[sak9645]

China DOES give a few advantages to people living abroad, if EITHER one spouse was born in China or the parents of one spouse were born in China. In those cases ONLY, China will expedite referrals by several months. They will also be more likely to grant a request for a boy or for a child from the family's ancestral province.

China does NOT give any special advantages to any other people of Chinese heritage, whether or not they speak Chinese. As an example, if both you and your parents were born in the U.S., but your grandparents were born in China, you would not qualify for an expedited referral.

And China's basic laws governing international adoption treat both people of Chinese heritage -- even those born in China but living abroad -- and people who are not of Chinese heritage equally. While China wants families who will raise their children to honor their cultural heritage, it is more concerned with basics like parental good health, absence of a criminal history, and so on.


Sharon