Chinese adoption laws and procedures
The best sources of advice about the Chinese adoption process are the US adoption agencies experienced in handling these cases.
Initial referral
When submitting an application via the US adoption agency, all the required documents, authentications and translations must be included (see Chinese documentary requirements for full details). This is also the stage at which preferences, such as age, gender and health of the child, and reasons for these can be stated.
The adoption agency will forward the application to the CCAA in China, where it will be reviewed. You will be informed (either directly or through the adoption agency) if further information or additional documents are required. If your application is accepted, you will be matched to a child and sent a “referral”. This document contains information on the child and his/her background. You will then be able to ask request further information from the CCAA, either directly or through the adoption agency.
If you refuse the child, and the reasons for the refusal are accepted as reasonable, a second referral will usually be made within a month. Should the reasons be considered unreasonable, you will be “advised” by the Chinese authorities to withdraw your application.
If you accept the child, an approval notice will be sent by the CCAA and this must be taken when you travel to China to process your documents. On receipt of the approval notice, you or your partner must contact the Department of Homeland Security’s US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to acquire an I-600A form and begin the process of applying for clearance for your child to enter the US.
In China
The CCAA will have forwarded an adoption approval notice to the child’s local Civil Affairs Bureau by the time you arrive in the country, and you will be interviewed at this local office by a provincial notary. The Child Welfare Unit will usually send an interpreter to the meeting. You will be questioned about your family life and reasons for wanting to adopt a Chinese child. Documents are then notarized, as necessitated by the US Consulate in Guangzhou.
Chinese law states that all applicants must then be interviewed again in an adoption registry office. You may also be asked to write a testimonial of your reasons for wanting to adopt and your plans for the child. Occasionally, a local notary will conduct an interview, with similar questions to those asked at the Civil Affairs Bureau. It has been known for notaries to inform applicants at this stage that approval has already been granted by Beijing.
At this stage, you may wish to meet the child before the adoption is completed, and raise any questions you may have regarding the child’s health or background.
US law states that the child must be given a medical examination by a physician from the US Embassy or the Consulate General’s list of approved physicians. However, with no “guardianships” in Chinese law, it is unlikely you would be given permission to leave the city with the child to take him/her to a medical examination.
Once the interviews and medical examination have been carried out, you will be required to pay the Children’s Welfare Institute for the care the child has received. This is usually in the region of $3000-5000. An agreement between you and the Institute is then signed.
The adoption must be registered at the Civil Affairs Bureau before the notarial office will issue notarized certificates of adoption and birth, and either a statement of abandonment or death certificates for the child’s biological parents.
The adoption is now finalized and the child is officially your legal responsibility.
Emigration and immigration
The Child Welfare Institute will submit the application to the local Public Security Bureau for a passport and exit permit for the child. For a fee, this application process can be fast-tracked. These documents will need to be taken to the US immigrant visa interview in Guangzhou.
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