I-800A Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country
The advance suitability determination for a Hague Convention adoption. USCIS reviews the home study, background checks, and the household before any child is identified. Approval is what allows the adoption to proceed under Convention rules.
- Fee
- $920, and $920 again if refiled after a change in marital status following approval; $0 if the change happens while it is pending. Supplement 3 extensions and Convention-country changes are $0 for the first and second and $455 for the third and later.
- Fee waiver
- Not available
- Who files
- U.S. citizens planning a Convention-country adoption.
- Where to file
- By mail to the USCIS National Benefits Center.
- Processing time
- 3.3 months (FY 2026 national median through June 30, 2026)
Usually filed with
Part of these processes
What changed in 2025 and 2026
- The suitability determination expires; Supplement 3 extends it, free for the first two extensions and $455 after that.
Official page. https://www.uscis.gov/i-800a. Download the form there, never from a third-party site; check the edition date and fee before filing.