Basic Steps and Timeline of the Adoption Process
There are benchmarks in every China adoption. To give you an idea of what is involved in a China adoption through CCAI, the following is a six-point summary that highlights the major steps and timeframe of the process. Because of the nature of international adoption, this timeframe can change during your adoption process, but CCAI is committed to keeping you informed of the current timeframe as you work toward your adopted child. Understanding the process and timeline now will enable you to be better prepared for this incredible journey that brings you and your child together.
1. CCAI Application for Adoption – 5 Working Days
Your application allows CCAI to screen your qualifications for a China adoption. From your application, we are able to determine whether or not you meet the requirements of our agency and the requirements of the various government entities that will be involved in your adoption- US government, Chinese government, etc. If a family submits a complete and truthful application and is approved by CCAI, we are committed to serving you through all the stages of a China adoption.
2. Compilation of Dossier Materials – Approximately 5-6 Months
Once your adoption application has been approved, you will begin to compile your adoption dossier. Your dossier is a collection of documents that report on various aspects of your life and represents you as adoptive parents to the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA), the Chinese government agency responsible for all international adoptions in China. This part of the adoption process often seems daunting to adoptive families, but it is important to remember that by following CCAI’s copyrighted Adoption Dossier Guide, and getting help from our knowledgeable dossier team, over 8,800 families have achieved successful adoptions.
You generate and compile many of the dossier documents on your own, but your dossier cannot be complete without your Home Study and approval from the USCIS (United States Citizenship & Immigration Services). The timeline for compiling your dossier varies, due to such factors as child abuse clearances, how diligent you are when preparing your documents, and the USCIS timelines for approval of your I-800A.
For those families who need extra help to complete their dossier, CCAI does offer the option of a Full Dossier Compilation Service for an additional fee. Please contact the Dossier Compilation Coordinator, at 303-850-9998 for more information.
3. CCAI Dossier Review and Mail to China – 9-11 Days
Once you submit your completed dossier to CCAI, our Dossier Team will critically review your documents, bind your dossier, mount the pictures, complete a summary translation, and write an agency recommendation in Chinese. We will then send it to CCAI’s China office via international express mail. Our Beijing representatives will hand-deliver it to the CCAA.
4. The Wait and CCAA Child Match
The child match time frame, which refers to the wait time between your dossier logged in at the CCAA and the moment you receive your child match by the CCAA, is very difficult to predict and is therefore subject to change. Families who have most recently received their child match have waited for 48 months. We expect that the wait time will continue to lengthen until most of the dossiers logged in before May 2007 are matched. By then we believe that wait time will be shortened dramatically. This is due to the new qualifications (please see the
Qualification page) from the CCAA that went into place May 1, 2007, which resulted in a much lower number of dossiers logged in each month since. Throughout the wait, families are encouraged to check in with CCAI regularly. We publish a newsletter that will help you stay informed about the current match timeline and also post frequent updates on our website.
When it is your turn to be matched, the CCAA will match you with a child
according to your qualifications and preferences as presented in your dossier.
Your child's photos, translated Physical Examination Report, State of Growth,
Background Information, and Immunization record will be sent to you through
CCAI.
5. Travel – 8-12 Weeks after Match
After you sign and return your Child’s Acceptance letter to CCAI, we will express mail it to the CCAA. You will be put into a travel group and invited by the CCAA to travel to China to complete your adoption. We will provide you with the needed travel training. CCAI will arrange your group’s travel, accommodations and adoption finalization in China. At this time our estimate for your travel is nine to eleven weeks AFTER your I-800 is submitted to Immigration. Your China trip will last approximately fifteen to seventeen days. (Please see “The Journey of a Lifetime” in this packet.)
6. Post Adoption Services/Support and Adoption Validation
After you return to the United States, CCAI will provide post adoption services/support to assist you with your adoption transition. Two post adoption reports must be completed by your social worker to satisfy CCAA requirements. CCAI will provide necessary information to you concerning how to validate your finalized adoption through your local court, enable your adopted Chinese child to receive a US birth certificate from your state, and obtain her/his Social Security card and citizenship, if necessary.