General Information on Foreign Adoptions in Bulgaria

Important Note

The Hague Adoption Convention entered into force for the United States on April 1, 2008.  The Convention strengthens protection for adopted children, birth parents and adoptive parents involved in intercountry adoptions.  Its key principles include:

1) Ensuring that intercountry adoptions take place in the best interest of children.
2) Preventing the abduction, exploitation, sale, or trafficking of children.
3) Facilitating communication between Central Authorities in countries of origin and destination countries.

The Adoption Process

Prospective adoptive parents must first contact an accredited adoption service provider in the United States.  Only those adoption service providers who have been accredited, temporarily accredited, or approved by either the Council on Accreditation  or the Colorado Department of Human Services will be able to provide adoption services for Hague adoption cases.

The new form for initiating an intercountry adoption is called I-800A.  This form is used to determine suitability of the prospective adoptive parents.  All cases must begin with the processing of I-800A. The prospective adoptive parents must file I-800A with the domestic USCS office having jurisdiction over their usual place of residence.

The Bulgarian government allows for the adoption of Bulgarian orphans by families and individuals in foreign countries. The issue of foreign adoptions is sensitive, however, and the Bulgarian government has implemented the requirements of the Hague Convention to regulate the process and to allay the concerns of the public, which have been inflamed by sensational articles in the press. The U.S. Embassy in Sofia has processed many successful adoption cases, and we expect the practice to continue. Bulgarian regulations prohibit intercountry adoptions of orphans who are under one year of age.

Adoption does not automatically confer U.S. citizenship. Adoption allows the adoptive parents to petition for an immigrant visa for the child, who can then be brought to the United States for naturalization. The process requires an application to the Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Please contact the USCIS office having jurisdiction over your place of residence for information on initiating the petition process.
Additional information on foreign adoptions.

Once the adoption is final, the child must have a medical examination conducted by the Embassy's Panel Physician, which costs approximately $60, and then the Embassy can issue the immigrant visa, which costs $400. If the U.S. parents have adopted two Bulgarian children but the children are not siblings, another $750 fee must be paid for filing an I-800 petition at the U.S. Consulate in Sofia.

The complexity of this process should make clear that it takes time, and prospective adoptive parents should be patient and not expect instant results. American prospective adoptive parents may file their application with the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice only through an accredited adoption service provider. Each American adoption service provider operating in Bulgaria should be either licensed by the MOJ or should use the services of a Bulgarian licensed agency. As of July 2007, there are 20 Bulgarian adoption service providers approved by the MOJ. No American adoption service providers have been accredited so far.

Availability of Children for Adoption

Recent statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to Bulgarian orphans adopted by American citizens:
 
2001 - 295
2002 - 257
2002  - 198
2004 - 110
2005 - 29
2006  - 28
2007 - 20

The statistics for fiscal year 2007 shows that the Embassy in Sofia issued 20 adoption visas. This number reflects the current trend of steady decline of intercountry adoptions in Bulgaria. If this trend continues, we may expect less than 20 visas issued to Bulgarian orphans in FY 2008.

Approximately 80% of the children adopted have had medical conditions.  An adoption Council at the Ministry of Justice reviews the applications and matches children to a proper family. Priority is given to parents wishing to adopt a child with a medical condition.

Adoption Agencies Licensed by the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice

The Embassy is not in a position to recommend any specific agencies. Even some of the most successful agencies here have had occasional problems and dissatisfied clients. We urge all prospective adoptive parents to investigate an agency thoroughly before committing any funds.

Parents should be aware that the adoption process takes many months, sometimes more than one year. The American Embassy in Sofia cannot act as a representative of the parents or as an adoption facilitator. If there is an unreasonable delay in the adoption process, however, the Embassy can make official inquiries on behalf of the parents.  It takes the Ministry of Justice about 30 days to respond to an official inquiry.

If you have questions or desire further information, please feel free to write or call the Consular Section of the Embassy. Our telephone numbers are as follows:

+359 (2) 937-5444 (2:00 to 4:00 p.m.)
+359 (2) 937 5122 (Immigrant Visa Unit Fax)
E-mail: iv_sofia@state.gov

You may also write to us through the U.S. postal system at the following address:

Consular Section
Department of State
5740 Sofia Pl.
Washington, D.C. 20521-5740

Points of contact are Vice Consul Carolyn Turpin, Immigrant Visa Unit Chief, and Emanuil Georgiev, Consular Assistant for Immigrant Visas.