Adoption

China Adoptions Requirements

U.S. Government Has Approved the Petition of Adoptive Parents
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Citizen and Immigration Services, sends adoptive parents the I-171H form (which verified approval of the I-600A petition "Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition"). For 18 months, a potential adoptive parent may proceed with an adoption of a foreign child in any country in the world. To pursue adoption of a Chinese orphan, the parent must submit a comprehensive application to the China Center for Adoption Affairs (http://www.china-ccaa.org/) in Beijing via an adoption agency; this dossier includes much of the same information used in the Center for Immigration Services' I-600a application process.

In order to submit this application, the Chinese government requires that adoptive parents utilize the services of an adoption agency licensed to do business as an adoption agency in China. See "Adopting a Child From P.R.C." for recommendations on how to research adoption agencies. (Parents who have been residing in China for more than one year use the China Center for Adoption Affairs' designated adoption agency Bridge of Love.)

Parents Send an Application to China
Adoptive parents will have an opportunity at this time to indicate preferences (if any) for children including age, sex, health, handicaps, as well as a specific Welfare Institute or geographic area of China. Depending on preference, the Chinese government may request specific documentation.

The China Center for Adoption Affairs application will require a number of documents for every application. (Please note adoptive parents need a separate set of documents for the U.S. government. See Immigrant Visa Stage for more information. Click here.) Agencies will clarify whether adoptive parents need to mail these documents or bring them during their interview. The Consulate recommends bringing extra copies of everything.

-----

Documentation -- Translation

All documents prepared for each adoption application must have a certified Mandarin Chinese translation. For a $200 fee, the China Center for Adoption Affairs will provide the translation service. If adoptive parents submit a translated copy with their application, the translator must execute a statement before a notary public as to the validity of the translation. Adoptive parents must authenticate the notary's seal.

Documentation -- Authentication
Adoptive parents must authenticate all non-Chinese documents for use in China. They authenticate documents in order to verify their contents and validity of the issuing authority. The Chinese government has rejected some documents because the seals they bore did not serve that purpose. For example, if the translator's affidavit only confirms the identity and signature of the translator, but does not attest to the validity of the translation, this is insufficient under Chinese law. Likewise, a notary public cannot legally certify the contents of a civil document, such as a birth or marriage record. A notarized certified true copy is not an authenticated copy of a civil record. Adoptive parents must obtain a certified copy must be obtained from the bureau of vital statistics, which maintains the original record.

Generally, U.S. civil records, such as birth, death, and marriage certificates must bear the seal of the issuing office. The state's Secretary of State in the petitioner's state capital, the U.S. Department of State Authentication office, and the appropriate Chinese Embassy/Consulate in the United States, must all authenticate the certificates. The Chinese Consulate in the U.S. with jurisdiction over the petitioner's state can verify what seals and signatures the Consulate can authenticate. Adoptive parents may eliminate some of the steps if the Consulate has the seal of the local issuing authority on file.

Adoptive parents should also authenticate tax returns, medical reports and police clearances, beginning with the seal of notary public in the United States or some appropriate issuing office. The county clerk where the notary is licensed (or some similar authority), the state Secretary of State (in the adoptive parent’s state capital), the U.S. Department of State Authentication's Office, and the Chinese Embassy/Consulate all have to authenticate these documents.

Required Documents (certified/notarized and authenticated)

1. Adoption application
2. Letter of intent to adopt, describing the child the adoptive parent(s) is/are willing to adopt
3. Copies of I-171H form (Citizens and Immigration Services' approval notice)
4. Passport copies  (adoptive parents)
5. Birth certificates (adoptive parents)
6. Marital status certificate (adoptive parents)
7. Marriage certificate(s), certificates proving termination of any previous marriages, by divorce or death (adoptive parents)
8. Proof of employment and income (adoptive parents)
9. Bank statements (adoptive parents)
10. Property trust deed certificates (adoptive parents)
11. Health examination certificates, including (a) medical certificate(s), (b) if applicable, authenticated statement that adoptive parent(s) is/are childless and has/have not adopted other children and (c) medical certificate of infertility if that condition exists. Note: Infertility is no longer a requirement for adoption in China
12. Criminal/no-criminal record certificate (adoptive parents)
13. Home study report prepared by an authorized and licensed social agency
14. Two letters of reference
15. Child adoption approval certificate (by a competent department of the adoptive parent(s)'s country of residence)
16. Certificate of good conduct for the adoptive parent(s) from a local police department notarized or bearing the police department-seal and authenticated. An FBI report is acceptable in lieu of a local police record. This is separate from the FBI check conducted by Citizen and Immigration Services as part of the petition process. You can request an FBI record check by sending two sets of fingerprints, an $18 money order, your full name, date and place of birth, social security number and letter of request explaining purpose for clearance to: FBI ID Division, Room 10104, Washington, DC 20537-9700. The FBI certificate should also be authenticated.

Required Photos

1. Two full-faced photos of each parent. Click here for more information on the definition of full-faced photos.
2. Additional photos reflecting the adoptive parent(s) life

If two parents are adopting and only one spouse will travel to China
(1) Power of attorney, notarized and authenticated by Chinese Embassy/Consulate General in the United States giving the traveling adoptive parent to act on behalf of the adoptive parent not traveling to China
Note: IR-4 visa petitioners have a number of special requirements including this one. These adoptive parents should also check our IR-4 section. Click here.

-----

Chinese Government Approves Application
If the Chinese government approves the application, China Center for Adoption Affairs will then match the application with an available orphan child. Provincial civil affairs bureaus regularly forward information about available children. The China Center for Adoption Affairs then sends a letter of introduction about the child, photographs and a health record of the child to the prospective adoptive parent(s) (via the selected adoption agency).

If adopted parents have more questions, their agency should contact the China Center for Adoption Affairs. If adopted parents are willing to adopt the specified child, their agency should contact the China Center for Adoption Affairs.

When the China Center for Adoption Affairs issues an approval notice and travel permission letter ("Notice of Coming to China for Adoption"), which will bear the "chops" or red-inked seals of the China Center for Adoption Affairs. Prospective parents should have this approval notice in hand before departing for China.

Picking Up a Child in China
Adoptive parents travel to China will adopt their child. The rest of this section will describe the adoption process in China. (Please note that in order for an adopted child to leave China, he or she needs an immigrant visa from the United States. Adoptive parents should start this process before they leave for China. Please see Immigrant Visa stage or Phase III for more information on this process. A link is at the bottom of this page.)

With approval notice/travel permission letter in hand, prospective parents may then proceed directly to the civil affairs bureau with jurisdiction of their orphan child's  Children's Welfare Institute. (The Chinese government should send a copy of the adoption approval notice to the appropriate location. Local Chinese Child Welfare Institutes, Provincial Chinese Civil Affairs officials, and Chinese notarial offices will not process adoptions unless they have seen this notice.) The institute will conduct a series of interviews with prospective adoptive parents, create and register a final contract, and notarize an adoption decree.

Americans adopting in China commonly meet with a notary in the provincial capital for an informal interview. A Chinese notary is not comparable to a notary public in the United States, but rather serves as an official with broad responsibilities. A translator supplied by the Child Welfare Institute is usually present. Meetings are held in the notary's office in a non courtroom-like setting. Common questions asked of the prospective adoptive parent(s) include: Why are you adopting a Chinese child? Do you have any children now (either adopted or birth)? What is your family background? Why do you not have children? How can you assure us that the adopted child will be well treated?

In some cases a registry office conducts a second interview. When prospective adoptive parent(s) write the reasons for the adoption and their plans for the child.

In some case, the local notary, in the city where the Children's Welfare Institute is located, conducts a third and final interview, which is similar to the first interview.

Adoptive parents may request to see the child before completing the adoption. After seeing the child, and before completing the adoption, they should address any remaining questions concerning the child's state of health or personal background. Adoptive parents may wish to have the child examined by a physician on the U.S. Embassy/Consulate's list of physicians before finalizing the adoption. In most cases, the Chinese authorities will not allow adoptive parents to take a child to a hospital in a distant city.

After adoptive parents have completed all adoption proceedings, they should expect to make a fixed "donation" of around $3000 to $4000 U.S. dollars to the Children's Welfare Institute. This "donation" is NOT a bribe; the institute requires the funds for the adoption and completion of contract.

Adoptive parents will sign an adoption agreement/contract with the welfare institute, then register the adoption at the provincial civil affairs bureau, pay requisite Chinese fees, and obtain a Chinese passport and exit permit for the child. The adoption process also includes signing an agreement with the person or institution putting up the child for adoption, registering in person with the Chinese Civil Affairs Bureau, and carrying out the notarized procedures at the designated Chinese notarial office. When the notarial office in the child's place of residence approves the adoption, that office issues a notarized certificate of adoption, a notarized birth certificate and either (1) notarized death certificate (s) for the child's biological parent(s) or (2) a statement of abandonment from the welfare institute. The adoptive relationship goes into effect on the day of the notarization.

Adoption Is Final
Once the adoption is final, the adoptive parents are responsible for the child. If the adoptive parents change their minds about the adoption after it is final, but before removing the child from China, the child may no longer be considered an orphan by Chinese authorities. As such, the child may not be eligible for medical service or educational benefits in China unless the adoptive parents formally notify the China Center for Adoption Affairs that they are relinquishing the child in a statement which is notarized by the appropriate local Chinese authorities. Adoptive parents should also note that such action usually impedes any future attempt to adopt a Chinese orphan. Adoptive parents who have returned to the United States with an adopted child cannot return the child to China. Rather, if adoptive parents want to abandon a child, they should contact their adoption agency or their state social services office.

To go to phase III, please click here.

To go back to phase I, please click here.