Supporting Statement Appendix Comment Summary

Supporting Statement Appendix A: Form I-600, I-600A, and Supplement to I-600/I-600A
Orphan Forms Extension Package

Responses to Comments Received After 60-Day Public Commenting Period

Topic	Commenter	USCIS Response
Fees	Jean Public	USCIS recently published a new fee rule that will increase the fee for filing Form I-600A and Form I-600 from $720 to $775.
Supporting documentation	Jean Public	Form I-600A applicants and Form I-600 petitioners are required to submit supporting documentation with their filings. Please see page 5 of the Form I-600A instructions and page 5 of the Form I-600 instructions.
U.S. citizenship	Jean Public	You must be a U.S. citizen to file Form I-600A to be found suitable and eligible to adopt an orphan and to file Form I-600 to have an orphan classified as your immediate relative.
Penalty of perjury	Jean Public	Applicants, petitioners, and their spouses (if married) are required to certify under penalty of perjury that the information in their applications, petitions, and supporting documents are complete, true, and correct, and that any copies submitted are unaltered.
Terrorist and violent activities	Jean Public	Though questions on terrorist and violent activities are not a part of the Form I-600 process, such questions are included on the “Security and Background Information” section of the Department of State DS-260 immigrant visa application.
Disability certification	Jean Public	USCIS is required by law to provide reasonable accommodations to persons with disabilities and/or impairments. Persons requesting a reasonable accommodation are not required to submit any kind of disability certification.
Affidavits of support	Jean Public	While an affidavit of support is not a part of the Form I-600 process, it is a part of the Department of State DS-260 immigrant visa application. Immigrant visa applicants must establish a child would not become a public charge once admitted to the U.S.
Applicant/petitioner and spouse certification	Jean Public	Applicants/petitioners and their spouses (if any) must each sign Form I-600A and Form I-600 under penalty of perjury. These certification sections are separate and must be original signatures, thus, no spouse can sign for the other.
Age of child	Jean Public	Specific age requirements apply and some children may not be eligible to be a beneficiary of a Form I-600. You must file Form I-600 before the child reaches 16. There are two narrow exceptions to this general rule that are addressed on page 2 of the Form I-600 instructions.
Title and function of orphan forms	Akntunde Adeyemi	Form I-600A is not the same as Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative. Form I-600A is used by a U.S. citizen prospective adoption parent to be found suitable and eligible to adopt an orphan. Form I-600 is the child-specific form that is used to determine whether a child meets the definition of an “orphan” at section 101(b)(1)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). If the child meets this definition, the child will become the parent’s immediate relative under U.S. immigration law. The parent is then able to apply with the Department of State to obtain an immigrant visa for the child.