Your application allows CCAI to screen your qualifications for a Taiwanese adoption. From your application, we are able to determine whether or not you meet the requirements of our agency and the requirements of the various government entities that will be involved in your adoption - U.S. government, Taiwanese government, etc. If a family submits a complete and truthful application and is approved by CCAI, we are committed to serving you through all the stages of a Taiwanese adoption.

You cannot request to be matched to any child nor complete a dossier without your Home Study; CCAI provides a list of home study service providers and is your link to the USCIS. Our Taiwan Team will review your home study. Once your home study is reviewed and approved for Taiwan, you will file your I-600A, related documents and fees, including the home study for immigration approval to adopt from Taiwan.

*This part of the process can be repeated as many times as necessary until the orphanage approves a match.

Upon selection of a waiting child from our agency’s list of available children, your home study and other submission materials will be forwarded to a special team at the orphanage who will assess your suitability for the particular child or sibling group, and make the final match determination. Once you are matched, the orphanage will provide an Adoption Contract for you to sign and upon receipt of the signed contract, the orphanage will prepare and mail child specific documents so that you may begin compiling your dossier. If you are not selected as the adoptive family for that particular child or sibling group, you can continue to review children’s files and once another potential fit is identified, you may make another submission for that specific child or sibling group.

Once your family accepts a child referral and signs the adoption contract (and you have received I-600A approval from USCIS), you will file the I-600 with the USCIS to initiate the Pre-Adoption Immigration Review (PAIR) prior to filing an adoption case with the courts in Taiwan. Upon issuance of the PAIR approval letter, USCIS NBC will forward the petition to AIT (American Institute in Taiwan) for final adjudication following the completion of the Taiwan court process.

After review of the dossier by the appropriate district court in Taiwan, a hearing is set. Adoptive parents may or may not be required to attend this hearing, either in person or virtually. (See next step for more details.) Once the hearing is complete and a 10-day waiting period is observed, a civil ruling is issued. The adoption process is completed by obtaining a a certificate for final civil ruling from the Court and registering the adoption at the local Census Bureau where the child is registered. From the point in time your dossier is received in Taiwan, it takes 6 to 8 months to complete these court proceedings and finalize your adoption.

All families need to initially plan on two 4-7 day trips to Taiwan. Both parents should plan on attending the first trip where you will appear in front of the Judge to approve your request to adopt a specific child. In some cases, the judge may waive the adoptive parent’s appearance in court allowing the parents to travel for only one trip. This decision is up to the judge and occurs on a case-by-case basis.

SECOND/FINAL TRIP: Typically, within three or four weeks of a court-finalized adoption in Taiwan, your family travels to Taiwan to bring home your newly adopted child. During this trip, Cathwel will assist you in applying for and obtaining the child’s U.S. visa from AIT (the American Institute in Taiwan). Once the visa is obtained, you can return to the US. This trip will last approximately one week.

Please remember the timeframe may lengthen while you are in process. Ttimelines are controlled by the Taiwanese government offices and are subject to change.

Throughout the wait, families are encouraged to check in with CCAI regularly. We maintain a library of books and resources at our office and are able to recommend relevant reading materials to families as they wait.

CCAI will work with your family to determine the best option for your family related to travel. In conjunction with the orphanage, CCAI’s Taiwan Team will assist you in arranging your local travel, accommodations, visit to the orphanage, and all adoption proceedings. CCAI will provide you with the needed travel training prior to departure.

After you return to the United States, CCAI will provide ongoing post adoption support to assist you with your adoption transition. Taiwan requires adoptive parents to complete 7 years of post-adoption reports. In the first year, reports are required at three, six, nine and twelve months. The three and twelve month post adoption report will be completed by your home study agency, while the six and nine month reports can be self-reported by the family (and transmitted through CCAI). After the first year, yearly self-reports can be submitted for the next six years or until your child turns 18. Photos are to be attached to all reports. CCAI will provide you information on how to validate your finalized adoption in order to obtain your adopted Taiwanese child(ren)’s birth certificate from your state, and obtain his/her Social Security card and citizenship documentation, if necessary.