3. Processing the Visa in Guangzhou

The receipt of the CCAA travel permission begins the third phase of your adoption: the immigrant visa adjudication. As stated above it is at this phase that the ACIVU becomes involved.

Upon receiving travel approval from the Chinese authorities, the parent's adoption agency or newly adopting family sends a copy of the Chinese government's travel permission letter to our office and requests a date for an immigrant visa interview. Our office confirms an appointment as close to the date requested as possible (We strongly recommend that you do not finalize travel plans until your agency has received confirmation of your appointment from us IN WRITING. Failure to secure an appointment in advance of your travel to China may mean that you may be stuck in China for several days or longer, particularly during busy periods).

Once the adoption agency receives written confirmation from our office of an appointment, the parent(s) may come to China, pick up their new child, go through the formalities of adopting the child from the province where the child lives, and obtain the necessary documentation to support the visa application. Those documents include:

• Notarial certificate of the birth of the child;
• Notarial certificate detailing circumstances surrounding the abandonment and subsequent finding of the child by Chinese authorities; and
• The Unified Adoption Decree issued by Chinese provincial Civil Affair Bureau. The consulate requires a photocopy of the decree and the English translation.

The U.S. forms that you received in your consulate packet of information are necessary to facilitate your adopted child’s immigration to the United States. You must bring these completed documents with you, along with your passport and that of your newly adopted child, to the Adopted Children’s Immigrant Visa Unit. These forms, documents, and other items include:

• Completed document checklist
• DHS Form I-600, “Petition to Classify Orphan as Immediate Relative”;
• DHS Form I-604, “Request for and Report on Overseas Orphan Investigation”;
• Dept. of State Form DS-230, “Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration” (Part I and Part II);
• Dept. of State, Form DS-2053, DS-3024, DS-3025 and DS-3026 for Medical Examination of Applicants for United States Visas.
• A signed, notarized statement by one adoptive parent indicating that he/she will follow up on his/her adopted child's immunizations as required by U.S. immigration law within 30 days of the child's entry to the States.
• The parents’ U.S. passports copies and the child’s Chinese passport copy, one for each;
• Two glossy, un-mounted, full face color photographs, at minimum 1 1/4” X 1 3/8”- maximum 2" X 2", with a white background of the child. A “full face” photo is one in which the applicant is facing the camera directly.
• Home study addendum, only if any major household changes, such as employment or residence change, have occurred since approval of I-600A petition.
• For parents adopting orphans classified under the IR-4 orphan visa category, the DHS Form I-864 / I-864A, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Act” and your three most recent years’ tax returns, with all schedules and W-2s attached and proof of employment are required;

While you are awaiting your child's visa interview, your adoption facilitator (or adoption agency representative) will pay USD $380 (application fee, issuance fee and new security enhancement surcharge). Your facilitator will return your receipt to you for your records. All adopting parents must attend a swearing-in session on the day after their appointment.

Following the visa interview, should everything be in order, the child will qualify for immigration benefits and be issued an orphan visa. The afternoon after the visa interview your adoption facilitator will return to pick up the completed immigrant visa for your newly adopted child, provided there have been no unexpected delays Usually, the visa is ready the following workday, although occasionally unexpected delays do occur.

After Getting a Visa

The new family returns to the United States with the immigrant visa. At the first Port of Entry in the United States, the DHS will take the Immigrant Visa packet for the new child, reviewing it for accuracy. Should everything be in order, the DHS port of entry DHS inspector will stamp the child’s passport with a stamp granting legal permanent residence in the United States. The documentation that you provide in that visa packet will become the child’s immigration file. Depending on your adopted child's visa classification, this stamp will either start your child's green card process or it will be sufficient proof of acquisition of U.S. citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.

The new parents must then ensure continued compliance with their State of residence concerning adoptions. States have the right to make their own individual laws governing foreign adoptions. Some states require adoptive parents to re-adopt children adopted overseas, others do not. Other states have additional post-adoption requirements. You may decide that, even though not required, you want to re-adopt your child in your state of residence. Please consult your state government authorities for assistance in this regard. Your agency should also be able to advise you in this phase of the process.

With the recent enactment of the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, most adopted children from China (IR-3 classification) now qualify to become U.S. citizens immediately upon entry to the States. However, IR-4 classified orphans do not qualify for automatic citizenship under the Act. For IR-4 cases, please consult with your local DHS/USCIS office for details on how IR-4 classified orphans can become U.S. citizens.

As you can see, people who choose to pursue foreign adoptions must maneuver between two and sometimes more nations’ laws in creating a new family. Those who complete this process, however, almost unanimously indicate it was worth the effort.