INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION

March 2006

DISCLAIMER:  The following is intended as a very general guide to assist U.S. citizens who plan to adopt a child from a foreign country and apply for an immigrant visa for the child to come to the United States. Two sets of laws are particularly relevant: 1) the laws of the child’s country of birth govern all activity in that country including the adoptability of individual children as well as the adoption of children in country in general; and 2) U.S. Federal immigration law governs the immigration of the child to the United States.

The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and our current understanding. It does not necessarily reflect the actual state of the laws of a child’s country of birth and is provided for general information only. Moreover, U.S. immigration law, including regulations and interpretation, changes from time to time. This flyer reflects our current understanding of the law as of this date and is not legally authoritative. Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel.

PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF ADOPTED ORPHANS TO THE U.S.:   Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to orphans:  

ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN BULGARIA: 
Ministry of Justice
Slavyanska Street # 1, Sofia 1000
Tel:  (359 2) 923-7303 (Bulgarian only)
http://www.mjeli.government.bg/ (Bulgarian only)

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS:   Prospective adoptive parents may be married or single. Adoptive parents must be at least fifteen years older than their adoptive children, but no more than forty-five years older. 

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS:   There are no residency requirements to complete an intercountry adoption in Bulgaria. However, prospective adoptive parents are expected to spend five days with their adoptive child before the orphanage director will release the child.

TIME FRAME:   If there is a child available for intercountry adoption, it normally takes several months to complete the adoption process in Bulgaria; however, there are very few children on the waiting list, which means that the adoptive parents may wait many months and even years until the Ministry of Justice offers them a Bulgarian orphan for adoption.

ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS:  Prospective adoptive parents must use a Bulgarian-licensed U.S. adoption agency or a Bulgarian adoption agency accredited by the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice is currently reviewing license applications for several U.S.-based adoption agencies.  For a complete list of adoption agencies accredited by the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice, please visit the web site of the U.S. Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria at http://bulgaria.usembassy.gov/adoption3.html

Prospective adoptive parents are advised to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator they plan to use for adoption services.  For U.S.- based agencies, it is suggested that prospective adoptive parents contact the Better Business Bureau and/or the licensing office of the appropriate state government agency in the U.S. state where the agency is located or licensed. 

Please see the Important Notice Regarding Adoption Agents and Facilitators at the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs web site at travel.state.gov.

ADOPTION FEES IN BULGARIA:   The U.S. Embassy in Sofia is aware of the following Bulgarian fees for adoption. These fees are subject to change. All fees are given in Euros as the Bulgarian currency is linked to the Euro.

Application fee at the MOJ: 100.00 Euros 
Court fee: 750.00 Euros
Transcript of the Court Decree: 25.00 Euros
Passport fee for child under 14: 7.00 Euros
Passport fee for child over 14: 14.00 Euros
Birth Certificate fee:  3.00 Euros

In addition to the above, U.S. adoption agencies may charge fees for the services they provide.

ADOPTION PROCEDURES:  U.S. citizens interested in adopting a child from anywhere outside the United States should first contact the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) division in order to complete the U.S. pre-adoption requirements.  U.S. citizens specifically interested in pursuing an adoption from Bulgaria must also contact a Bulgarian or U.S. adoption agency which has been licensed by the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice. All required documents must be deposited at the Ministry of Justice by the accredited agency.  If the prospective parent’s/parents’ application is accepted, their names are placed on a registry.

Separately, the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice (MOJ) also maintains a registry of Bulgarian children eligible for intercountry adoption.  Under Bulgarian law, a child may appear on this registry only if three Bulgarian families have declined to adopt him/her.

IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING THE TWO REGISTRIES:  Usually, there are more than 1,000 families from Europe and North America on the prospective parents’ registry and only a handful of children available for intercountry adoption.  Most of the children have serious medical conditions.  The Bulgarian government does not process prospective adoptive parents' applications in chronological order.  Priority is given to persons willing to adopt a handicapped child.  Furthermore, the Adoption Council abides very strictly by the principle that its goal is to find appropriate parents for a child in need, and not to find a child for prospective parents who want one.

The Adoption Council within the MOJ reviews the registries of prospective parents and available children, including all relevant documentation, and proposes a match.  The MOJ provides the adoptive parents through their accredited agency photographs of the child and information about his/her medical condition. If the family declines to adopt a specific child, the Council should be informed within two months and a match with different child will be offered. There is no limitation as to the number of times prospective adoptive parents may decline to adopt a Bulgarian orphan.  The decision to decline is passed by prospective adoptive parents to the MOJ through the accredited adoption agency. It is important to note that if prospective adoptive parents decline to adopt a specific child, they must notify the MOJ within two months of the referral.

Once the prospective adoptive parent(s) select a child and the Council approves the application, the case is forwarded to the Minister of Justice for final approval. When the Minister signs the parents’ application, the paperwork is transferred directly to Sofia City Court, which sets a date for a court hearing.  The judges take into consideration the MOJ’s referral and review the documentation related to the adoption process.  If they require additional documents, the court sets a date for a new hearing.  After all requirements have been met, the court grants custody of the child to the adoptive parents.

One or both of the adoptive parents should plan on making a trip to Bulgaria, since they must spend at least five days with their adopted son or daughter after the MOJ has offered them a child. 

Once the courts rules that custody of the child is given to the adoptive parents, their Bulgarian representative must apply for a new birth certificate.  After the new birth certificate has been issued, the representative has to apply for a passport of the child.  The process of obtaining a birth certificate and a passport takes 3-4 weeks.  The parents are not required to do anything in order to apply for those two documents.  Their accredited adoption agency authorizes an attorney to represent them at court and deposit documents at various government entities. 

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION IN BULGARIA:

• Application (personal data, short family history, financial situation).  (The application is a letter prepared by the accredited adoption agency).
• Document certifying that the adoptive parent(s) has/have not been deprived of custody rights (normally, an FBI fingerprint clearance shows whether there were prior arrests or criminal convictions which, in the opinion of the MOJ, would render them ineligible to adopt a child).
• Home Study.
• Medical Certificate(signed by a general practitioner).
• Police Certificate.
• Marriage Certificate.
• Approval by the USCIS (I-171H).
• All documents should be submitted in the original.  They must be translated and apostilled (see below).

AUTHENTICATING U.S. DOCUMENTS TO BE USED ABROAD:  The language describing the process of authenticating U.S. documents to be used abroad is currently under review. Please click on the following link for more information until the new language is finalized. http://www.travel.state.gov/law/info/judicial/judicial_701.html

Bulgarian Embassy and Consulates in the United States:

Embassy of Bulgaria
1621 22nd Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: 202-387-0174 (main), 202-387-7969 (consular section)
Fax: 202-234-7973
Email: office@Bulgaria-Embassy.org, Consulate@Bulgaria-Embassy.org
http://www.bulgaria-embassy.org/   

Bulgaria also has Consulates General in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles.

U.S. IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS:  Prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to consult USCIS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adopting Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions. This publication is available at the USCIS web site. The Department of State publication International Adoptions can be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs web site, http://travel.state.gov .

Before completing an adoption abroad, prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to review the requirements for filing I-600 petitions for orphans adopted by U.S. citizens. Please see our flyer How Can Adopted Children Come to the United States at the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs web site at http://travel.state.gov .

APPLYING FOR A VISA FOR YOUR CHILD AT THE U.S. EMBASSY IN BULGARIA:  As soon as prospective adopting parents arrive in Bulgaria, they should contact the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in order to register their presence in Bulgaria.  The visa interview may be scheduled by the adoptive parents or by their Bulgarian representative over the telephone as soon as the child obtains a Bulgarian passport.  They must first make sure that their I-600A Petition and their fingerprint clearance have not expired.  The visa interview may be scheduled a few days before the intended interview date. 

The Consular Section is located at:
16 Kozyak Street
Sofia 1407
Bulgaria
Tel: (359 2) 937-5100
e-mail: iv_sofia@state.gov

Immigrant visa interview appointments should be arranged a few days in advance.  Interviews can be scheduled by calling (359-2) 937-5444 each working day from to 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. This is the direct line to the Immigrant Visa Unit.  In case of emergency or if the line is busy, adoptive parents may reach the Immigrant Visa Unit through the Embassy's switchboard: (359-2) 937-5100.  Embassy conducts immigrant visa interviews Monday through Thursday.

NOTE:  Visa issuance after the final interview now generally takes 24 hours and it will not normally be possible to provide the visa to adoptive parents on the day of the interview.

DOCUMENTARY REUIREMENTS FOR THE IMMIGRANT VISA INTERVIEW:   U.S. law requires that the adopted child, regardless of age, be taken to a U.S. Embassy for a personal appearance before the consular officer at the time of the interview for the immigrant visa.  In addition, adoptive parents of Bulgarian children should take the following documents to the Embassy:

• Confirmation from the USCIS of an approved and valid I-600A petition;
• Completed I-600 petition, with original signatures by both adopting parents. The I-600 forms can be downloaded from the USCIS website at: uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/index.htm;
• Completed Immigrant Visa application, form DS-230, Parts I and II, signed by one parent on behalf of the child, in the presence of a consular officer.  Information on the form should pertain to the child, not the adopting parents.  These forms can be downloaded from our web site at http://www.travel.state.gov;
• Documents to show the consular officer that the child will not be a public charge in the U.S., for example, a job letter, tax returns, bank statement or other proof of the adoptive parent’s or parents’ assets in the U.S.;
• Results of the child's immigrant visa physical examination, including a vaccination report;
• An Affidavit of Acknowledgement of Health Problems of Adopted Child.  Both parents' signatures should be notarized.  Please do not sign this document before you come to the Embassy - it must be signed under oath in the presence of a U.S. Consular Officer.  Alternatively, it can be notarized in the U.S.  Please make sure to include all health problems that are listed in the adoption court decree and medical history of the child(ren) (if available);
• Affidavit of Vaccinations Requirement Waiver.  Please do not sign this document before you come to the Embassy - it must be signed under oath in the presence of a U.S. Consular Officer. The form may be signed by either of the adopting parents and notarized by a U.S. Consular Officer or U.S. notary public. This form is required only for children 10 years of age and younger. You can download this form here;
• Immigrant visa fee of U.S. $380 cash, payable at the time of the interview;
• An original and copies of the foreign adoption decree;
• An original and two copies of a birth certificate issued in the child's new (adopted) name.
• Two copies of the court decree declaring that the child is an orphan and/or unambiguously declaring that any surviving parents have no legal parental rights;
• Two notarized copies of the child's pre-adoption birth certificate; 
• The original of the orphanage's medical report/medical history for the child;
• The original of each of the adopting parents’ passports;
• One frontal facial photo: http://bulgaria.usembassy.gov/visa_photo.html.

In addition to the above, the parents of children who are likely to receive category IR-4 immigrant visas may also be required to present the following:

• Certified copy of the approved home study;  
• Evidence that the pre-adoption requirements of the adopting parents' state of residence have been met;
• Evidence that re-adoption is legally possible in the parents' state of residence, if applicable;
• A notarized statement from the parent who has not met the child, that he or she intends to adopt the child in the United States; 
• Form I-864 Affidavit of Support and supporting documentation. For instructions, please see http://travel.state.gov/immigrantvisas.html#aos .

ACQUIRING U.S. CITIZENSHIP:  The language describing the acquisition of U.S. citizenship for adopted children is currently under review. Until the new language is finalized, please click on the following link for further information. http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/info/info_457.html.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:  Specific questions about adoption in Bulgaria may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria. General questions regarding intercountry adoption may be addressed to the Office of Children’s Issues, U.S. Department of State, CA/OCS/CI, SA-29, 4th Floor, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818, toll-free Tel: 1-888-407-4747.

Useful information is also available from several other sources:
Telephone:

• Toll Free - For information on intercountry adoption and international parental child abduction, call Overseas Citizens Services at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-202-501-4444.
• U.S. Department of State Visa Office - recorded information concerning immigrant visas for adopting children, (202) 663-1225.
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - recorded information for requesting immigrant visa application forms, 1-800-870-FORM (3676).

Internet:

• Adoption Information Flyers: The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs web site at: http://travel.state.gov/ contains international country adoption information flyers like this one and the International Adoptions brochure.
• Country Specific Information: The State Department has general information about hiring a foreign attorney and authenticating documents that may supplement the country-specific information provided in this flyer. In addition, the State Department publishes Country Specific Information for every country in the world, providing information such as location of the U.S. Embassy, health conditions, political situations, and crime reports. If the situation in a country poses a specific threat to the safety and security of American citizens that is not addressed in the CSI for that country, the State Department may issue a Travel Alert alerting U.S. citizens to local security situations. If conditions in a country are sufficiently serious, the State Department may issue a Travel Warning recommending that U.S. citizens avoid traveling to that country. These documents are available on the Internet at: http://travel.state.gov/ or by calling the State Department's Office of Overseas Citizen Services Toll Free at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-202-501-4444.
• USCIS web site - http://uscis.gov/ .