Your homestudy must be completed by a state-licensed agency. Homestudies completed by independent social workers are not accepted by China. If you live in Nevada or Utah, we woud be happy to complete your homestudy for you. If you live in another state, please contact us. We may be able to recommend an agency if we have worked with a family in your area.
Another way to make this decision is to visit www.1-800-homestudy.com or call 1-800-homestudy. They will be able to give you general recommendations on homestudy agencies in your area.
West Sands Adoptions requires homestudy agencies outside the state of Utah to contact us before beginning a homestudy for a client of ours. Please send them our contact information so that they can contact us. Also, please let us know who you are using so we can follow up. We would appreciate them faxing us the draft of the homestudy before it is signed off. We want to make sure that the homestudy meets all the requirements for China before it is finalized.
Your social worker will usually work with you to determine the age of the child you are requesting. You may request a baby as young as possible, 0-9 months, or however you want to phrase it. However, please keep in mind that China considers a child up to 15 months a baby and may well refer you a child up to this age. If the child you are referred is older than your homestudy approves you for, you will have to get a homestudy update before traveling to China which can be very costly and time-consuming. The average age of referral for the past 6 months has probably been about 10 months. Please keep this in mind when you are making this decision.
When your homestudy is complete, we will give you 3 original copies of the homestudy. One is for the USCIS, one for your dossier, and one for your records. If you are using a different homestudy agency, ask them to send us 3 originals. The homestudy is part of your dossier and needs to be sent by you to the Secretary of State for certification.
An original of your homestudy must go to USCIS. If you are allowed to receive your homestudy, you can take this in yourself with the I-600A application and the other supporting documents . In some states, it is required that the homestudy agency send it directly to USCIS. Please make sure you understand who will be sending it to USCIS so there is no delay in receiving your I-171H. If your homestudy agency sends it, ask them to send it FedEx or some other trackable method and to give you the tracking number so you know it was received and by who. Depending on your state, USCIS may require you to make an appointment to hand in the documents, have you mail them in after you (or they) receive your homestudy, or you can send all the supporting documents in advance of receiving the homestudy. Please check www.uscis.gov and then find your local office to see what the requirements for your local office are.
At your request, West Sands Adoptions will gladly make available the following information: (a) the number of our adoption placements per year for the prior three calendar years, and the number and percentage of those placements that remain intact, are disrupted, or have been dissolved as of the time the information is provided; and (b) the number of parents who apply to adopt on a yearly basis, based on the last three calendar years. West Sands Adoptions places “Waiting Children” through China’s program of adoption for special needs and waiting children. However, we do not have our own list of waiting children at this time. Parents who apply for adoption through programs with West Sands Adoptions will not be referred a child for placement until a child becomes available through the appropriate Central Authority in the child’s country of origin.
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