Mailing Addresses
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS, formerly INS)
All cases, including I-600A and I-600 applications, as well as I-800A and I-800 for Hague cases, will now be processed through the National Benefits Center (NBC). Cases will no longer be processed at local Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) offices. All cases that were in process with the local CIS offices have been transferred to the NBC in Missouri.
CIS is a busy federal bureaucracy but adoptions receive special attention. You can actually reach a person by phone by calling the NBC at 877 424 8374 or 816 251 2770. Their fax number is 816 251 2799 and the Email for non-Hague cases is NBC.Adoptions@DHS.gov and for Hague cases it is NBC.Hague@DHS.gov.
New cases or actions involving a fee must first go to Texas. Requests for extensions or actions on existing cases that do NOT involve a fee must be RECEIVED at the NBC in Missouri before expiration of the current approval.
ATWA cannot guarantee that CIS will act within any particular time frame or that they will ultimately approve your application.
In order to adopt abroad, single applicants must be U.S. citizens at least 25 years of age. For married applicants, there is no minimum age and only one spouse must be a U.S. citizen (the other spouse may be a legal resident).
After the NBC receives your application and home study you will then receive an appointment letter for fingerprint processing which should be undertaken immediately. It may take CIS 2-3 months to review the file and issue their decision.