The Final Process: The I-600 File Process / Appointment in PAP

The below is an account of every step and detail provided by a parent. It describes what it was like to file her I-600 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti a couple of weeks prior to taking her son home.

The term “appointment” is a loose one. Your “appointment” is actually just a day where they put your name down somewhere at the Consulates office…. No particular time. At any given point during that day, you will then pile into a car or taptap (because I’m sure their will more than one of you) with your child in lap (No car seats or seat belts here!) After several hundred pot holes, crazy drivers, horns honking, sales people coming up to the car, sweating about 3 pints, wishing you had some pepto with you, and about 30-60 minutes later, you will arrive in a place that looks no different than any other. The building is actually labeled with a sign of "Haiti Air Travel." Go figure. However, I don’t know of a travel agency with two armed guards, and a metal gate… They will confiscate your camera(s), and point you in a room that is similar to heaven at this point. It has A/C! WOO HOO! But that’s where the heaven stops.

There was a TV BLARING some kind of Soap Opera where nudity, full blown sex scenes, and showing people’s heads getting shot off was considered cool…. The walls were solid white, as were the 12x12 tiled floors. For your seating comfort there were about 50 chairs that looked like they had just been taken out of a classroom. Every sound you or your child makes will be heard by everyone in the room.

If you have to use the restroom, there is one. However, the local roaches that have taken up residence in there recommend that you hold it if at all possible.

Once your name or your group is called a few hours later, you will be taken upstairs to a small outdoor alcove with a few chairs. Each adopting family will be called separately into another room that contains no windows, fans, or air conditioning. There are two service windows in this new, smaller, hot room… They are very similar to the service window you may find at the power company, or maybe at a movie theater ticket booth. If you are one of the lucky families, you will be in and out of this room within ten minutes. You will be asked the same questions you have already filled out on the I-600 and the I-600A, but just to verify it…. Are you still married? Are you still single? Do you still live at [this] address? Do you still work at [this place]? Have you lost or gained any new children? Please sign your I-600 now. Thank you very much. Have a nice day.

Seriously! That’s all there is to it!

If the birth parents came with you to the appointment, they will then be interviewed as well. I have no idea what they are asked, but their questioning process is about twice as long. If the birth parents were not able to make it to that appointment, your adoption facilitator will bring them down at another time. IF – and I do mean IF – they seem to have a question on whether or not B-Mom/Dad is IN FACT the B-Mom/Dad of the child, they’ll request to see pictures of the mother/father with the child between the ages of 0-3 months (maybe later). They really do appear to go out of their way to try verifying the parents BEFORE requesting DNA.

After the interviews are done, the I-600 Processing Office (aka Consular) has 3-5 days to get the appropriate approvals prior to sending it to the Visa office at the Embassy for Visa Processing.

Quick Checklist of Items to Bring:
(Pack for a day trip!)

Diaper Bag full of snacks, toys, kleenex, baby wipes (multiple reasons) and diapers, too.
Water bottle for you.
Water bottle for your child(ren)
Sweat Rag
I-600 filled out to the best of your ability (Do NOT sign it!!)
Additional blank I-600 forms - just in case.
I-171 or I-797 – whichever you received.
Passport (Just in case ID is needed)

FYI:

If you’re doing the I-600 stuff there then the Visa stuff will also have to be done by you. The Visa can not be done without all of the I-600 stuff sent and sitting on the desk of the people at the embassy.