timeframe for USCIS approval of us as eligible parents

I am not sure where on the site you read that, but that sounds excessive for even the slowest states. It is normally a few months. Could you post a link to where you read this? Would you be filing the I600A or I800A?

I just realized I was misunderstanding the wording here: [url=http://www.adoption.state.gov/about/who/eligibility.html]Eligibility to Adopt[/url] The 15 months is for how long the approval is valid! Thanks for making me go back to that!

Oh good! I was racking my brain to figure out what they could have been talking about. :) The 171H (approval) is good for 18 months and your fingerprints are good for 15 months for the 1600A. The approval for the I800A is good for 15 months. Each state USCIS office has table you can look at that shows processing times for each form. Just go to the USCIS site and follow the links. In general the dates tend to be notoriously inaccurate (usually they are faster than what is shown) but it is a starting point. Each office is different and they have their fast and slow points depending on workload and staffing. For example, in my state, Michigan, they have been known to get them out in as little as 6-8 weeks. But the average for the past 5 years has been more like 3 months. And they are one of the slower ones. I haven't been paying attention to processing times recently but there were offices that took under a month, at least for the I600A. Good luck!

I think that you misinterpreted what you read. Fingerprints submitted to the USCIS for an FBI records check are considered to "expire" after 15 months, and your 171-H/797-C approval of your I-600A will expire after 18 months. Therefore, once you have been approved, if your adoption isn't finalized within 15 months, you need to be reprinted and prepare for redoing your I-600A. Initial approval of an I-600A varies according to which office is doing your processing. Some offices are quick and some... well, they're just not. I'd say that 15 WEEKS might be a possibility for a few offices, though most probably process in 8-12 weeks and some may take only a month.

You can look up your field office's processing times here: [url]https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplay.do[/url]

Thanks... if I'm filing from abroad, though, which office/field would I use? Well, I'm sure my agency will tell me that when it's time. Thanks again.

I just did a search on there, and it seems that they're now processing I-600s from LAST JULY! Does that mean folks who requested this last summer still cannot be considered waiting families and cannot accept/receive referrals?!

Disregard my last note. I've been informed that they just changed to processing I600As at a central location. I heard of one that was processed recently in less than a month! There's some info here: [url=http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=2680dffc7aab7210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD]USCIS - USCIS Announces Revised Forms I-600 and I-600A[/url]

Keep in mind that those timetables are notoriously inaccurate. If you want up to date info. about processing times for a particular office I would post on one of the active international forums (Russia, Korea, China.) Also, remember it is the I600A that you are filing for your 171H. The I600 (without the A) is a different form. As far as the filing while abroad part, in the link MovingMama posted it talks about it. After Forms I-600 and I-600A are received at the USCIS Dallas Lockbox facility, they will be routed to and adjudicated at the USCIS National Benefits Center, in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

Prospective adoptive parents residing abroad can also file the Form I-600A or Form I-600 through the Dallas Lockbox facility.

Prospective adoptive parents residing abroad can also file the Form I-600A and Form I-600 as follows:

Form I-600A can still be filed at the overseas USCIS office having jurisdiction over the overseas place of residence.

Form I-600 can still be filed at the overseas U.S. Embassy, consulate or USCIS office having jurisdiction to accept the petition. However, in order to file a Form I-600 petition abroad, the petitioner must have an approved and valid Form I-600A and must be physically present at the time of filing in the adoptive child’s country.

Please contact the USCIS National Benefit Center at (877) 424-8374 or visit [url=http://www.uscis.gov]USCIS Home Page[/url] for more information on USCIS and its programs. I am curious if they are now issuing the 171H through Lee's Summit. That is the way it sounds. With the I800A the last I knew they were going through a central office but then it still went to the local field office for final processing. Which still left PAP's at the mercy of slow local offices. It would be really nice if they centralized the processing of both forms at an office dedicated to just processing them.

Thank you both!

We recently received our I171H approval. Everything was done through the central office in Lee's Summit and our I171H was also issued from there. From our discussions with an Immigration Officer at the Lee's Summit office, if your application was filed after April 1, 2010 then they will do the whole processing there and the local field offices will no longer be involved.