Our journey to Lili Mei

Our journey to Lili formally began in March 2010.  We always thought we would adopt, but as the years went by, we got so comfortable with our little family of three that it just kept getting pushed farther and farther into the future.  About once a year, I would bring it up, but it never went anywhere.  Lauren began to ask for a little sister.  And the Lord began to tell me in various ways that now was the time.  Scott was a bit taken aback by our enthusiasm, and realized this time it was for real and we weren’t just going to let it go.  After more prayer, we all agreed it was the next step for our family.

About the same time, a friend of mine had just gotten a referral for a baby boy in China.  Scott and I had always thought we’d adopt from Korea, but after hearing about this particular agency (and lots and lots and lots and lots! of research and prayer and finding out I was too old for Korea’s requirements!), we agreed we would begin the process for a China adoption.  We knew we wanted a little girl, around toddler age, and this seemed a perfect fit.  I had always had a desire to adopt a child with mild special needs, which Scott was agreeable to, so from the beginning of the process, we factored that into our plans.

So began the application process.  I got the preliminary application ready and sent it off to Chinese Children Adoption International (CCAI) in Colorado.  After they accepted our preliminary application , we prepared our actual application.  This was quite a process.  Each of us had to list the usual general information (birthdays, address, social security numbers, etc), as well as previous marriages, others in household, arrest history, health information including surgeries, any fertility issues, insurance information, extended family including ages and occupations, employer information, three references, financial information including assets and liabilities, any prior adoptions, and a family assessment (asking if we have ever pursued adoption, had a home study completed, are working with another agency, etc). WHEW!

Once that was out of the way, the next step was to locate a home study agency.  There was one locally that sounded wonderful, but the gal was not completely familiar with the Hague [treaty]requirements, which left me with an uneasy feeling.  We wanted someone who knew exactly what was required so there would be as few problems as possible.  We found that several families in our state had used a particular social worker who had formerly worked at CCAI and was thoroughly familiar with not only CCAI’s requirements, but those of the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA).  So we went with her agency, but had a different social worker (who was great as well!).  Their whole office worked as a team and kept us in the loop every step of the way.  

The home study report is just one component of the dossier that must be submitted to China.  We started the “paper-chase” (or paper pregnancy as some refer to it--no pre-eclampsia this time around!) to obtain every necessary document as soon as we could (such as ordering certified copies of birth certificates), got signatures, and had things notarized.  In fact, we cajoled a dear friend into becoming a notary for us because there would be so many documents we needed notarized--and she did!  We have awesome friends!!!

So, in April we had the required meetings with our social worker, including our home visit, and began gathering all the necessary documentation required for a home study.  This included a criminal background check and child abuse & neglect check from EVERY STATE WE LIVED IN SINCE WE WERE 18!!!!  Yikes.  Combined, Scott and I have lived in 8 states, plus they had to check to see if his "overseas" assignment had a registry (they didn’t!) because of the year Scott was stationed there, for a grand total of 15 background checks!  

With the majority of what could be done now taken care of, Lauren and I left for our month-long road trip around the U.S. on May 2, 2010.  Although we had all the documents completed, there were many things beyond our control (mostly waiting for all the background checks and medical stuff to come back).  But we did run into a few minor glitches while I was gone.  It was quite an experience trying to take care of adoption stuff while I was driving in the middle of Kansas, or Utah, or Arizona!  Lots of dropped cell phone calls, and plenty of emails from hotels.  I don’t think I would have survived without my iPhone though.

All 13 documents in the dossier had to be notarized, certified by the Secretary of State where the document originated, authenticated by the Department of State and then authenticated by the Chinese Embassy.  What a pain!  And, naturally, each of these steps for each of these documents had a fee.  It sure added up.

Our home study report was completed and notarized June 10th, 2010.  Once we had our home study report in hand, we could submit our “Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country” (aka-I800A) to the US Citizenship & Immigration Services.  Then we’d wait for them to send us our fingerprint appointment.  Once we were fingerprinted, we waited for USCIS to send us our approval letter, which is good for 15 months.  We got that near the end of August.  That was the last document we needed before we could submit our dossier to our agency.  

So we Express-mailed everything off to the Secretary of State, and a few days later had them back in hand to finish the “sealing” with another walk-in trip to the Department of state, then dropped the last 4 documents off at the Chinese Embassy to be picked up four days later.  Once everything was sealed, I made 3 copies of everything (2 for CCAI, one for us) and got it all organized and ready to be mailed to CCAI, with the required photos, etc.  The paper chase was officially OVER!  I Express-mailed the dossier to CCAI on the afternoon of August 25th, 2010.

Coincidentally, that afternoon I had an email in my in-box from CCAI, asking if I wanted to look at the file of a little girl (of course we did!)  I couldn’t believe it!!  They emailed me her file, which I printed out and read later that evening when I had some time.  I showed it to Lauren and Scott, and after discussing it as a family, we decided we would pursue the adoption of Qiu Feng.  We consulted with a specialist at the local International Adoption Clinic the next day (the day CCAI received our dossier) regarding Qiu Feng’s file and specifically her special need, then called CCAI  Friday, August 27th, saying we would accept the match. 

CCAI sent us information on writing our “Letter of Interest” to China, which we wrote and submitted within a few days.  CCAI then submitted our LOI to the CCAA on 8/31, and on 9/7 we received our pre-approval--where CCAA agrees to review our information and process the case as an adoption of  a special-needs child.  On September 19, 2010 we were “logged-in” (LID) to China!

On October 25th we received our Letter Seeking Confirmation from Adopter (LOA).  The next step was to sign these papers, and we returned them to CCAI with more immigration paperwork (I800) and a bunch of notarized travel documents.  Once the immigration paperwork was sent to the USCIS, we got the next packet--Lili’s visa paperwork!  

In the meantime, we needed to get travel vaccinations--they recommended Hep A, Hep B, and Typhoid, in addition to all the regular childhood vaccinations like measles and polio, and a flu shot.  We each got those  we needed, and we are all set.  Passports are ready to go (had to get Lauren a new one since it was set to expire right about when we expect to travel!).  We are gathering everything we need.  The bedroom is almost ready.  We even got a crib donated to us (which is in Lili’s room opposite the twin bed--I don’t have a photo yet).

Did I mention that her room used to be Scott’s home office, and we had to completely relocate everything downstairs into the classroom, and turn his man-cave into a princess castle?  We matched the colors to a cute dress we found (it had all the colors we wanted), hence the crazy green and pink.  It really is cute though! (don't worry...there's a crib in there too)  

Once we received our Provisional Approval from USCIS on November 14, the National Benefits Center had to send everything to the National Visa Center, then NVC had to cable it to the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China.  We got news that everything was cabled November 23.  On December 13 we received our Article-5 (which has something to do with  Lili’s immigration visa, and therefore China can now go ahead and issue travel approval).  It is supposed to take 3-4 days for A-5 to be delivered to CCAA, then about 2-4 weeks for them to issue Travel Approval.

Two weeks after Article 5 we received our Travel Approval from China.  Once that is received, CCAI requests an appointment at the US Consulate in Guangzhou, where we will take our oath saying everything in our papers is true.  Once that was in place, the trip will be built around that.  

Once we had CCAI approve our itinerary, we purchased three round trip tickets, plus Lili’s one-way (which cost about the same as our round trip!).  CCAI makes all the in-China arrangements (pick up in Beijing, hotel there, flight to Zhengzhou, hotel there, flight to Guangzhou, hotel there, and a guide in each place).  One of the reasons we chose this agency is for their in-China reputation.  It is fabulous!  

We received our travel itinerary on January 6th, 2011.

UPDATE: 9/16/11
We travelled to China January 12, 2011, met Qiu Feng January 17th, and flew home January 27.  Lili Mei Feng became a United States citizen that day!