International adoption has its own language and it can be confusing. It sort of looks like text messaging gone wrong with all those letters! WHAT DO THEY MEAN?? I thought I would list many of the acronyms used in the China Adoption process.
China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA)- This is the governing agency in Beijing, China that handles adoptions.
Dossier to China (DTC)- Remember in Our Timeline, I talked about ALL the documents gathered together and authenticated on every level as making up the dossier. This packet of official papers then goes to China. This packet is called the Dossier. DTC refers to the date that a packet is sent to China for the purpose of adopting.
Log in date (LID)- Once China receives the dossier, they will review it and give it a log in date. This means they have officially logged the dossier into their system. This will be the all important date that we will refer to throughout this waiting until we receive our referral.
Letter of Acceptance (LOA)- Once we receive our referral, we will have the option of accepting or denying that referral. If we choose to accept (and we will), we will write a letter of acceptance. This letter of acceptance gets signed by us and our agency and then gets sent back to China.
Travel Approval (TA)- Once China receives our LOA, they will issue a travel approval basically approving that you can come and pick up your child. It usually takes about a month before you get this but families need this time to prepare for the trip to China. When we go, we will be there for 2 weeks for the adoption to be completed.
Consulate Appointment (CA)- This is the appointment we will have at the end of our time in China. We will have this appointment at the US Embassy in Guangzhou, China. There our child will receive the required visa medical exam. All paperwork will be completed here so that when we land in the US, our child will be a US citizen. After this appointment, we are allowed to leave China.
Social Welfare Institute or orphanage (SWI)- Most children that are waiting to be adopted are waiting in these orphanages. There are some children who are placed with foster parents.
Other Important Terms that you might not know
Referral- When CCAA matches a child to waiting parents.
Gotcha Day- The day that you meet the child for the first time that you are adopting.
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