The Paper Chase

Important: Please Read
The document requirements for adoptions from China change frequently. These are the requirements to the best of our understanding as of February 6, 2001. We will do our best to keep this site accurate and up to date, but if you have any questions at all, please contact us here at World Child.

As you’ve probably come to realize, or are just beginning to, the amount of paperwork necessary to complete an international adoption can seem pretty overwhelming. However, if you break it down, and just follow a planned, focused set of steps, it's all very manageable. Much of the confusion stems from the fact that there are really at least 3 separate, but overlapping sets of paperwork required (your dossier, I-171H, and your homestudy). Understanding that will make the entire process a little more comprehensible.

Ultimately, in order to adopt your child, you need to send your dossier, with all the required documents notarized, certified and authenticated, to China. The dossier is the critical set of documents that must go to China.

Two (2) of the documents you need as part of the dossier, the I-171H form from the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) and the homestudy, from a state licensed agency (or social worker through an agency) in your home state, have their own paper work requirements.

In an attempt to standardize the documentation they receive, the CCAA has issued a NOTICE OF STANDARDIZATION OF ADOPTION APPLICATIONS AND DOCUMENTATION. These requirements went into effect on October 1, 1998. You can see the text of the CCAA's requirements here. For your peace of mind, please have a look and you'll see the CCAA's requirements are consistent with the information provided at this web site. Ok, on to the task at hand ...

Every document in your dossier, with the exception of those noted in the list below (pictures of yourselves, passport pages, naturalization certificate) must be notarized, certified and authenticated.

One clarification to the above statement: When you receive an original birth or marriage certificate (for example), it comes with a raised seal, or with something about it which makes it an original document. Birth certificates, marriage certificates and divorce decrees are the most common documents that come this way. These documents do not need to be notarized, since, in essence, they have bypassed the notary level.

Because of the raised seal (or whatever makes it an "original"), these documents are often referred to as 'certified'. This is not the same "certified" that we mean. These documents still need to have 'the great seal of the state' (which is what we mean by "certified") just like all the other dossier documents, prior to authentication.

The 'original' document always needs the 'great seal of the state' for the state from which it was issued. The fact that the word 'certified' is applied to two steps of the process with certain documents is often confusing! If you have any questions at all, or are unsure if this affects any of your documents, contact us at World Child.

Listed below are all the documents required by World Child to be included in your dossier.

Quantity	Document Name	What you need to do	Description
1	I-171H INS	This is extremely important document that you'll receive from the INS. You do not fill this form out. You'll have it sent to you when the INS finishes processing your I-600A form and the other documents required for your I-171H. It has its own list of required documentation	Click here for detailed information on the documents required to complete your I-171H
1	Homestudy	IMPORTANT: Your homestudy is a state mandated requirement. Therefore, the requirements for your homestudy will vary, possibly considerably, depending on the state in which you live. The information here is included as an example of homestudy requirements. You must verify the specific requirements with whomever is doing your homestudy.	Click here for an example of the kind of documents required to complete your homestudy
1 for each parent	Birth certificate for each adoptive parent	These must be certified by the state in which you were born	This can take a while if you were born in another state, or, even longer if you were born in another country
1	Proof of your current marital status	You only need one of the following: single, never married letter or marriage certificate or divorce decree or spouse's death certificate (if you are single due to widowhood)	Click here for details on what you need to verify your current marital status
1 for each person over the age of 18 living in the household	Certificate of Good Conduct required for each Household member 18 or over	Additional documentation may be required if anything appears on the criminal check	Your homestudy agency may supply the request forms, so check with them. If not, click here for more info.
1 for each adult member of the household (18+)	Health Examination Form required by the CCAA for each Household member 18 or over	Click here for more information on the standard form now required by the CCAA	A medical exam must be submitted for any adult living in the adoptive family's immediate household. This must be notarized, certified and authenticated. Check into this fairly early in the process, in case it takes a while to get an appointment for a physical with your doctor
1	Letter of intent to adopt to the CCAA	You type up this letter yourself. This letter, and the photos you send with your dossier are your most direct contact with the person making your assignment. Spend some time on them, and try to make them reflect your own special qualities.	Click here to see a sample letter
1	Net Worth Statement	The CCAA has created a standard Financial Statement (Net Worth) form that you must submit	Click here to see / download the Financial Statement form
1 for each working parent	Letter of employment	You can draft this yourself and ask your employer to sign it. It should include years of employment, description of position, title, annual salary and the likelihood of continued employment (which we assume will always be pretty darn good). It should be on company letterhead, and should be dated.	Click here to see a sample letter
10 -20	Six (6) pictures of you and your home	These photos, along with the Letter of Intent to Adopt, are your most direct contact with the person making your assignment. Two full face ("bareheaded") passport photos (2 inches) of the adoptive parent(s) are required.	Click here for more details on the kind of photos, how they should be displayed, and other suggestions
1 each	Copy of the photo and signature pages of the your passports (adoptive parents)	In accordance with the CCAA's recent requests (as of around 8/1/98), include a good copy of the photo and signature pages of the passport(s) of the adoptive parent(s). These need not be notarized or authenticated.	These are used to help the office staff at the CCAA, especially in regard to the correct name(s) of the adoptive parent(s).
1 each if applicable	Copy of your naturalization certificate if you have been naturalized as a US citizen	If this does apply to you, the copy does not need to be notarized or authenticated.	This only applies if you have been naturalized as a US citizen. All others, please ignore.

As mentioned above, some of the documents required for your dossier (the I-171H and your homestudy) have their own document requirements. Many of the same documents are required (birth certificates, evidence of marital status, etc.). However, there are a significant number of additional documents required for each.

Important: Only the documents above, for your dossier, need to be the originals, certified and authenticated.

For all other documents, those for the INS, and those for your homestudy, copies should be fine (as always, double check with your homestudy agency). They do not need to be notarized, certified or authenticated for your homestudy, or for the INS.