There are two programs for adoption in China. The first is the non-special needs adoption program. And since this program is at just about a complete stand still with referral times taking upwards of 7 years, I won't go into this one. The most active program is the special needs program and it's very reliable and SO wonderful. Perhaps on my next blog posting, I will spend some more time talking about what it means to adopt "special needs" because it's not as bad as it as it sounds.
So - what do all these these terms mean? LOI, PA, DTC, LID, LSC, Art. 5, TA, CA and top that off with a dossier??? Let me try to explain, using the process we used to adopt both of our boys. Our sons were both on the special needs list, released approximately monthly from CCCWA (Chinese Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption). We identified our boys based on the types of special needs we were willing to accept. The files are "locked in" for 72 hours, allowing us to review the medical history and pictures provided to determine if this child was indeed the one meant to join our family. Once we decided yes, this child is our child, we have to send CCCWA a Letter of Intent (LOI). This LOI states that we are prepared to adopt, we meet the criteria to adopt and we wish to proceed and adopt this particular child. CCCWA reviews this LOI and responds back with Provisional Approval (PA). From this point forward, no one else can look at your child. They are solely held for you for a period of up to several months while you gather your dossier. We were able to complete our dossiers in just shy of 4 months. The dossier contains all the official paperwork (birth certificates, marriage certificates, financial and medical forms, as well as a home study and immigration approval). It's approximately 18-20 documents. These documents, as well as pictures of our home, family and living areas, are notarized by the State, authenticated by the Chinese Embassy and sealed by the US Government. I am sure you are getting a picture of the "paper chase" that happens!! So when families say "we are paper chasing" that's what they are doing, chasing papers to complete their dossier. For those of us, I guess the closest thing we can say, it's like the first trimester of a pregnancy.
Once our dossier was complete, it's sent to CCCWA. This is officially the Dossier To China date (DTC). It's followed approximately 2 weeks later with an LID or Log In Date which is when CCCWA officially notes your dossier is received and in process. Now, comes some of the hardest waiting a family has to endure. The wait for LSC! Or, Letter Seeking Confirmation. It's like the second trimester now. There's not much to do, just perhaps start to prepare rooms (which we did - Little Man now has a bunk bed and asks every night when his brother will be coming home to sleep in it). This phase of adoption can last anywhere from 2 - 5 months. We waited 2 months for China to send us our LSC. And when you get that letter, it's such relief! This letter is your real referral. It's China saying, you are indeed approved to adopt this child, do you want to accept this referral officially! YES YES YES!!!! The LSC is signed and sent back to CCCWA. Additional paperwork on the US side has to happen with Immigration to grant your child specific status (VISA) to come into the country. This can take up to one month. Once you have US Immigration approval in the US, they cable the approval to the consulate in China ( the US Embassy in China is located in Guangzhou, China). It takes another 2 weeks for the US Embassy to issue an Article 5. I guess the easiest thing to describe that Art 5 is that it's the US Govt telling the Chinese Govt, OK - this family you approved is ok and we are ready to have this child come to the US.
Once that Art 5 is sent to CCCWA, the last part of the wait (and I think the hardest starts). It's the final trimester. The wait for Travel Approval (TA). This is issued by CCCWA and gives us, the adoptive family official approval to travel to China and adopt our son. As soon as this issued by CCCWA, our adoption agency will then petition the US Consulate to give us a CA or Consulate Appointment. It's the most important appt as this date sets all the final stages into motion. It sets your date of departure from the US, it sets the date you receive your child and the date you come home as a family. All said, this part can more fast. A matter of weeks. But sadly, we are likely going to have a little delay here due to the Autumn Moon Festival. It's the first week of October and it's a large festival, one of the largest along with Chinese New Year and most offices and government offices are closed for the first week.
But, I guess that's just part of the process. We are in that final stretch. We are just waiting for that TA. It's gonna happen soon and then, I can post the dates we are traveling. The date when we will meet Declan for the first time and complete our family's journey.
So, more to come!!! In the meantime, Aiden and Declan's room is READY!
