Adopt from China

Only Relative Adoptions allowed from China

• Our China program began in Kentucky with A Helping Hand Adoption Agency in 1996. A Helping Hand later merged with Nightlight in 2014. Our agency works directly with the CCCWA (China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption) and a liaison in Beijing and Guangzhou. Nightlight has a long history of successful placements through our China program.  In 2024, China announced they would only be processing relative cases.  These are the only cases we are able to consider.

• Stepchildren  

• Children of “collateral relatives” within three generations in the PRC 

• Children related by blood of the same generation within three degrees of kinship 

• Ages 0-16 (USCIS I-800A must be filed before child’s 16th birthday) 

• Any child 8 years or older must consent to the adoption 

Relative adoption eligibility:  

1. Relation to child being adopted  
   1. Stepparent 
   2. Collateral relative within three generations 
   3. At least one prospective adoptive parent must: 
      1. Be related to the child by blood (not marriage), 
      2. Share a common grandparent with a biological parent of the child, and 
      3. Adopt only children of siblings and first cousins 
2. Stepparent adoptions -Children in the home requirements. The following may or may not be enforced: 
   1. Prospective adoptive parents cannot have any children together 
   2. Prospective adoptive parents may have one child each from a previous marriage 

These are general eligibility requirements of the CCCWA. Some of these requirements can be waived in cases of relative adptions, but will need to be discussed with CCCWA prior to moving forward.

The CCCWA released new eligibility requirements effective June 30, 2017.  Their current laws state the following:

1. Age – Both Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) must be a minimum of 30 years old.  There can be no more than 50 years between the youngest PAP and child to be adopted.
2. Marital Status – only married heterosexual couples or single heterosexual women adopt.  Neither party should have more than 2 divorces.  If there is no divorce history or only 1 divorce between the couple, the current marriage should be at least 2 years.  If one party has two divorces, the current marriage should be at least 5 years.  Widowhood does not count as a divorce.
3. Health Status – PAPs should be physically and mentally fit, with the ability to raise and educate the adopted child without any of the following:
   1. Intellectual disability;
   2. HIV positive or infectious disease that is actively contagious;
   3. Schizophrenia;
   4. Mental disorder including mania, depression, bipolar affective disorder, anxiety and phobia, etc.
      1. PAPs with minor symptoms under good control with medicine may be exempt with a Psychological evaluation from a psychological professional assessing that the disorder does not affect their normal work and life and they are fit to care and educate the adoptee.
   5. Binocular blindness, binocular low vision or monocular blindness with no ocular prosthesis;
   6. Severe facial deformity;
   7. Binaural hearing loss or language function loss
      1. PAPs may adopt a child with an identical condition
      2. EXEMPT if one party of the couple is healthy
   8. Non-function or dysfunction of limbs or trunk caused by impairment, incomplete limb, paralysis or deformation;
   9. Diesases that require long-term treatment and have a poor prognosis which will affect PAPs child caring ability.  This includes lupus, nephrosis, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, etc.
      1. EXEMPT for couples where one party is completely healthy and the other suffers any such disease but is under good control after treatment.
      2. Must provide a doctor’s note to attest that the illness has no effects on normal work and life and fit to care for adoptee;
   10. Cancer
       1. Skin, thyroid, breast and testicular cancer that has been cured for at least 3 years
       2. Other cancer or malignant tumor cured at least 5 years;
   11. Vital Organ Transplant within 10 years
       1. EXEMPT for couples if one party is healthy and the other had a transplant less than 10 years ago but has recovered to live a normal life.
   12. Body Mass Index less than 40 (BMI=weight (kg)/height2(m2))
   13. Short stature or dwarfism; PAPs may adopt a child with identical condition.
4. Family Financial Condition
   1. At least one party of the couple should have stable occupation and income;
   2. Annual Income
      1. Couple Adoptions = $10,000 per family member, including the child to be adopted;
      2. Single Parent adoptions = $10,000 for the actual number of family members after the adoption PLUS one additional person
   3. Net Worth (Assets minus Liabilities)
      1. Couple adoptions = $80,000
      2. Single = $100,000
   4. Welfare allowances such as relief fund, pension, disability benefits, adoption subsidy, foster care subsidy and disabled child subsidy, etc. are not to be included
   5. Relaxation is granted to foreigners (ex-pats) living in China
5. Moral Character
   1. PAPs should have no record of criminal penalties, good moral character, honorable behavior and abide by the laws and regulations, without any of the following:
      1. History of Domestic violence, sex abuse, abandonment/abuse of children (even if they were not arrested or convicted);
      2. History of taking drugs, including opium, morphine, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, etc.
      3. History of alcohol abuse and stopped less than 10 years ago
   2.  Due consideration is given when PAPs have had no more than 3 criminal records with minor violations and no severe outcomes and the time for correction has been 10 years or more; or have had no more than 5 traffic law violations with no severe outcomes.

6. Children in the House
   1. The adoption of orphans, disabled children, or abandoned infants and children whose parents cannot be found are not subject to the requirements that the adopter should be childless.
   2. The PAPs should have enough time and energy to care for the minors in the house, including the child to be adopted.
      1. Couples should have no more than 5 minors in the household
      2. Singles should have no more than 2 in the home
   3. The youngest child in the home should be at least 3 years old.
7. Adoption Frequency and Numbers
   1. Adopters should submit post placement reports as required after the adoption;
   2. There should be 1 year between the second adoption application and the previous (from registration date of previous adoption to the current adoption application date)
   3. PAPs should adopt 1 child from China at a time;
   4. Couples may adopt twins or multiple births or those who have siblings.
8. Other
   1. PAPs should receive appropriate pre-adoption training to have correct cognition and understand the risks of inter-country adoption and be fully prepared for the adoption and to care for the child to be adopted;
   2. PAPs should promise not to abandon or maltreat the child to be adopted;
   3. PAPs should promise to submit post placement reports as required;
   4. For PAPs residing in a country other than the USA, if they intend to adopt from China, should reside in a country which has a cooperative relationship with China in inter-country adoption, or in contracting states of the Hague Convention;
   5. These rules do not apply to stepchild adoptions.
   6. As for the adoption of a child belonging to a blood relative of the same generation and up to the 3^rd degree of kinship, relaxation will be granted properly.
   7. Time or age is calculated based on the adoption application dossier log-in date at CCCWA.
   8. These rules are effective as of June 30, 2017.

Families will work with local county, city and provincial Civil Affairs offices to assist in gathering documentation for the child's file.  This process should begin as soon as possible.  More than likely, you will be required to make a trip to China to assist in gathering the needed documentation and notary booklets necessary for the adoption.  While the child's file is being prepared for submission to the CCCWA, these steps must be followed:

1. Complete an adoption home study.
2. Prepare an I-800A form to be granted approval by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). In the most basic terms, this process grants a pre-approval for you to bring an orphaned child into the US as a citizen.
3. Gather original documents which will be Apostilled to become your dossier. (We will help you through the Apostille process). This step can be worked on concurrently with the adoption home study.
4. Submit your dossier with a Letter of Intent to adopt a relative child to the CCCWA.  Your dossier will be logged-in and reviewed.
5. CCCWA may issue a Pre-Approval (PA).
6. A Letter of Approval (LOA) will be received from the CCCWA officially matching you with the child and allowing you to move forward with the completion of the adoption in the country. The timing of the LOA is dependent on whether or not your dossier has already been reviewed. If your dossier has already been reviewed, you can expect to receive your LOA within 1-2 months after you LOI is submitted. If you log in your dossier after you are matched with a child, it can take approximately 2-4 months after login to receive your LOA.
7. Have the child's file reviewed by a medical professional in the United States to make a plan for theh child's care once you travel home.
8. Upon receipt and acceptance of the LOA, a travel meeting is held with the agency to explain the final adoption processes and travel procedures.  A family can expect to travel in 2.5-4 months from the acceptance of the LOA. During this period, the agency will guide you through several steps that help your family receive Travel Approval (TA).
9. Travel to China generally takes place 3-4 weeks after your family receives TA. Most families enter China in Beijing and then travel to their child’s province to finalize the adoption. The average stay in China is 12-14 days. Some provinces require a longer period of time to process the child’s passport once the adoption is finalized.
10. Travel to China generally takes place 3-4 weeks after your family received TA. You will travel to your child's province in China to finalize the adoption.  The average trip is 10 days.  Some provinces require a longer period of time to process the child's passport once the adoption is finalized.
11. Travel to the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China to receive your child's visa to enter the United States.
12. Bring your child home from China!

Typically, families travel approximately 2.5 to 4 months after receiving their LOA. More specifically, they will travel 3-4 weeks after receiving TA. This depends on how quickly the visa appointment at the US Consulate can be scheduled by our agency.   Usually the trip lasts 10-14 days, however, this can vary depending on the province from which your child is adopted.  The typical schedule is to arrive to the capital city of your child's province on Sunday.  The adoption will be finalized at the beginning of the week at the Ministry of Civil Affairs Adoption Unit.  You will remain in the capital city of your child's province the remainder of the week while waiting for the child's Chinese passport to be issued.  Typically, this is completed by Friday.  Once you receive your child's passport you will travel to Guangzhou, where the U.S. Embassy is located and  responsible for issuing immigrant visas for adoptees.  On Saturday, your child will have a Medical Appointment with a U.S. Embassy doctor.  Most children are given a Consulate Apointment on Monday or Tuesday (depending on their age).  After the Consulate Appointment, you must remain in China for two more days to receive the child's immigrant visa.  Once the child's Chinese passport with visa to enter the United States is picked up you are free to depart or return to the USA with your child!

We will arrange someone to assist you with the adoption proceedings at the Provincial Civial Affairs, however, no guides, trasportation or translators will be provided.  If you desire this as part of your package, it can be negotiated prior to travel.  While in Guangzhou, you will have someone available to assist with all paperwork and the Embassy appointments.