Written by Nicole Simpson

It was wonderful to see all the families at the Reunion was this year.  Each year we are thrilled to watch our FTIA family grow.  We were so excited to see thousands of you there, some traveling from FL and NY!

We loved having the opportunity to meet some of you for the first time and also to reunite with those we have not seen in while.  It is always such a joy to see how your children are growing -- each of us feels truly blessed to have played a part in the wonderful process of your adoptions.

The CCAA announced an increase in their fees effective September 1, 2005.  As a result FTIA is increasing the CCAA fee to $650.00 for all dossiers received at FTIA on or after August 27, 2005.  This results in the breakdown for fees on or after September 1, 2005 as follows: CCAA fee $410.00, BLAS $200.00 and the remaining $40.00 is to cover wire transfer fees when your BLAS and CCAA fees are wire transferred directly to the CCAA account.  As well as, the $40.00 also covers the Fed Ex expenses of sending your dossier and later post placement reports to the CCAA.  These changes will also apply to the China Waiting Children Program.  The CCAA fee will be $450.00 instead of $400.00 for Waiting Children Program.

In addition to these increases there may be increases for inside China travel and possibly increases of the notary/legal fees in China.  Currently there is a 2% difference in the value of the Yuan since it is no longer tied to the U.S. dollar, so we do not anticipate any increases will be significant.  No increases have been published as of this date but we anticipate increases in air fare in China as well as increases in some of the provincial fees and in-country travel costs.  We would be more than happy to talk with you and help you with any questions or concerns.  As always when we have updated information we will post to the HotNews or Yahoo Chat Groups. 

The time frames for referrals and travel still remain pretty consistent.  It is still between 6-7 months for most families to receive referrals and around 6–8 weeks to travel. 

Our China program has been growing.  We consider the increase as an indication we are serving you well. 

We will continue to keep all of our families updated of any future changes or news from China.   As always, the China team is here to help and assist you to bring your family together.

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