Between 40 and 50 families from the United States have been stranded in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, after the worldwide computer breakdown in the US State Department's visa and passport record-keeping database.

Li Jianru, an executive from Carolina Adoption Services, said the families are unable to leave the mainland, as they have been unable to obtain travel visas for their adopted babies because of the computer glitch.

CAS acts as an intermediary that helps foreigners to adopt Chinese babies.