1. Birth certificates. You will need an origianl for you and your husband. Copies can be used for your children.
2. Marriage license
3. Divorce decree
4. Employment verification letter that states your position, length of time you have worked there, your hourly/annual wage, and the prospect of your continued employment.
6. An unemployment letter if you are a stay-at-home mom or dad. The CCAA would like a stay at home mom or dad to state their daily activites and that they would be willing to work to support their family should it become necessary.
7. Physical examinations for you and spouse. If you have ever had surgery there will need to be a letter written answering certain questions from the CCAA.
8. Police clearance for those in your home over the age of 18 years.
9. An application letter to the CCAA stating the basics; why you want to adopt, the child you desire etc.
10. If you are single you will need to prepare a letter stating that you are not a leading a homosexual lifestyle. This letter will also need to include your views on marriage, if you have children and if so, what are the custody arrangements, if you have ever been married, divorced, etc. You will also need to prepare a letter indicating who will be the guardian of your child should you no longer be able to care for him or her.
11. Your homestudy.
12. A copy of your 171-H, your approval from the US government to adopt.
13. Two passport pictures of you and your spouse.
14. Pictures of your family. We had to provide two pictures that included the entire family (took these at Sears) and then at least six others that showed family life.
Once you have these documents, you will need to have them notorized, certified, and authenticated. If you generate the document, you will have to have it notorized and then sent for certification at the state level. Documents issued by the state, ie birth certificates, etc., have already skipped the notorization step and can move up the chain so to speak. Once certified by the state and depending on where you live, your documents will go the US State Department for additional certification and then for authentiation by the Chinese Embassy. Certain regions can skip the State Deparment and go to a branch of the Embassy known as a Consulate. Your agency will let you know where you will need to send things depending on where you live.
This can seem very overwhelming but relax and enjoy your paper pregnacy as much as possible. Your agency will help you, and some take care of the certifiation/authentication process for you as a part of their adoption services. Ask questions whenever you are in doubt. This can save you time and money. We always sent a "draft" of our letters to our agency for approval prior to notorization. This allowed us to correct mistakes prior to spending money on the notorization process.
I would recommend opening an account with either FedEx or UPS for sending your documents. Not only is this an easy way to send your documents, but you can track them at any time. You can set up accounts on the internet.
I made copies of everything and put them in a binder. Helped to keep me organized. Good luck!