Waiting Children Photolisting
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Bulgarian Adoption Photolisting
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How To Adopt a Waiting Child – Steps
These are the steps you would have to go through to adopt a Bulgarian waiting child. Each step has additional explanations and clarifications. If you’d like to chat about any of this with an adoption professional, please call or text us at 704 527 7673.
“Waiting Child” Adoption Steps
Step 1
View list of Bulgarian waiting children. Consult with a doctor about child’s special needs, if any.
Step 2
Apply to adopt the waiting child submitting an application directly with the Bulgarian MOJ with the help of your accredited agency.
Step 3
Upon approval of your application by MOJ, let your agency help you meet eligibility criteria through completion of the Home Study, CIS Approval, and Dossier
Step 4
Use an accredited agency to present completed dossier, including Home Study and CIS approval to MOJ.
Step 5
First trip. Meet your child. While there, give consent to the adoption. (See a family’s blog from their “first meet”).
Step 6
Few months later, on your second trip, go to pick your child up. (See a family’s blog who recently did just that!)
Waiting Child FAQ
These are the most commonly asked questions about how to adopt a waiting child from Bulgaria. If you’d like to chat to someone about any of this, please let us know. Call or text: 704 527 7673.
How is “Waiting Child” Different Than “Traditional”?
Ultimately, you have to meet the exact same requirements for both routes. However, the Bulgarian MOJ expedites the adoption for children whom they consider to need homes more quickly. The reason may be that the child has more severe special needs, or is older. To encourage the placement of these children, the MOJ lets its Bulgarian accredited agencies advocate for them by sharing photos online without any identifying info. If you see a child you’d like to adopt, you can trigger the initiation of the process by completing an application through the MOJ. After that, the process is the same in regards to meeting eligibility criteria and visiting the child.
Can I Do Both Routes at the Same Time?
Yes. Because the requirements are the same, you can begin work on meeting the eligibility criteria without having seen your child. During this time, if you see a “waiting child” you’d like to adopt, your application to the MOJ would likely stand out because you would be closer to being “paperwork ready”. Remember, their goal is to place the child more quickly, so if you have more done, it increases the chances of your application being picked. We estimate that only about 20% of children are “waiting children” while the remaining 80% are made available through “traditional adoption”.
How Long Will It Take To Adopt a “Waiting Child”?
Waiting children adoptions are expedited. The whole process could take about 12 – 18 months. Once the MOJ approves your application, they give you 6 months to meet eligibility criteria. Once you’ve submitted your dossier, they will schedule your first trip in about 30 days. Second and final trip is about 3 to 5 months later once the adoption has been approved through the court. See one of our moms who adopted in 18 months!
Timeline Breakdown – “Waiting Child”
The whole process can take between 12 and 18 months.
Paperwork Preparation: Takes between 3 and 6 months. MOJ gives you 6 months to complete dossier. (But you could still do it faster).
Months
Waiting for a Match: None.
Months
Trip 1: Go meet your child. Trip 1 is about 7 days. See a blog of family who just visited their child.
Days
Case Moves Through Bulgarian Court: Once you’ve met your child and accepted them in person, a specific approval is finalized by the Court in Bulgaria.
Months
Trip 2: 7 – 9 days. At this trip, you’re officially the legal parents of the child. You have to meet the US Embassy Visa which will ensure that your child automatically becomes a US citizen upon arrival in the US. See a blog with a family with pics from their second trip.
DAYS
Can I Speed Up My Paperwork?
When we start working together, you’ll be given everything you need to complete upfront. If you provide it quickly, you can speed up your process. Fastest time so far is 2.5 months!
Are These “Waiting Children” All The Children Available?
No! In fact, most of the children available for international adoption will not appear on here, or other “waiting child photo-listings” such as Rainbowkids.com. This photo listing is allowed by the Bulgarian MOJ only to advocate for children who have more severe special needs or are older. There are many other children who are available but their pictures aren’t shared. These children are referred to you based on your home study. This route is called a ‘traditional adoption’ and you can learn about it here.
If you are not open to adopting special needs, or older children you may want to consider Traditional Bulgarian Adoption.
Adoption Stats?
Researching adoption can be tough. There is a lot of info out there. One source that we strongly recommend is the Department of State Country Info Website. You can research adoption by the numbers.
When you see the real statistics, you can evaluate whether what your wishing to do is possible based on real data. For example, if you’d like to adopt a 2 year old from Latvia, you can see how many adoptions took place for kids that age over the years. If you see that only older children are being adopted, you may want to research another country.
We have used the data provided by the Department to create our own page that we think is more visually appealing. You can see that here.
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A Friendly Warning About Waiting Children
In order to prevent heartbreak, we advise that you do not fall in love with waiting children before understanding the adoption process, it’s timetables, and necessary approvals. Please also understand the child’s special needs before considering them further.
Please know that waiting children are not, or should not, be held “waiting” by an agency. Those agencies who abide by the Hague Convention’s international adoption laws work under the supervision of governments, both domestic and foreign, to provide adopiton services. Agencies do not have the authority to keep waiting children. Only governments who have jurisdiction of the children may be willing to do that given that you follow their requirements and their timetable for the adoption process.