CCAA:  China Center of Adoption Affairs.  That's where the dossiers are processed and the children who live in China's SWI's (Social Welfare Institutes) and/or foster care, are matched with families.

Dossier:  This contains all your adoption paperwork.  It usually contains the application letter, birth certificates, marriage certificate, home study, financial statement, employment verification letters, police reports, physicals, copy of I-171H (also known as the Certificate of Child Adoption Approval), family photo pages, and a copy of the photo page from your passport.

DTC:  Dossier to China.  This is the date that your agency sends your dossier to China.

LID:  Log in date.  This is the date that China officially logs your dossier into their system.

LOI:  Letter of Intent, this letter is sent to China letting them know you accept this child and what your plans are for caring for this child's special need.

The Red Thread:  "An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance.  The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break."  Based on an ancient Chinese belief, it originally referred to marriage.  The adoption community has "adopted" it as a way of expressing their belief in the joint destiny of the adoptive family and the adopted child.

Referral:  Notification from the CCAA that they have matched a family with a child/children.  Referral information usually includes the child's Chinese name, date of birth (if known), height/weight, a medical report, one or more photographs, and a few notes about the child's nature.

TA:  Travel Approval.  This is received when China gives the family Travel Approval to come to China to bring their child home.

USCIS:  United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly INS)

Special Need (SN):  The children placed on the special needs list usually have minor to moderate special needs.  These can include cleft lip/palate, extra fingers/toes, missing fingers/toes/appendages, congenital heart defects, congenital hip dislocation, partial or total blindness or deafness, cerebral palsy, and hepatitis B, etc.  Prospective parents can decide which special needs they are comfortable with.