I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country
ALERT: On Jan. 30, 2024, USCIS announced a final rule, published in the Federal Register, that adjusts the fees required for most immigration applications and petitions. The new fees will be effective April 1, 2024.
Applications and petitions postmarked on or after April 1, 2024, must include the new fees or USCIS will not accept them.
What to Know About Sending Us Your Form
The new filing fee is effective for filings postmarked April 1, 2024, and later. If you are filing an acceptable prior form edition on or after April 1, 2024, you must include the new filing fee.
USCIS uses this form to adjudicate the eligibility and suitability of the applicant(s) who want to adopt a child who habitually resides in a Hague Adoption Convention country.
Form Details
Dates are listed in mm/dd/yy format.
If you complete and print this form to mail it, make sure that the form edition date and page numbers are visible at the bottom of all pages and that all pages are from the same form edition. If any of the form’s pages are missing or are from a different form edition, we may reject your form.
If you need help downloading and printing forms, read our instructions.
U.S. Postal Service (USPS):
USCIS
Adoption I-800A
P.O. Box 660087
Dallas, TX 75266-0087
FedEx, UPS, and DHL deliveries:
USCIS
Attn: Adoption I-800A (Box 660087)
2501 S. State Hwy. 121 Business
Suite 400
Lewisville, TX 75067-8003
An $85 fee for biometrics is required for the applicant and for a spouse, if any. Additionally, an $85 fee for biometrics is required for each person 18 years of age or older who is living with the applicant.
Form I-800A, Supplement 1 (Listing of Adult Member of the Household) must also be provided for each adult member of the household, excluding the applicant and applicant’s spouse.
$385 for Form I-800A, Supplement 3 (Request for Action on Approved Form I-800A), if applicable.
See the form instructions for additional details.
You may pay the fee with a money order, personal check, cashier’s check or pay by credit card using Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions. If you pay by check, you must make your check payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
When you send a payment, you agree to pay for a government service. Filing and biometric service fees are final and non-refundable, regardless of any action we take on your application, petition, or request, or if you withdraw your request.
Pay each filing fee separately. We are transitioning to electronically processing immigration benefit requests, which requires us to use multiple systems to process your package. Because of this, you must pay each filing fee separately for any form you submit. We may reject your entire package if you submit a single, combined payment for multiple forms.
Please do not submit this checklist with your Form I-800A. It is an optional tool to use as you prepare your form, but does not replace statutory, regulatory, and form instruction requirements. We recommend that you review these requirements before completing and submitting your form. Do not send original documents unless specifically requested in the form instructions or applicable regulations.
If you submit any documents (copies or original documents, if requested) in a foreign language, you must include a full English translation along with a certification from the translator verifying that the translation is complete and accurate, and that they are competent to translate from the foreign language to English.
Did you provide the following?
- Proof of your U.S. citizenship
- Proof of marriage of you and your spouse (if applicable)
- Proof you and your spouse terminated all prior marriages (if applicable)
- Proof of your spouse’s U.S. citizenship or lawful immigration status in the United States (if applicable)
- Proof of your spouse’s name, identity, and citizenship, if not a resident of the United States (if applicable)
- Home study
- Evidence you have complied with pre-adoption requirements in the state of the child’s proposed residence (if applicable)
Filing Tips for Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country
Complete all sections of the form. We will reject the form if these fields are missing:
- Part 1 – Information About You
- Family Name
- Home Address
Filing Tips: Go to our Tips for Filing Forms by Mail page for information on how to help ensure we will accept your application.
Don’t forget to sign your form. We will reject any unsigned form.
Our Suitability and Home Study Information page gives prospective adoptive parents and adoption service providers helpful information about home studies for Hague Convention adoptions.
You must complete Form I-800A, Supplement 1, Listing of Adult Member of the Household, for each adult member of your household. You do not need to complete one for yourself or your spouse (if married).
You may submit Form I-800A, Supplement 2, Consent to Disclose Information, if you want to allow us to disclose information about your case to your adoption service provider, home study preparer, or any other individual or entity (other than your attorney or accredited representative). We generally may not disclose information to other people, such as your adoption service provider, without your consent.
You must submit Form I-800A, Supplement 3, Request for Action on Approved Form I-800A, to request an extension, change of country, or other action after we have approved your Form I-800A and before you have filed your Form I-800. For more information about when you must notify us of significant changes, see our Updated Home Studies and Significant Changes page.
Please see our Instructions for Form I-800A page for more details.
E-Notification: If you want to receive an e-mail or text message confirming we have accepted your Form I-800A at a lockbox facility, download and complete Form G-1145, E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance, and clip it to the first page of your application package.
