Today we were notified that our paperwork was submitted to the U.S. government to begin the PAIR process! I know those words make no sense...but below is a rundown of the process we have to get through in order to bring our girl home. About one paragraph in you will see why this process takes so long. You can go ahead and skip to the last sentence to answer your next question :)
PAIR (Pre-Adoption Immigration Review) Process Timeline
On average we see that it takes about 4-5 months after referral to submit a family to PAIR. This timeline can vary a lot depending on your child’s case, the documents needed, and region they are from.
Once submitted, NBC (National Benefits Center) will examine the I-600 and either issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) or pass your case on to the Embassy to continue in the approval process. If an RFE is issued, AW will work with families to gather the additional information needed in order to meet NBC’s request. NBC’s review of your I-600 can take roughly 4-6 weeks to complete. Families who receive an RFE from NBC will likely experience a longer timeframe. Once NBC’s review is done, they will prompt the US Embassy in Ethiopia will complete an I-604 investigation. This may include a birth relative or finder interview and/or request for additional information. The I-604 investigation can take roughly 5-7 weeks to complete. Families who receive a request for more information will likely experience a longer timeframe. USCIS will complete a final review of the I-604 investigation and if favorable, will issue the Pre-Adoption Immigration Review (PAIR) letter.
After the PAIR letter and other necessary approvals are received, the Travel Department will move forward with requesting a court date. The paperwork needed to secure a court date and the timeframe to acquire the paperwork are unique for each adoption, resulting in court dates not always falling within chronological order of families receiving a referral. These factors, along with the court’s appointment availability, will affect the timing for your specific court date.
Court and Embassy Timeline
The MOWCYA (Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs)/birth parent court date can occur while your PAIR process is ongoing. Your family will not travel to this court date. This is the court date where a birth relative/finder will be interviewed by court and the MOWCYA recommendation letter is supposed to be written. Unfortunately, not all families have a MOWCYA letter written by their initial court date, and this letter must be written before a family can travel for their own court date. Once the MOWCYA recommendation letter is received by the court and you receive your PAIR approval letter, your family will receive a court date within a few days, and will travel for your court appointment within roughly 1-2 weeks.
Once your family successfully passes court, it typically takes 3-5 weeks to process post-court paperwork. This is the paper-work that will eventually be submitted to the Embassy in order for your child(ren) to receive his/her/their visa. Please keep in mind that each case is unique. Once the completed paperwork is submitted, the Embassy reviews your paperwork to ensure the post-court paperwork matches the documentation submitted with the I-600. This review process will take roughly a week to complete.
Once AW receives approval from the Embassy regarding your family’s case, we can move forward to plan your second trip to Ethiopia. This trip will be roughly 4-6 weeks after your first trip.
It is difficult to give an expected timeframe for the court and embassy process, as each family's process varies.
We anticipate families will be home with their children within 4-6 months of PAIR submission.
Six months might still seem like a long time...but as a frame of reference, in 6 months we will also mark 6 years since we began this process. So, 6 months? A blink of an eye.
PAIR (Pre-Adoption Immigration Review) Process Timeline
On average we see that it takes about 4-5 months after referral to submit a family to PAIR. This timeline can vary a lot depending on your child’s case, the documents needed, and region they are from.
Once submitted, NBC (National Benefits Center) will examine the I-600 and either issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) or pass your case on to the Embassy to continue in the approval process. If an RFE is issued, AW will work with families to gather the additional information needed in order to meet NBC’s request. NBC’s review of your I-600 can take roughly 4-6 weeks to complete. Families who receive an RFE from NBC will likely experience a longer timeframe. Once NBC’s review is done, they will prompt the US Embassy in Ethiopia will complete an I-604 investigation. This may include a birth relative or finder interview and/or request for additional information. The I-604 investigation can take roughly 5-7 weeks to complete. Families who receive a request for more information will likely experience a longer timeframe. USCIS will complete a final review of the I-604 investigation and if favorable, will issue the Pre-Adoption Immigration Review (PAIR) letter.
After the PAIR letter and other necessary approvals are received, the Travel Department will move forward with requesting a court date. The paperwork needed to secure a court date and the timeframe to acquire the paperwork are unique for each adoption, resulting in court dates not always falling within chronological order of families receiving a referral. These factors, along with the court’s appointment availability, will affect the timing for your specific court date.
Court and Embassy Timeline
The MOWCYA (Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs)/birth parent court date can occur while your PAIR process is ongoing. Your family will not travel to this court date. This is the court date where a birth relative/finder will be interviewed by court and the MOWCYA recommendation letter is supposed to be written. Unfortunately, not all families have a MOWCYA letter written by their initial court date, and this letter must be written before a family can travel for their own court date. Once the MOWCYA recommendation letter is received by the court and you receive your PAIR approval letter, your family will receive a court date within a few days, and will travel for your court appointment within roughly 1-2 weeks.
Once your family successfully passes court, it typically takes 3-5 weeks to process post-court paperwork. This is the paper-work that will eventually be submitted to the Embassy in order for your child(ren) to receive his/her/their visa. Please keep in mind that each case is unique. Once the completed paperwork is submitted, the Embassy reviews your paperwork to ensure the post-court paperwork matches the documentation submitted with the I-600. This review process will take roughly a week to complete.
Once AW receives approval from the Embassy regarding your family’s case, we can move forward to plan your second trip to Ethiopia. This trip will be roughly 4-6 weeks after your first trip.
It is difficult to give an expected timeframe for the court and embassy process, as each family's process varies.
We anticipate families will be home with their children within 4-6 months of PAIR submission.
Six months might still seem like a long time...but as a frame of reference, in 6 months we will also mark 6 years since we began this process. So, 6 months? A blink of an eye.