Dear Family & Friends,

As many of you know we are in the process of adopting a baby girl from China.  Since we haven't had the chance to tell all of you, and those who do know often ask us about our progress, we thought we would share some details.

The adoption process from China has three major steps. The first step is called:

....for obvious reasons.  It involves applying to an agency that handles international adoptions; completing a home study (a lengthy review and report of your personal, professional, financial and family life) and applying to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service to seek approval to bring an orphan child from a foreign land into the States.  

What you end up with is a small mountain of documents.  Nearly all of the documents require new issuance, notarization and authentication by the state of issue, the State Department and the Chinese Consulate.   Among the documents required are birth and marriage certificates; letters of recommendation attesting to our character and fitness to raise an adopted child; financial records and photographs of our home and our immediate and extended family. The paperchase took us from January to May of this year and we are happy to say that all of our paperwork has been completed and approved by the necessary agencies! On May 23rd, 2005, our dossier (compilation of papers) was submitted to the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs in Beijing.  The CCAA is the Chinese government agency that oversees all adoptions in China.

But now the hardest part . . .

Currently the wait time for a referral is between 6 - 7 months.  As recent as a year and a half ago the wait time was as much as 17 months!  You may be wondering why there is any wait at all.  I can tell you from all my research that the wait is the same for anyone, in any part of the world, adopting from China (with the exception of children with special needs).  Once the CCAA receives our dossier, we are grouped with a large number of other waiting families who submitted dossiers during the same month.  We are essentially behind all the other groups who submitted documents in the months prior to ours.  It is well documented that the CCAA works very methodically and systematically in sending out referrals each month.  They have a very reputable and predictable system set up for foreign adoptions.  They are careful not to overwhelm their agency with too many referrals at once and they are very careful in their selection process.   In all my research, everything I read confirms just how straightforward the Chinese government is about adoptions.

After the wait comes . . .

  The referral will consist of a photo(s) of the child China has matched to a family along with as much information about the child that they have. Upon our acceptance of the child, we will be given travel approval and be expected to travel to China anywhere from 4-8 weeks later.

Thank you so much for reading.  We feel if our family and friends are well informed about  this special experience, our daughter will be welcomed into our world with the widest possible arms she could ever hope for.  If you ever have a question we've overlooked, please ask us.  Adoption is a topic with many perspectives, much emotion and a lot of unknowns.  Fear and hope are naturally intertwined and to be expected on this journey and we accept that.  By sharing what would normally be private, personal information, we hope that you will feel invited to be a part of the process along with us....we can't imagine it any other way.   As always, we greatly value and appreciate your support.

Sincerely,

Mike, Angela & Ashlyn