China Program Update

by Kate Boyd

All continues to go very well with the China Program. The CCAA continues to work hard to keep the time frame from dossier submission to referral at approximately 8-9 months. Travel is still around 6-8 weeks after families return their referral acceptances.

For those families working diligently on preparing dossiers, we want to take this time to encourage you during your hard work and to remind you to take extra special care to make sure all of the details match up between your dossier documents. After your dossier documents are state sealed, please make sure that you check FTIA's Hot News Posts and speak with your China Team Coordinator regarding having your dossier documents authenticated through the Chinese Consulates/Embassy. There have been several minor changes lately with getting documents authenticated and we want to make sure you have the latest information that is available.

There are also possible pending changes in applying for a visa for travel. We have received unofficial feedback that there might be a possibility the Chinese Consulates/Embassy could implement a new rule for the application of the visas. According the new rule, the Consulates/Embassy may randomly ask a visa applicant to come to their office in person for an interview, no matter where you are, or what your trip purpose is. Therefore a family may be asked to go to the Consulate for an interview in the future. Again, this is not official, but we do not want anyone in your travel group to take chances. If this change becomes official we will post an announcement on the FTIA website under Hot News. We do not want to unduly alarm any waiting families and we would not encourage anyone to apply for visas prior to receiving your referral. We just want to make you aware of the possibility so that you have this information when the time comes to apply for your visa and travel to receive your child.

Finally, we received a notice from the Adoption Unit at the American Consulate General in Guangzhou, China this week. It indicates that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended a temporary suspension of adoption proceedings from the Zhuzhou Child Welfare Institute in Hunan Province, China, due to an outbreak of measles. It asks parents to contact the Adoption Unit at the American Consulate General in Guangzhou before proceeding with an adoption from this orphanage and states that the Adoption Unit may be unable to issue an immigrant visa to children from the affected facility without significant delays. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a press release about this recent measles outbreak in China. In addition to their recommendation of the temporary suspension of adoptions from this particular orphanage, they suggest that "prospective adoptive parents traveling internationally to adopt children and their household contacts should ensure that they have a history of natural disease or have been vaccinated according to guidelines of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Prospective parents of international adoptees from China should stay informed as more information becomes available about the measles outbreak." For more information please consult their press release and flier. FTIA does not have families adopting children from Zhuzhou at this time, but we do want to take this opportunity to remind our families of the importance of keeping the immunization record up to date for you and your family. Please make sure that you and your immediate family members have up-to-date vaccinations, not just for measles, but make sure that you are up-to-date on all of your immunizations. If you have any questions or are unsure about your immunizations, we would encourage you to speak with your doctor. This type of health advisory has occurred in the past and does not seem to pose a serious risk, however it should be taken seriously in that families should be prepared and well educated on matters regarding communicable diseases and international travel.

FTIA will continue to monitor the situation and update our families with new information.

We hope everyone takes the time to enjoy International Labor Day, May 1st.

It is possible that the CCAA and Chinese Provincial offices will be closed this first week in May.

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