Immigrant Visa Stage

All adopted Chinese orphans accompanying their parents to the United States must receive the appropriate visa to enter the United States.  In order to receive a visa, adoptive parents and the adopted child need to come in person to the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou, China for the visa appointment. Visa appointments should be made well in advance of the adoptive parents traveling to China, and as visa appointments are made on a first-come, first-serve basis, adoption agencies are urged to request appointments as soon as the family is documentarily qualified, including: approved I-800, I-800A, up-to-date fingerprints, Article 5 Letter, and travel notice from CCAA. Appointments are available Monday - Wednesday beginning at 9:00 AM. The consulate will confirm a visa appointment for each family only if the family is documentarily qualified. 

In addition, adoptive parents should note that since May 31, 2003, FBI fingerprint-based clearances for adoptive parents expire after 15 months. The Department of Homeland Security's Citizenship and Immigration Services recommends that prospective adoptive parents who plan to travel abroad to file an I-600 Orphan Petition within 30 days of the expiration of their fingerprint check validity be re-fingerprinted prior to departing the United States. A Citizen and Immigration Services office prints the validity of fingerprint clearances on the I-800 approval notice which Citizen and Immigration Services sends after approving a petition. If you do not know the date of your fingerprint clearance, you should check with the Citizen and Immigration Services office where you submitted your fingerprint cards. Click here for a list of Citizen and Immigration Services offices.

Once the adoption agency receives written confirmation from the Consulate of an appointment, the parent(s) may come to China, pick up their new child (or children), complete the formalities of adopting the child from the province where the child lives, and obtain the necessary documentation to support the visa application.

Parents must bring these completed documents, along with passports (of each parent and the newly adopted child), to the Adopted Children's Immigrant Visa Unit during their interview. A consulate packet of information includes the required forms and detailed information:

A.)  Documents that adoptive parents usually obtained in China:
   1. Notarial certificate of the birth of the child;
   2. Notarial certificate detailing circumstances surrounding the abandonment and subsequent finding of the child by Chinese authorities (with English translation);
   3. Unified Adoption Decree issued by Chinese provincial Civil Affair Bureau (and an additional photocopy of the decree with English translation.);
   4. Department of State medical evaluation forms.
   5. Six glossy, unmounted, full-face color photographs of the child. Two of these photos will be given to the Consulate during the child's immigrant visa interview; you or your representative should write the child's Chinese name on the back. Four photos will be given to the hospital when the adopted child has his or her medical evaluation. The photographs should have a white background. The minimum size is 1 1/4" X 1 3/8" and the maximum size is 2" X 2". A "full-face" photo is one in which the applicant is facing the camera directly. Click here for a detailed description.
   6. One copy of each adopted child's Chinese passport

B.)  Documents that adoptive parents usually obtained in the United States:
   1. Approved Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative (DHS Form I-800) or Petition to Classify Orphan as Immediate Relative (DHS Form I-600)
   2. Approved Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country (DHS Form I-800A) or Request for and Report on Overseas Orphan Investigation
(DHS Form I-604)
   3. One copy of each parent's U.S. passport;
   4. Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration, Part I and Part II (DS-230)
   5. If major household changes have occurred since the parent's I-800A or I-600A petition approval, such as employment or residence, and/or the family has accepted the referral of a child that does not match the characteristics of the child for which they were approved (number of children, age, gender, or special needs), the parents must obtain an updated I-800A or I-600A approval from USCIS. The Consulate does not accept home study amendments in lieu of an updated I-800A or I-600A approval from USCIS.  For more information on how to obtain an updated approval, please click here.
   6. If the child will receive an IR-4 visa (two parents are adopting a child and one parent is unable to come to China to register the child), the Consulate will require (1) a certified copy of your most recent federal tax return with supporting financial evidence (such as schedules and W-2 forms), (2) Evidence home state's pre-adoptions requirements have been met and (3) the Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Act form, Department of Homeland Security Form I-864 / I-864A
Also see our IR-4 section for additional special requirements for IR-4 visas.

Ordinarily, the sponsor's signature on the Form I-864 is sufficient to qualify the photocopy or transcript as a "certified" copy. While the Consulate may ask for a sponsor to submit an IRS-certified copy of the tax return, this is an extremely rare occurrence. A person obtains an IRS-certified copy by submitting IRS Form 4506 with the U.S. federal government, and paying the requisite filing fee.

C.) Documents usually obtained and/or completed either in the United States or China:

The majority of adoptive parents prepare a signed, notarized statement by one adoptive parent in the United States. This document indicates that he/she will follow up on his/her adopted child's immunizations as required by U.S. immigration law within 30 days of the child's entry to the States. However a number of parents also have the form notarized on the day of their interview (but prior to their appointment time) in U.S. Consulate Guangzhou's American Citizen Services section. NOTE: Hague Convention cases must meet the vaccination requirement.  No exemption exists.

During your child's morning visa interview, you or your adoption facilitator (or adoption agency representative) will submit the paperwork to the Consulate and pay USD $400 (application fee*, issuance fee and new security enhancement surcharge). Parents receive a receipt for their records.

Following a successful visa interview and review of your documents, adopted children qualify for an orphan visa. Due to required security checks, visas cannot be issued until the day following the adoption ceremony. If there is missing or incorrect paperwork, or in the event of a security check delay, visa issuances may be delayed by a few days.