China Adoption Process

• Select an agency
• Complete Dossier
• Submit Dossier to China
• China Reviews the Dossier
• The Dossier waits (currently 18 to 24 month wait)
• Dossier goes to the Matching Room
• The parents are matched with a baby, called a Referral
• Referrals are sent to the adoption agency
• Parents have to sign an acceptance letter to accept the referral
• Acceptance letters for the entire travel group are sent back to China
• China sends the agency a Travel Approval letter (TA)
• The agency makes an appointment with the US Consulate
• Parents make travel arrangements
• Travel to China for 10-14 days to get your baby and process the necessary paperwork

This post explains the Review Room Process

Once you choose an agency you must complete a dossier. A dossier is a collection of paper that documents every aspect of you life. Once you compile all the paper work it must be notarized, certified by the state and then authenticated by the Chinese Consulate. Once the entire dossier is complete the agency sends it to China with other families. That becomes the group and most likely the group I will travel with. In my case my dossier went to China on August 8, 2006 with three other families.

Our dossiers were officially received by the China Center of Adoption Affairs on September 1, 2006. In the China adoption community that is my Log In Date a.k.a. LID.

Once your dossier is in China the next step in the process is the Review Room. The Review Process makes certain the adoptive parents meets China’s adoption requirements. Here is how the review room works.

Each agency has their own review person. They know how to put a dossier together based on how their review person wants to see it, and based on the things their review person will approve or deny.

Each review person has their own assigned agencies, or maybe their own assigned country.

Sometimes one review person has twice as many files to review as someone else does that month, but the next month they may have half as many.

This means that one reviewer could be several months ahead of another reviewer, and may stay that way until their agencies have a big month and they get slowed down again. It is normal for one reviewer to still be working on February while another reviewer has made it to April.

The review room notice on the CCAA site won’t show that a month is complete until all reviewers are through with that month.

Courtesy of the Rumor Queen

Currently the CCAA has review dossiers up to March 22, 2006.

I thought I would share with all of you some of things I have learned about international adoption and in particular adopting from China. Here is a list of questions that many of you have asked me.

• Why did you choose China?
• How long does the process take?
• What is the process?
• How much does it cost? 
• How much longer do you have to wait?

I started this blog as a journal of my adoption adventure that I could share with my friends and family. I haven’t posted most of what I have written. I have felt uncomfortable about sharing my thoughts and feelings. So, up to this point I have only shared the most mudane and silly thoughts. When I say uncomfortable you are probaly thinking, “yeah right you never have a problem sharing your thoughts.”  Hearning them is one thing… reading them…. I am not sure you want to read all about my thoughts. If you do let me know and I will publish my ramblings here. In the meantime I am going to educate you on the most amazing event of my life! In addition to answering the above questions, I will also share with you what I am learning about attachment, baby sign language, and all the stuff you need for a baby. 

Sit back relax and enjoy this journey with me.  Post a comment to let me know you stopped by.  Please let me know if there is anything else you would like me to share with you.