Immigration Approval

We officially have approval from USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) to adopt a child from China. 

Here is an explanation of that process:

Form I-800A! The full name of this form is Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, the convention country in our case being China. USCIS will evaluate whether not you are suitable to adopt a child from China.

The next step is to send our dossier to china (DTC):

What is a dossier? The official definition is "a collection of papers containing detailed information about a particular person or subject (usually a person's record). In this case, the record is being compiled on us as the adoptive parents. In order to adopt a child from China, we were required to collect a series of documents that tell the CCCWA about us, our family, our health, and our finances.

What's In The Dossier?

• A Completed Home Study


• Certified birth certificates for both parents


• Marriage License


• Divorce/death decrees if applicable


• Medical statement of good health for both parents


• Letter of Employment for both parents


• Financial Statement


• Police Reports for both parents


• I-800A Approval


• 6 photos of your family life


• 3 copies of each parent's passport


• 2 passport photos of each parent


• Adoption Application Letter (or Letter of Intent)

So, the good news is that we are making progress and should be logged in with the China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA) sometime in February so that we can recieve a referral when the shared list is released at the end of the month.

What is the Shared List?

The shared list is an online database of all the special needs children that are available to be matched with families. The CCCWAadds new children to this list every month. This is sometimes referred to as the CCCWA releasing a 'new list'. It's not really a new list, it's just additions to the main base list.
There are approximately 1700-2000 children on the shared list at any given time. Children that are *waiting* for families. Some have been waiting for months or even years on the shared list.

Accessing The Shared List
Only licensed adoption agencies and social workers can access this list. With rare exceptions, private individuals and adoptive parents can not access this list. The CCAA maintains this policy so as to protect the privacy of China's Waiting Children.





http://www.china-adoption-online.com/

Still waiting. . .

I should have exciting news any day, but none today.  Still waiting to get I800A approval so we can send our dossier to China (DTC).  I promise we are getting closer.  Still looking at a February referral. . . The reality is beginning to sink in and I am so excited about getting our baby home.  It amazes me how consumed I can be with thoughts of a child I have never met, or even seen a picture of, for that matter.  I think about her everyday with hopes and prayers that her tummy is full and loving hands are holding her.  I am also amazed at how much smaller the world now seems and how much more compassion I feel for those that are in need.  I guess when you have a child (even one not yet known) that is dependent on the generosity of others for their most basic needs, it puts into perspective God's call to love your neighbors and care for the widows and orphans.  Please keep us in your prayers as God directs us to the child he has planned for our family.  Lots of love to those who are following our journey.

Not much to update, update. . .

I wish I had more news to share. We are in the middle of finding our way through our first round with immigration. We have been fingerprinted (again) and filled out more and more paperwork in anticipation of sending our dossier to China. We are still on schedule for a referral by February (hopefully) and travel late summer to bring our baby home. I will update once we are DTC- get ready the acronyms will be flying the next few months! DTC, LOI, LOA, TA. I just have to figure out what they mean:-)

Great information source

This is a great website that was sent to me from another mom who is adopting from China.  It explains the process and the current state of adoption from China.  Thought some of you might find it interesting.
http://www.china-adoption-online.com/index.html

Whew! We made it through the home tour!

This past Saturday was a busy day. Our social worker came at 5:30 pm to tour our home and meet with Chandler and the boys. Of course I spent the entire day scrubbing the floors and making sure everything was perfect. Not even close! We were already scheduled to attend an all day seminar put-on by the International Adoption Clinic here in Birmingham and I didn't want to miss that. So, at 8:30 that morning I left my 2 busy little boys in the hopefully capable hands of Chandler with clear instructions to play outside, eat outside and to do their very best not to touch anything! I will admit that I was a little nervous about what we might find when we got home with social worker in tow. Sweet Chan Chan! Not only were my little men bathed and smelling sweet and everything in it's place, but she had taken the time to light a candle. Needless to say, everything went great and we are inching closer to bringing our baby home. Oh yeah, did I mention I ran 20 miles before going to the seminar? Started my day at 4:30 and crashed hard that night!

First interview with our social worker

We had our first of four interviews with our social worker, Karla, this past Tuesday. She is super nice, extremely knowledgable about the process and put us immediately at ease. It amazes me how real this all now seems. I guess hearing someone confirm that we will be getting a little girl makes it seems so. Now, it is just a matter of working through the process. The rest of our interviews will occur over the next couple of weeks. Karla also informed us that our Alabama CAN (child abuse and neglect) clearance forms are already back. These can often take up to 3 months, so things are moving a little faster than normal at this point. Based on what we have learned from study, Karla, and other families that have adopted, it is reasonablemto hope for a referral by January or February. If that timeline holds true, we would hopefully travel early next summer. Please pray that things continue to progress and that the little girl that will soon be ours is safe, well fed, and comfortable.

Buying my baby's first doll

I couldn't resist going to the American Girl store while we were in Chicago. I didn't go crazy. Just bought one bitty baby. I will wait to buy matching outfits as soon as I know how big our little girl will be. I can't wait to pack the doll up when we eventually get to China. All the books say to take a doll with you when you travel to bring your little one home. Gotta do what the books say;-)