Embassy of the United States Moscow, Russia

The USCIS Moscow Field Office is proud to play an important role in the inter-country adoption process.  In fiscal year 2009, Americans adopted 1,586 Russian children, making Russia the third most popular location for inter-country adoptions.

Prospective adoptive parents who wish to adopt an orphan from Russia may file the Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, with USCIS in Moscow.  Prospective adoptive parents who wish to adopt an orphan from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan may file the Form I-600 at the U.S. Embassy in the child’s country of residence. Though not required, most prospective adoptive parents file Form I-600A, Advanced Processing of an Orphan Petition, prior to locating a child they wish to adopt. For more information on the I-600A/I-600 process, please click here.

Please note carefully that although Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Moldova are within the jurisdiction of the USCIS Moscow Field Office, they have ratified the Hague Adoption Convention, which requires prospective adoptive parents to file Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, and Form I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative. U.S. citizens filing these forms must file in the United States. For more information on this process, please click here.

For adoption-related questions, you may contact the USCIS Moscow Field Office by email at Moscow.Adoptions@dhs.gov. Please allow two business days for a response.