You can provide a home to a needy Chinese baby.
The Chinese government allows families from the United States to adopt Chinese born children through the Hague Convention. The adoption process can take up to four years to complete from beginning to end and U.S. families must hire a Hague-accredited adoption agency or facilitator to assist them with the adoption process. The total cost for adopting a baby from China can range from about $20,000 to more than $25,000. Families must complete their adoption in China in order for the process to be valid.
Instructions
1. Contact the adoption service provider you would like to use to assist you with the adoption process. The adoption agency must be accredited by the Hague Adoption Convention.
2. Complete the adoption eligibility application to see if you qualify to adopt a child. Your adoption service provider will provide you with the application and assist in completing the application. This determination is made by the Department of Homeland security and the adoption authority in China. You will be required to submit a cover letter that details the type of child you would prefer, including age, sex, physical/mental condition or region of China. After you and your family have been found eligible to adopt a child, you will be matched with a child based on your preferences. This is called the referral.
3. Apply for the child's immigration to the United States. You will have to decide if the referred child is the child you would like to adopt. You must make your decision and submit it to your agency within 45 days of receiving the referral. If you select the child referred, you will be required to complete an application for approval of your adoption of that child. If you reject the referral, it will delay the process, but you will be provided another referral as quickly as possible if there is a child that fits your preferences available. Before leaving for China, you must pay $30 to the Department of Civil Affairs for issuance of the adoption registration documents and $10 for legalization of your documentation through the Chinese Embassy or Consulate in the United States.
4. Gather your paperwork. You will have to provide adoption documentation, birth certificate(s) for the adoptive parent(s), certified marriage license, health examinations for adoptive parent(s), home study report, certificate of adoption approval from Homeland Security and the sealed "Notice of Coming to China for Adoption" letter provided by the China Center for Adoption Affairs. Your adoption agency should have a list of all the forms you will need.
5. Complete your adoption in China. You are required to travel to China to complete the process and get your child. As of January 2011, you will be required to pay $365 to the China Center for Adoption Affairs, $200 for translation of the document and $25 for a Chinese passport that is valid for up to 15 business days, all of which are paid in China.
6. Complete an application for a new birth certificate for your child while in China. This birth certificate will include the new parents' names and allow you to apply for a passport for the child.
7. Complete an application for the child's passport and exit documents with the Public Security Bureau in the locality where the child resides in China.
8. Visit the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou and apply for your child's visa so that you can bring the child home to the United States. You must have the child's new birth certificate prior to visiting the embassy for the visa.
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