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CHINA
Program Update 3/11/08:
ABW is temporarily not accepting applications to adopt from
China.
Adoption
Blessings Worldwide is dedicated to finding families for
orphaned children in China. Our Executive Director and our
China Program Coordinator have both adopted from China multiple
times. ABW works with West Sands Adoptions, a licensed
child placing agency by the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA).
Families adopting from China with ABW will also be clients of
West Sands Adoptions. ABW works with the family to
complete their homestudy and immigration process, compile their
dossier and then then the dossier will be submitted
under the West Sands Adoptions letterhead by Adam Wang, an
experienced facilitator who handles the in country travel
process.
ADOPTIVE PARENT REQUIREMENTS:
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Effective
May 2007, heterosexual married couples
only may adopt from China.
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All
applicants must be between 30 and 50 years of age.
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At least one
parent of a married couple must be a US citizen.
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Applicants
with no previous marriages must be married two full years
before submitting their dossier to China to adopt.
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Applicants
with previous marriages must be married five full years
before submitting their dossier to China to adopt.
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Applicants
can have no more than two prior divorces.
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Applicants
must have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of less than 40. See
http://www.intmed.mcw.edu/clincalc/body.html
to calculate your BMI.
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Couples can
have no more than 4 minor children already living in the home.
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Only one
child can be adopted at a time, unless they are twins. Twins
are rare.
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China
requires a minimum annual income of $10,000 per person living in
the home, including the child you are adopting. Example: If
you are a married couple with 1 child already in your home, you
must make an annual income of $40,000. (Income for singles must
be higher and you must have a plan for the care of your child
while you are working). Net worth (assets) must be a
minimum of $80,000.00 per couple.
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All
applicants must wait 1 year from a previous adoption before
submitting a dossier to China.
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Contact ABW
about other specific program requirements including criminal
history, medical history and so forth.
AVAILABLE CHILDREN:
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The ages
of the children referred from the China Center for Adoption
Affairs (CCAA) is usually between 7 and 14 months. There
are also children available up to 14 years of age. You can
request a child "as young as possible" but please keep in
mind that we have no control over the age of the child you
are referred and you should be willing to accept a child a
little older than you requested.
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Healthy
children and children with minor special needs are available
from China. If you are open to a child with any special
needs, please let us know. We do have access to
waiting children with special needs and will be happy to
share information with you about these special children upon
request.
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Most of
the children that are available for adoption in China have
been abandoned. There is no record or trace left behind by
the birth family. These children are raised in welfare
homes and a small number of them are put into foster homes.
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Most of
the children adopted from China are girls. However, boys
are available and if you would like to adopt a boy, the CCAA
will try to honor your request if they are able to do so.
REFERRAL AND TRAVEL:
As
of January 2008, non-special needs referrals
are currently being received about 24 months after a dossier is
logged in at the CCAA. This is an estimate based on the
current processing but is subject to change. Families
beginning the China adoption process now should expect about a
two and a half year process from start to finish. Your referral package
usually includes a basic medical and developmental report and
several pictures of your child. Once you have reviewed and
accepted your referral, we send in your acceptance and wait for
travel approvals. The wait for travel approval is usually 2-4
weeks from the time the CCAA receives your acceptance. The
timeframe from referral to travel is usually about 6-8 weeks.
Married couples who apply to adopt a child with special needs
may request an expedited referral. Common special needs in
China include cleft lip, cleft palate, heart defects (VSD, ASD,
etc.), limb differences, Hep B positive, club foot and other
surgically correctable medical conditions. Applicants may
specify what special needs they are willing to accept in their
petition/application. Additional parental requirements may
apply to special needs adoptions concerning availability of
health insurance for the adopted child, medical care plan and
resources available to the family, etc.
An
optional Beijing tour is available for families adopting through
ABW’s China Program. When you have completed your tour in
Beijing, you will fly to your child's province. You will receive
your child that day or the day after you arrive in the province,
depending on the province. You will generally spend about 5-7
days in the province completing the adoption paperwork and
awaiting the birth certificate, adoption certificate,
abandonment certificate, and your child's passport. You will
then fly to Guangzhou in the Guangdong province where the
American Consulate is located. While there, you will obtain
your child's medical exam and your child's visa to leave the
country. You will also have your consulate appointment and
receive all of your child's information that you must give to
the immigration officials in the U.S. You will then be able to
leave China with your child.
EXPENSES INVOLVED IN ADOPTING FROM CHINA:
The
cost for adopting a child from China through ABW is explained in
our information packet. We try very hard to keep costs as low
as possible and with any international adoption there are many
variables in the costs as well. Occasionally there are increases
in the country fees and you will be informed of these if they
occur, as soon as we are made aware of them. Below is an
explanation of the estimated expenses calculated to the best of
our ability and based on current information. Since there are
variables (where you stay in China, cost of airline tickets, how
many travel, etc.) it should only be considered a close
approximation. If adopting twins, some expenses are doubled.
HOW DO I GET STARTED?
To
adopt a child from China using ABW as your adoption agency, you
would first submit your completed application and application
fee. After you have been approved, you would submit your agency
fee and notify us that you would like to adopt from China. At
this point your main contact will be our China Program
Coordinator. She will assist you with extensive
information regarding exactly what documents and forms are
required for your China dossier and help you through the
process. You will also need to file your USCIS I600-A form, have
a licensed social worker, in your local area conduct an
international home study and apply for your passport. Once you
have received and accepted your referral, and received your
permission letter to travel to China from the CCAA, you will
travel to China and be united with your child.
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