Common Questions

Answer:

For couples with one spouse under 30, Great Wall recommends starting the adoption process when the younger spouse is at least six months away from turning 30 years old. By the time the younger spouse turns 30, the couple will most likely have completed the dossier process and can submit the dossier to China the week the younger parent turns 30. The CCAA will not register a dossier until both spouses have reached 30 years of age.

Answer:

You may adopt only one child at a time, unless you are adopting twins. Twins are rare, but Great Wall usually receives a twin referral several times a year. China has specific requirements for requesting twins. Please contact your Adoption Consultant to discuss this information if you have any questions. Your Home Study must reflect that you are approved to adopt twins.

Answer:

Yes, Great Wall offers its families a discount for adopting from China again, whether you adopted through our agency for your first adoption or not. To receive the discount, please provide documentation of your child’s adoption. You can ask our Adoption Consultant for details about this discount.

Answer:

Depending on the services your family requires, you could adopt for as little as $16K.  Most families spend between $18K and $20K.  If you are adopting for the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time Great Wall will discount the agency fees by $1,000.00 regardless of what agency used for the previous adoptions.

• Great Wall also offers a free Stork Goodies Service to families that have already adopted a child with Great Wall. This offer is not transferable, and cannot be redeemed for cash value.

Answer:

CCAA requires there be no more than 4 children in the home at the time of adoption, so if there are no children in the home families can adopt up to 5 children from China.

Answer:

We are happy to provide you with a list of Home Study Agencies in your area. Please contact Sarah at 512.323.9595 x 2510 or sarah@gwca.org for Home Study Agencies near you.

Answer:

Yes, you may work with a Home Study Agency that is not on our list. China requires that you work with a non-profit licensed agency and the social worker should have a Master's Degree. If you are pleased with the service you receive from your Home Study Agency, please let us know so we may refer other families to them in the future.

Answer:

On average, the dossier process can take anywhere from 3-6 months. This process includes obtaining all the required paperwork including notary public signatures, and document certification and authentication procedures. The time frame depends upon the various government agencies (Vital Statistics, County Clerk, Secretary of State, Chinese Consulate, and Citizenship and Immigration Services). Certification and authentication procedure timeframes vary greatly between States. Certification procedures generally take 2-4 weeks. Authentication generally takes 2-3 weeks. The length of this process also depends upon how diligent families are in obtaining their paperwork.

Answer:

Open with salutation: "To The Officials of the China Center of Adoption Affairs:"

•  State your full name, date of birth, place of birth (city/state), and your citizenship status (i.e., "We are both citizens of the United States")
• Explain why you chose to adopt and why you specifically chose China
• Please make sure that the following wording is included in the letter: "We promise that we will not abandon or abuse the adopted child, that our child will enjoy the same rights as a biological child, and that we will raise and educate the adopted child to be a healthy adult."
• Don’t forget to include your request, specifically; the health, age range, and gender of the child that you would like the CCAA to match you with. The CCAA is interested in fulfilling the request that the family has stated on their application letter, so please make sure to make your request known. The application letter is an important part of the matching process (when you are being matched with a child) and it’s important to give the CCAA a good impression of your personality and lifestyle. The letter does not have to be more than one page, but it should come from your heart.
• If you are requesting an expedited referral due to Chinese heritage (either you were born in China or BOTH of your parents were born in China), please make sure to make the request known on your letter as well.
• Both parents (or if you are single, then just you) should sign the letter in front of a notary and the notary must properly sign and notarize the document with the appropriate notarial acknowledgement statement as required by your State and the their stamp or seal.
• When discussing the reasons for why you chose to adopt from China, please remember to be respectful, courteous, positive, and, most importantly, humble in your reasons. Do not accentuate the negative aspects of the process, such as the number of abandoned children, etc. And, finally, stay away from any political comments regarding China, as that is a very sensitive subject.
• This is a recent request from the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA): Make the application letter your own! Use your own wording in the letter and make it heartfelt. It does not have to be poetry or a novel, but it should be a sincere statement of who you are, why you want to adopt, and other things that you would personally like China to know. Be concise (try to keep it to a page or two maximum), but think of it as an essay of who you are; you are trying to promote yourself to the Chinese officials and make them see what wonderful parents you would be.

Answer:

If you are requesting twins, the request should be included in your application letter. For example, "We respectfully wish to adopt a healthy set of female twins between 6-12 months old. If twins are unavailable, we respectfully wish to adopt a healthy female between 6-12 months old." In order to be referred twins you will have to be approved to adopt twins by your social worker in your home study. When requesting twins, it is best to check "yes" to number 17 on the I-600A application. If you are referred twins and are not approved by CIS to do so, you will have to complete more paperwork before travel. Please keep in mind that twins are rare, and are generally referred to families without any children currently living in the home.

Answer:

Great Wall's experienced Travel Advisors will reserve the following flights for you in China:

• Beijing to the capital city of your child's province
• The capital city of your child's province to Guangzhou
• Guangzhou to Hong Kong
• Your Travel Advisor also books all of your hotels in Beijing, your child's province, and Guangzhou, as well as your Cultural Learning Tours, all transportation to and from the airport, and your expert China Guides.

Answer:

We understand that you know your family best, and we will work with you to arrange travel for additional family members or friends. Once you receive your referral, you will complete our Travel Information Sheet and provide us with the name, date of birth, and passport number for each additional person traveling with you. You may also list any additional travel requests at that time.

Answer:

Your Great Wall China Guide will pick you up from the airport. Please look for the green "GWCA" flag once you have collected your luggage. Your China Guide will greet you and take you to your hotel where s/he will help you to check-in.

Answer:

Based upon current trends, you will travel approximately 3 – 5 weeks after you receive your referral.