I-600 Visa Petition Law and Legal Definition
I-600 Visa Petition (“Petition”) is a form filed to classify an alien orphan as an immediate relative of the U.S. citizen who either has, or will be adopting the orphan. The Petition is filed with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office having jurisdiction over the applicant’s place of residence.
The Petition can be filed by a married U.S. citizen and spouse who are adopting the child. The spouse need not be a U.S. citizen but must possess a lawful immigration status. Both the husband and wife must sign the Petition. The Petition can also be filed by an unmarried U.S. citizen who is at least 25 years old, or will be 25 years old at the time of adoption.
The Petition must be filed before the child is 16 years old. However, if the orphan is the birth sibling of another foreign national child who was immigrated or will immigrate based on adoption by the same adoptive parents, the Petition may be filed after the orphan has attained 16 years, but before s/he reaches 18. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services require that a home study should accompany the Petition, if it was not filed with the Form I-600 A.
The filing fee of the petition comes up to $670. A biometrics fee must be paid for each person 18 years old or above who is living with the applicant. The fee is $80 per person. However, a fee need not be paid if the Petition is filed based on an approved I-600A filed within the previous 18 months. Only one set of petition and fingerprinting fees is required if more than one petition is submitted by the same petitioner for orphans who are siblings. If the orphans are not siblings, the filing and biometrics fees must be included for each petition.
