Checklist of Documents

• Vaccination Waiver Affidavit signed by either parent if both are traveling and notarized before you travel. Only one parent needs to sign.  Important: please use your child's Chinese name on this form.

• I-864W, Intending Immigrant's Affidavit of Support Exemption (with the 10/31/07 expiration date) must be completed, signed and submitted to the American Consulate if both parents are traveling. CHI will send you the current form & instructions. The new form is available at: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864w.pdf

• Addendum of your home study - If you have any significant changes since the initial home study was completed, you need to ask your social worker to write an addendum (notarized only) to include this information and you will bring the addendum to China for the interview with the American Consulate. If the addendum is not completed by the original home study agency, the license of the new agency must accompany the addendum.   If the change of residence includes a move to a new state, the home study must confirm that a home study update has been filed with Immigration (CIS) and the new state of residence's pre-adoption requirements, if any, were met. 

Significant changes include: job change; change of residence, age of child assigned is not specified in original Home study; or your child has a special need on the medical report, but your home study did not mention approval to adopt a child with special need.

• Package from the American Consulate (brown envelope):  These forms are also provided in the clear plastic envelope provided by CHI, so don't panic if you don't have this.

• The clear plastic envelope labeled with your name for submitting documents to the American Consulate.  This will be sent to you by CHI with documents enclosed.  No need to fill out forms prior to travel, your CHI coordinator in China will help you complete all forms. 

• 5 copies of both parents' passport picture page and 3 copies of visa page (even if one parent is not traveling. Parent not traveling will not have visa page. 

• We suggest you make several copies of your passport ID page and visa page, and/or credit cards to carry in your carry-on bags and also to leave at home.  This will help if they are lost.

• Original I-171H from Immigration, if you don't have the original, a copy will be fine

• Proof fingerprints are current from Immigration (CIS). This date maybe listed on your  I-171H form or an attachment to that form, or on copy of the receipt the CIS office stamped when you were re-printed.

• Copy of dossier including copy of your Home Study

• 2 passport-size pictures of EACH adoptive parent-head shot with front view (even if one parent is not traveling).  If adopting 2 children bring 4 photos of each parent.

• New or newer crisp US money for orphanage donation (amount: $3000 in $100 bills), legal fees (amount: $2000 in $100 bills) & spending money (amount: according to your spending needs in a variety of denominations) in China (call bank to order in advance)

• Transpacific flight tickets - please confirm all international flights 72 hours before traveling including confirmation of ticket class (coach, business or premium economy).  Your coordinator in China will have your Inside China travel tickets.

• Copy of your child's Chinese medical report given to you at referral time.

• CCAA Travel Approval Form/Notice of Coming to China for Adoption (will be one of the last documents you receive from CHI

• Copy of your "Letter of Seeking Confirmation from Adopter" from the CCAA   CHI will send you a copy with your travel approval. 

• Document or statement from your State indicating you have met all pre-adoptive state requirements. This is usually a statement in your home study under Recommendations or Conclusions.  Please check with your home study agency about your State's requirements.

• Copy of US Naturalization Document (if you were not born a US citizen): On the I-600 Form you will need to give the following information: If US citizenship was acquired through naturalization, give name under which naturalized, number of naturalization certificate, and date and place of naturalization

• CHI Buttons so your CHI coordinator can find you at the airport.

• You might want to take your pediatrician's phone and fax number

• A Black Ink Pen for signing official paperwork

• 4 business size envelopes (commonly know as #10 size envelopes) that will be used to identify your orphanage donation, notary, registration and visa fees.  Your CHI coordinator will give you the correct US dollar or Chinese yuan amounts before fees are due.

 If adopting two children, 2 sets of the ABOVE items ARE REQUIRED

List of Additional Documents needed if ONLY one parent travels

The following supporting documentation will be submitted to the American Consulate when applying for the child's visa.  Please make copies of these documents for your records, because the Consulate will keep all supporting documentation.

• An original, notarized, certified and authenticated Power of Attorney (Blank Power of Attorney forms can be found in the China Adoption Guide and the Travel Guide.) This is for the Chinese Government - not the American Consulate.

• Vaccination Waiver Affidavit signed by the traveling spouse and notarized before you travel. Important: please use your child's Chinese name on this form. 

• I-800 form: The petitioner (traveling spouse) must be a US citizen. The spouse not traveling MUST sign under: Signature of Prospective Petitioner's Spouse, and have signature dated & notarized.  The traveling spouse will hand carry the I-800 to China. You will find a copy of the I-600 form in the clear plastic envelope. (**additional $525 + $380 for visa if adopting 2 children)

• I-864 and I-864A Affidavit of Support Forms (with 10/31/07 expiration date) must be completed and signed before traveling.  The most current version of forms are available on the following websites: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864.pdf and http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864A.pdf

• The parent who travels to China and who files the I-600 will be the sponsor.

• Certified Copy of most recent Federal Tax Return with supporting financial evidence (such as schedules and W-2 forms).  For Consulate Appointment's scheduled after April 15^th, you must have that year's current Federal Tax Return or copy of the extension you filed with the IRS.  If you have only filed an extension, please bring a notarized copy of the extension with copies of that year's W-2 forms and certified copy of the previous year's federal tax return with W-2 forms.

Ordinarily, the sponsor's signature on the Form I-864 is sufficient to qualify the photocopy or transcript as a "certified" copy, so the ACS current policy has not changed.  As before, in some cases, the Consulate may also ask for a sponsor to submit an IRS-certified copy of the tax return. A person obtains an IRS-certified copy by submitting IRS Form 4506, and paying the requisite filing fee.  Form can be found on website: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506.pdf 

You may also, at your option, submit a photocopy or an Internal Revenue Service-issued transcript of your complete Federal income tax returns for your second and third most recent tax years if you believe these additional tax returns may help you establish the ability to maintain your household income at the governing threshold set forth in Form I-864P, Poverty Guidelines.

If assets are needed to meet the minimum income requirement, sponsors will also need to submit evidence that the assets have a cash value that equals at least five times the difference between total household income and the poverty guideline for the household size, exclusive of liens, mortgages, and liabilities.

• Proof of current employment:  Please take current notarized employment letter(s) or proof of self employment.

• The spouse not traveling must write a letter explaining why he/she cannot travel and has full knowledge of the adoption (please include the child's Chinese name, birthday and the name of the welfare home in the letter.)  Please state: the family will do a re-adoption when the child comes home.

• When only one spouse of a married couple travels to adopt, that spouse will be asked to provide proof of compliance with his/her resident state's pre-adoption requirements before the ACS is able to issue a visa for the adopted child.  States' pre-adoption requirements may change without advance notice so please check with your Home Study agency, your local CIS office and your State's Family Services Office to make sure your have the documents your state may require. At this time the following states have special requirements: Alabama, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia and Wisconsin.  Please make sure you know exactly what documents will need to be faxed from China to your State before they will cable approval to the ACS. 

• 5 copies of both parents' passport picture page and 3 copies of visa page Parent not traveling will not have visa page. (*1 copy is needed for the ACS, other copies for the adoption process) If spouse not traveling doesn't have a passport, please take copy of a picture ID (driver's license).

 If adopting two children, 2 sets of the ABOVE items ARE REQUIRED