Older Child Adoption

Chinese adoption law underwent a revision in 1999, however, the core provisions remained the same. The major feature of Chinese adoption law is that the CCAA gives priority to childless families and next to those having 1-2 chilprocessing by applying to adopt a special needs child or an older child above 6. Another change added a new medical requirement for all adopters. Adopters must also “not suffer from diseases considered medically unfit for adopting children.” A new medical form was also required.

Adoptions no longer need to be notarized in China, although the Notary Department is required to do so if any of the parties request it. It may be better to go ahead and do it as notarization has a legal effect not unlike an administrative court order here in the U.S. Since mandatory notarization has been eliminated, the effective date of the adoption is now the day of registration of the contract. orphaned (parents deceased) or abandoned or whose parents are unable to adoption.

Independent adoption is not allowed in China so U.S. couples must work then sends them on to the CCAA in Beijing for processing. It is easier for the agency and for CCAA to track the dossiers if they arrive in a group. In addition, this reduces the travel costs since one guide/translator can work with multiple families, which allows the costs for guide services to be shared among the group rather than being paid by just one family. Some agencies do not group families either for sending dossiers or for travel. This speeds up the process a little, but means increased travel costs and requires the family to travel by themselves to China.

Once the CCAA has your dossier you must wait, and wait some more. Generally only one child can be adopted at any one time. There have been rare cases of twins or siblings being adopted simultaneously, but that is extremely rare.

In Beijing, the dossiers are entered into the registry and then translated or the translation done in the U.S. is checked. The documents are checked that all of the legal requirements have been met. At the same time, the Children’s Welfare Institutes (orphanages or children’s homes) in various provinces have assembled a dossier on each child available for international adoption that includes a photo and medical report. These are also sent to CCAA in Beijing. Finally, the two sets of dossiers come together and a child is matched up with a family. The referral package, including a medical report and a very small photo, is sent back to the adoption agency in the U.S., which passes it along to the family. There is no video of the child. The family either accepts the referral or not. After some more waiting the CCAA sends a permission to travel document back to the adoption agency and you are on your way.

The CCAA will expedite dossier processing if you fall into one of the following categories: 1) adoption of medical special needs children; 2) adoption parents between 46-55 years old; 4) adoptions where one or more parents are Chinese or of Chinese ancestry; and 5) adoption by people who have been liv

After your acceptance of the referral is logged in by the CCAA, the CCAA notifies the orphanage and the province officials that a family has been identified for the specific child. The officials will notify the CCAA that the child is still available for adoption. All of these back and forth notifications are usually handled by mail rather than fax. This is part of the reason it can take so long to receive permission to travel from the CCAA. Once all of this paperwork is completed the permission to travel document is prepared and signed by one of the vice directors of the CCAA. This is sent to your agency, which then notifies you. It would speed things up if the CCAA would use fax or email for these internal notifications, but alas they do not.

It is common for several families to travel at the same time. The trip usually lasts between ten days and two weeks. The group may travel together from the U.S. or meet in China on a specific date. Since this is a hard trip, not a vacation, single, a parent or friend is a great help. Otherwise, reserve your energies for your new child. Lastly, this is not a sightseeing trip, it’s work!

After meeting your child you must complete additional paperwork that varies depending on the province. The final adoption paperwork may be completed in the local town where the child resides or may require travel to the provincial capital city. It used to be that a notary finalized the adoption. In China, the notary is a substantial government official with significant authority. He has the authority of a judge. When the notary finalizes the adoption, both China and the U.S recognize the adoption as final. There has been a recent change in these rules and the adoption need no longer go through a notary. However, it may still be the better practice and your agency should be able to guide in this regard. After finalizing the adoption, your child needs to obtain a Chinese passport and exit visa. You may have to go to the provincial capital for these.

After completing the provincial and local paperwork, the family travels to Guangzhou, China to the U.S. consulate for processing of the state department documents and the issuance of a visa allowing the child to legally enter the U.S. This usually is completed in two to three days. There are three tasks: the medical exam, the interview at the consulate, and picking up the visa for your child.