is to be done within two weeks of receiving the referral unless the child/children are older or special medical needs in which case ICBF allows additional time for acceptance or denial.
If the family is adopting an older child, the family should send pictures of themselves, their home and extended family. A video and a very small gift must also be sent to the child to be used in preparation of your arrival.
After the family accepts the referral presented, they will be invoiced for the translation of the referral documents (approximately $200-800 per child) and for translation of future post-adoption reports which is $160 per child.
I-800 Form and Visa Clearance process
1. I-800 Form. The family needs to complete the I-800 form with the National Benefit Center. This form can be completed only if the I-800A is valid. The I-800 form and instructions are found on the uscis.gov website. The family should review this form and begin completing the document after accepting the referral.
2. Referral documents. Translated referral documents are required for the I-800 form. Once the acceptance letter has been received, the referral documents will be translated by an official translator in Colombia. (The family will be invoiced for the translation and notarization once it has been completed.)
3. Documents to be issued by Bethany Christian Services. There are a couple of documents that BCSI may need to issue for the I-800 form.
4. Shipping referral documents. After translation of the referral documents is complete, they will be shipped via DHL to Bethany Christian Services International office. Once the translated referral documents are received in Grand Rapids, they will be reviewed and sent directly to the family along with any documents that need to be issued by BCSI.
5. Submission of I-800 to National Benefits Center. The family is responsible to submit/file the I-800 form and all supporting documents to the National Benefits Center at the address listed on the instructions. The National Benefits Center (NBC) will review the documents and either issue provisionary approval known as I-797C provisionary approval or request additional documentation in order to issue approval. (Some families have found it helpful to contact NBC to follow-up on the approval. This can be discussed with the social worker and International office.)
6. DS-230 Form. The DS-230 form is required at the US Embassy in Colombia in order to issue the visa clearance for the family. The family should complete this form while waiting for the I-797C provisionary approval from NBC. Once the form is completed it can be scanned and sent via e-mail or faxed to BCSI. We in turn will send this on to Isabel so that she can present it to the US Embassy in Colombia. There cannot be any scratch outs or writing over on the document. A separate DS-230 form must be completed for each child.
7. I-797C Provisionary Approval. Once NBC issues the I-797C provisionary approval, the family receives a copy as well as the agency and National Visa Center begins their process.
8. National Visa Center. The National Visa Center (NVC) is responsible to cable the visa to the US Embassy in Colombia. When the visa is cabled, it is sent via mail to the US Embassy and therefore can take several days to arrive and be acknowledged at the Embassy.
9. US Embassy in Colombia. Once the US Embassy in Colombia receives the cabled visa from NVC and receives the DS-230 form, the consular officer will review documents and issue Article 5 letter to request from ICBF confirmation that the child/children meet Hague qualifications for adoption. The representative in Colombia will be checking with the US Embassy to pick-up the visa clearance and Article 5 letter from the Embassy.
10. Travel preparations. The US Embassy will inform the family through an “Article 5” Letter/Letter of “No Objection” that the family has been given visa clearance to travel to Colombia. At this point ICBF or the adoption house will give the presentation date and the family will be informed to obtain their temporary special visa for adoptions (Visa TS) from the appropriate Colombia Consulate and make travel arrangements.
