The purpose of Form I-600 is to classify an orphan who has habitually lived in a non-Hague Convention county, and who either is, or will be adopted by a United Sates citizen as an immediate relative of the United States citizen. Form I-600 is used in order to allow the child to enter the United Sates. The Form I-600 petition must be filed by the person who is adopting the child.

Pursuant to Form I-600 an orphan is an alien child who has no parents because of death or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, or separation or loss from both parents. Under Form I-600 an orphan may also be an alien child who has only parent, who is not capable of taking care of the child, and who has irrevocably released the child for emigration and adoption in writing. A petition to classify an alien child as an orphan may not be filed on behalf of the child in the United States, unless the child is in parole status and has not been adopted in the United Sates.

The Form I-600 petitioner must provide evidence that he or she is a United States citizen, proof of marriage of petitioner and spouse, proof of age of the orphan, copies of death certificates of the child's biological parents where applicable; a certified copy of the adoption decree if the child has been adopted abroad, and evidence that the child is an orphan as defined in Form I-600.