This also includes an FBI criminal background check. The adoptive parents may then file the I-600 petition with the local INS office in the United States, or overseas with the INS, or with the U.S. consular office abroad. Although only one parent must be present to file the I-600 petition overseas, that parent must be a U.S. citizen. This second signature cannot be done by power of attorney. The petition also must be completely filled out before either parent signs.
Parents can, however, use express mail service to obtain the other signature.
Although the process of adopting a child differs from one country to another, most governments require that a child placed for adoption be legally recognized as an orphan. In cases where a parent is living, the American government and typically the foreign government requires that the child has been legally and irrevocably released for adoption consistent with the law in that country. Most countries require the full adoption of the child in through the court system in that country after the child has been declared an orphan or released by the living parent. A few countries do allow adoptive parents to adopt through a third party without actually traveling to that country. This is because the standards in our law may be different than the ones used by the foreign government.