Steps

• Attend Orientation/Informational Meeting see website or call for details

• Apply to CAWLI with completed application. CAWLI will then email you our Intake Package. Call us to schedule Intake Meeting.

• Complete home study process and gather all documents at the same time. A social worker is assigned following the Intake meeting & once we receive the home study/post placement fee.

• Apply to the USCIS with a completed I-600Aform and supporting documents. A completed, original home study shall also be included. Some states allow you to submit your I-600A prior to your home study being completed, some states do not. Please check with us or your home study agency for details on your state.

(Ex. $830 total for a married couple)

• About 2-3 weeks after the USCIS receives your application and home study, you will receive a letter asking you to come in for fingerprinting. Everyone over the age of 18 in your home must go.

• About 6-8 weeks from receipt of your home study, I-800A, and fingerprinting, USCIS sends your approval (I-171-H) to you.

CCAA Application Fee: $1050.00

• Processing your Dossier. CAWLI then takes your documents and has them notarized, certified and authenticated.

3-4 weeks

• CAWLI then sends your Dossier To China (DTC date). You are now considered a “Waiting Family.” You will be encouraged to contact other DTC families and will automatically receive e-mail updates on a monthly basis from the agency when we receive new referrals.

• Referral wait - measured from the time CCAA receives your dossier, (aka Log-In Date), usually about 1-3 weeks after DTC date. We will not know your log-in date for about 6-8 weeks after you are DTC, but it does not mean that it takes that long to get logged in - it just takes that long for them to notify us.

• Referral Day!
  We invite families to come in that day to review your referral (assignment) from China!

• Travel to China!!!
  Agency sends your acceptance letters to China, they take about 4 weeks to process your Travel Approval. Once we get your travel approval, we can request visa appointments for your children. Once we confirm your visa appointments, we are able to set final travel dates. Typically, we have travel dates about 2 weeks before your departure dates. Please be advised that due to different factors, this time frame can change!

Travel costs: $3000-3500 per person based on double occupancy. (Travel costs vary on season, orphanage location, & services provided)

Trip itself is 2 weeks

• Post Placement Services
  Families are required to do a post placement report (with pictures of your child) at 6 and 12 months with your social worker.