International adoption agency photos China Haiti Kazakhstan Vietnam

China Adoption

China adoption is a great choice for families considering an international adoption. The China Center of Adoptions Affairs (CCCWA), an entity of the Chinese government, has established one of the best and most stable adoption programs in the world. All referrals of Chinese infant and child adoptions are issued by CCCWA. Because boys are preferred by Chinese families, baby girls are often abandoned shortly after birth and when found are transferred to orphanages. While no one knows the exact number of children living in orphanages in China, it is estimated that there are currently tens of thousands of little baby girls in China who are waiting for loving families to adopt them. Although rare, from time to time there are also little boys available. Though no international adoption program can guarantee the placement of healthy children, the majority of Chinese children come from rural areas in China where birth mothers do not have access to tobacco or alcohol.

Parents who want to complete a China adoption must qualify and meet all regulations set by the CCCWA. Single Mothers and married couples over 50 years of age are not allowed to complete a China adoption, but married couples who do meet CCCWA’s qualifications are encouraged to apply. For a list of the specific qualification outlined by CCCWA, please visit our China Adoptions FAQ page.

China Adoption Timeline

Part of the timeline for an adoption from China depends on how long it takes adoptive families to complete the paperwork required by China. Some families take several months to prepare the dossier, and some families prepare the dossier very quickly. Because of this it is difficult to estimate an overall timeline from the beginning of the process until the completion of the adoption. However, when the completed dossier is sent to the CCCWA in China, the time from dossier submission to the referral being issued is taking around 5 years plus with travel to pick up the child occurring about 6 weeks after acceptance of the referral.

**New Notice: Starting July 1, 2009, new screening and treatment requirements for tuberculosis will become effective for Chinese immigrants, including adopted children. For medical exams on or after this date, panel physicians will be required to follow the 2007 Technical Instructions for Tuberculosis Screening and Treatment issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Children between the ages of two and fourteen on the day of the medical exam will be required to have a tuberculin skin test. The test results must be read 48 to 72 hours after the test is administered. If the results are positive, a chest x-ray must be performed. Based upon the results of the chest x-ray, a physical exam, and the child’s medical history, the panel physician will determine the appropriate classification, if any, of tuberculosis. Further testing and treatment, prior to immigration, may be required. For parents adopting children that this applies to, please plan to add two days on to your trip to China.

Please see our FAQ page for answers to frequently asked questions.

Fees

Item

Cost

*Application Fee

$500

*Program Fee

$3000

*Referral/Placement Fee

$2000

*Home Study Review (for out of state clients)

$150

*Document Management Fee

$800

*Post Adoption Report Fee

$2000 (Utah clients) or $1000 (out of state clients)

Home Study

$1200 (Utah) $100-$2500 (depending on social worker found out of state)

**CCCWA Dossier Registration

$1050

**Orphanage Donation

The orphanage donation is calculated in RMB’s and will be invoiced according to the current exchange rate when the referral is sent to adopting parents. The cost is app. $5,000.

**Provincial Fees

$1900 (includes US visa, medical exam, adoption registration, passport, photos, notary/translation, and newspaper ad)

**Immunization/vaccination fees

$200 to $300 varies depending on the child’s prior immunizations.

**Chinese Guide

$1100

**Domestic Travel within China

$550

USCIS Fee - I600A

$720

Fingerprinting

$85/person

Authentication of documents

$350-450***

Courier fee for authentication of documents

$200***

Fed Ex fees

$300***

Airfare to China

$1200-$1500/person***

Food and Accommodations in China

$750/person***

Flight #2 in country

$150-$800 one way/person ***

Visa to enter China

$160/person

* Country Fees are never to be considered a stable or set fee as it is not determined nor in the control of Wasatch International Adoptions. The Agency makes every effort to stay current as to fees but third party and country fees may change without notice or reason.*

*These fees are required by the agency, Wasatch International Adoptions.
**These fees are required by the foreign country.
***These fees may vary from dossier to dossier depending on the number of documents (for example a single person’s dossier will be smaller than a married couple’s dossier). Expenses also may vary depending on when you travel, where you travel in country, and where you stay.

If you are interested in more information about adopting from China, please click Kathy Junk.

Please note that the timeline for international adoption is not completely predictable and there could be many factors that might change our estimated timeline for completion. Some of these factors may include political upheaval, changes in policies and laws regarding adoption with foreign government officials or our own government, war, terrorism, natural disasters, the approval of the adoptive parents by either the U.S. government or the foreign government or possible reemergence of birth families. Wasatch does our best to help you as families to understand the realities of the international adoption process, but things can change quickly and timelines for adoption completion can lengthen through no fault of Wasatch International Adoptions.