Today we received an email from the agency...pretty exciting (and overwhelming), huh? :) Everything sounds fine, except for the 15 month wait to be matched with a baby.... :(





Congratulations we have received your USCIS approval! You are approved to adopt internationally!


PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!


1. In about 10 weeks after receiving your USCIS approval, both the American Consulate Office in Guangzhou, China and the National Visa Center will send you a package that contains the following items: a cover letter containing a case number, forms I-600, I-604, I-864, 230, and a physical form for the child. If after 10 weeks you still have not received this package, don’t worry! We will be able to give you one at the time of your referral! These items are very important, so put them in a safe place. We will need the case number from you when you get your referral in order to make your appointment with the American Consulate. We will not ask you for this number until you are preparing to travel. Please put these packages in a safe place with your other important adoption documents. We will go through them again before you travel to China.

2. Your dossier for the China Center of Adoption Affairs should be complete. I will be in touch if we are missing any of the documents required for your dossier. Otherwise we will begin the authentication process of your documents. It takes us about three to four weeks to finish the certification and authentication process and another 7-10 days to express mail the dossier to CCAA. The arrival of the package from the American Consulate in Guangzhou does not mean your dossier has arrived in China. Someone from our agency will contact you when your dossier has been sent. The date we express mail your dossier is called DTC date(Dossier to China). We will inform you of this date. We appreciate that you mention your DTC date and your last name when you call the office with any questions and concerns.

3. The date the Chinese government register your dossier is called Login Date. We will let you know of this date as soon as we get them. CCAA does assignments according to the login date. At this time, it’s taking approximately 15 months from the time your dossier arrives in China until you receive a referral, and another 6-8 weeks from referral to travel. There are many factors that determine how quickly you travel after your assignment is accepted. These include visa appointments at the American Consulate, CCAA Official Notification, flight availability, etc. Please know that referral time is always subject to change. We will keep you updated on any and all changes!!

4. It is our recommendation that you start the Hepatitis A and B immunization series NOW, since they take a few months to complete. There are no required immunizations when traveling to China; however, the agency recommends the Hepatitis vaccinations. Please consult your doctor!

We will contact you regularly from now on to update you. Please feel free to call us at any time during the wait!

Best wishes,
CAWLI