Bulgaria Adoption
704 527 7673
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Bulgarian Adoption Agency
With over 19 years of experience with adoptions from Bulgaria, our first Bulgarian adoption was completed back in 2002! We are uniquely positioned to help you adopt from Bulgaria because our agency President is Bulgarian born! She knows how Bulgaria works! She knows the best people, including the best attorneys to work with. See our FAQ Section or Step-by-Step to learn more! See adoptive parents who recently completed their adoptions!
What Would You Like?
Bulgarian Traditional Adoption Steps
If you have any questions, call or text us to set up a no-obligation, free, consult.
704 527 7673
Step 1
Select a country that suits and accepts you. Find an accredited agency that has experience working with the country you like. Keep in mind, not all countries are “the same” when it comes to their process. Compare countries here to see which ones may be a good fit for you?
Step 2
Let accredited agency help you meet eligibility criteria by completing a “Home Study“ and a “Dossier”.
Step 3
A completed Home Study will result in a CIS Approval. Dossier will be finalized with certificates called “Apostilles”.
Compare Families’ Home Study Timetable

Jeremy and Jessica's Home Study
Finished Home Study in 10 months

Stacy and Sam's Home Study
Finished Home Study in 6 months

Monica and Manny's Home Study
Finished Home Study in 3 months
Step 4
Turn in complete dossier, including Home Study and CIS approval to Bulgarian MOJ.
Step 5
Wait on MOJ to propose a child that would match your family. They use your home study which has a section that describes the characteristics of the child you’d like to adopt. They consider the best interest of the child as well.
“How long will my adoption take”? is one of the most asked questions. So we are happy to share the stories and timelines of different clients of ours whom we served in the last few years. Please click below to see their adoption timelines.
Compare Families’ Timelines

Christian and Sandra's Story
Finished adoption in 27 months.

Monica and Manny's Story
Finished adoption in 25 months

Jeremy and Jessica's Story
Finished adoption in 20 months

Stacy and Sam's Story
Finished adoption in 18.5 months

Lori's Story
Finished adoption in 18 Months
Step 6
Choose to accept your child, and schedule first trip to go meet them!
Step 7
Trip one. Meet your child. While there, give consent to the adoption. Click on the pics below to see the stories of our agency’s families who recently met their child for the first time.
See Our Families’ First Trips

First Trip
Watch a video of their trip.

First Trip
Watch video of Lori's first trip.
Step 8
Few months later, go to pick up your child. Click on pics below to see our families going on their second trip.
See Our Families’ Second Trips

Second Trip
Watch them leave the orphanage!

Second Trip
Watch them leave the orphanage!

Second Trip
Watch Ana's daughter leave the orphanage!
Waiting Child Steps
Bulgaria offers an EXPEDITED process for some children who are over 7 years of age, are part of a large sibling group, or have more pressing special needs.
To learn the steps, and expedited timeline, for adopting a “waiting child”, visit our page here.
Bulgaria Adoption FAQ
Do I qualify?
Bulgaria has some of the most easy going requirements of all countries.
- Older parents accepted. (50+)
- Short trips: About 7 days each.
- Parent must be at least 15 years older than child.
- No marriage length requirement.
- History of divorce is okay.
To be found eligible, you have to pass your home study and get a CIS approval.
How do I meet requirements?
To show you’re eligible, you have to complete a home study and a dossier. Adoption is highly regulated for the protection of the kids. In order to adopt, you have to hire an Accredited Agency approved by the US government to help you meet eligibility criteria. These documents will be approved by the US Government at USCIS through the submission of your I-800A Form. Your agency will then present your completed dossier to the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice.
You dossier will consist of about 12 documents, which may change with changing requirements. Some of the reoccurring docs, for example, are background clearances done during the home study, the medical evaluation, child abuse clearances, and your home study agency’s license. Photos are also required.
Related Topics
What child can I adopt?
Though children living in orphanages will likely have issues you’d have to help them overcome, not all of them necessarily have “special needs”. The laws governing international adoption say that the child’s country of origin is considered first. That is true of all international adoption. Therefore, many kids who are considered healthy are adopted domestically. However, international adoption is made available because there are more orphans than people wishing to adopt them domestically. Therefore, not all children available for international adoption are necessarily “special needs”. See this blog with 3 separate adoptive parents share their thoughts on what the orphanage is like?
See Lori’s Interview from 2017.
See Jessica’s Interview from 2019.
See Christian and Cassie’s Interview from 2021.
Children in orphanages?
Most children growing up in orphanages will not be in perfect health.
- Health and special needs may vary.
- Bulgaria will actually listen to what needs/risk factors you are willing to accept.
- You can eliminate medical diagnosis you can’t take on.
- Children with less needs are available, but may require a longer wait.
- Younger children (1-4) are available, but may require a longer wait.
- Children, 7 and up, who are medically healthy typically take less than 1 year wait, sometimes less than 6 mo wait.
- Our latest family waited only 3 months for siblings age 9 and 10 who are healthy. See their story here.
- See waiting children here. Read more about children who are available here.
- See our parents talk about Bulgarian Orphanages.
- See Lori’s Interview from 2017.
- See Jessica’s Interview from 2019.
- See Christian and Cassie’s Interview from 2021.
How am I matched with a child?
Once your agency helps you meet the USCIS requirements, they are authorized to submit your dossier to the foreign country. In Bulgaria, the MOJ is the governing body that oversees adoption. As part of the Hague Convention, they are responsible to ensure that the child you will adopt meets the criteria for an “orphan”. They will attempt to match your family with a child based on the description of the child’s characteristics in your home study. The attempted match is considred to be in the “child’s best interest” by the MOJ.
See some of our Recent Success Stories Here!
How am I matched with a child?
Once your agency helps you meet the USCIS requirements, they are authorized to submit your dossier to the foreign country. In Bulgaria, the MOJ is the governing body that oversees adoption. As part of the Hague Convention, they are responsible to ensure that the child you will adopt meets the criteria for an “orphan”. They will attempt to match your family with a child based on the description of the child’s characteristics in your home study. The attempted match is considred to be in the “child’s best interest” by the MOJ.
See some of our Recent Success Stories Here!
Succes Stories

Christian and Sandra's Story
Finished adoption in 27 months.

Monica and Manny's Story
Finished adoption in 25 months

Jeremy and Jessica's Story
Finished adoption in 20 months

Stacy and Sam's Story
Finished adoption in 18.5 months

Lori's Story
Finished adoption in 18 Months

Ana' Story
Finished adoption in 20 months.

Paul and April's Story
Finished adoption in 28 months

Mike and Megan's Story
Finished adoption in 28 months
If I Meet the Requirments, Will I Succeed?
In our 20 years experience, we’ve never had someone be turned down after submitting a dossier. Once you’ve been approved, you will be given a chance to adopt a child. Of course, there is a wait, but 100% of our clients who did the paperwork and waited for their referral were given the opportunity to adopt a child. With domestic adoption for example, your dossier is handed to the adoptive mom. There is no way of knowing what her criteria might be. The adoption commission, on the other hand, looks for the “best interest of the child” which is possible with any candidate who has been approved.
See some of our Recent Success Stories Here!
What is an Adoption Commission?
Similarly to the gov role carried out by CIS here, the foreign country has a gov commission that uses your paperwork to match you with a child. Another source that explains this is Dept of State here.
What is an Orphan?
International adoption is closed and final. Kids who become eligible to be adopted have been met the definition of an “orphan” as set by CIS here in compliance with the Hague.
Who determines "best interest of the child"
The adoption commission’s job is to ensure that any and every placement is in the “child’s best interest”.
Can I Be Turned Down?
We’ve never had a client be rejected by a commission. There is a wait which can vary, but ultimately all of our clients have been given the chance to adopt a child – which means they were approved by the commission.
How Am I Matched With a Child?
Once your agency helps you meet the USCIS requirements, they are authorized to submit your dossier to the foreign country. In Bulgaria, the MOJ is the governing body that oversees adoption. As part of the Hague Convention, they are responsible to ensure that the child you will adopt meets the criteria for an “orphan”. They will attempt to match your family with a child based on the description of the child’s characteristics in your home study. The attempted match is considred to be in the “child’s best interest” by the MOJ.
See some of our Recent Success Stories Here!
What is an Adoption Commission?
Similarly to the gov role carried out by CIS here, the foreign country has a gov commission that uses your paperwork to match you with a child. Another source that explains this is Dept of State here.
Can I Be Turned Down?
We’ve never had a client be rejected by a commission. There is a wait which can vary, but ultimately all of our clients have been given the chance to adopt a child – which means they were approved by the commission.
What Child Can I Adopt?
Though children living in orphanages will likely have issues you’d have to help them overcome, not all of them necessarily have “special needs”. The laws governing international adoption say that the child’s country of origin is considered first. That is true of all international adoption. Therefore, many kids who are considered healthy are adopted domestically. However, international adoption is made available because there are more orphans than people wishing to adopt them domestically. Therefore, not all children available for international adoption are necessarily “special needs”. See this blog with 3 separate adoptive parents share their thoughts on what the orphanage is like?
See Lori’s Interview from 2017.
See Jessica’s Interview from 2019.
See Christian and Cassie’s Interview from 2021.
When Does a Child Become Available for International Adoption?
For all adoption, it is considered the child’s best interest to (1) stay with bio parents, (2) be adopted domestically, and (3) be adopted internationally. When the first 2 options are exhausted, international adoption is made available. Keep in mind, in many countries, there are more orphans than people wishing to adopt them domestically.
How Long Will It Take To Adopt a Child From Bulgaria?
Most adoptions from Bulgaria take between 1.5 and 3 years from start to finish. Much of this depends on you. At first, there is paperwork that needs to be done. If you can move through it quickly, you can reduce your overall time. Next, there is the child that you’d like to adopt. The more open you are, the more children could be matched to you, the less you would wait. Being open to either sex and siblings helps the timeline. See also our “Timeline Breakdown” below.
Can I Speed Up My Process?
If you are good with paperwork, you can greatly reduce your overall process. If you’re open to a child 5 or older, the wait would be much less.
Bulgarian Adoption Timeline Breakdown
Most adoptions take betwen 1.5 and 3 years.
Paperwork Preparation: Takes between 3 and 12 months. Depends on how quickly you’d like to work.
Months
Waiting for a Match: Healthy children ages 7 and up typically takes a 6 month wait. Younger toddlers with less needs take about 8 months to 2.5 years, or longer. The younger and healthier the child, the longer the wait.
Months
Trip 1: When you accept your child, go meet them. 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
“How long will my adoption take”? is one of the most asked questions. So we are happy to share the stories and timelines of different clients of ours whom we served in the last few years. Please click below to see their adoption timelines.
Completed Adoptions – Click On Each For More
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!
Can I Reduce My Wait?
Yes, if you’re open to a child over 4, you can greatly reduce your waiting time. Children 7 and up without any significant needs typically require around 6 months of waiting. One of our families waited only 3 months for their kids.
Bulgarian Adoption Cost
The overall cost for a Bulgarian adoption is around $40,000. The fees directly traceable to the process are $30,500. The additional expense is due to third parties, such as the home study agency, USCIS fees, airfare, and lodging overseas. The fees are not due at once, or upfront. They only become due as you advance through the process. See the breakdown of fees here. Learn about 37 months Financing. Research grants here. Upon finalization, you qualify for the adoption tax credit which is like a refund on your taxes – $14,300 – per child adopted.
See an adorable story of an adopted girl raising money for another child to get adopted.
How Can I Afford The Cost of Adoption?
Our agency’s fee structure is like no other – in that it is structured on your personal timetable.
- Our fee structure is designed with our clients in mind – giving them time in between fees becoming due.
- We offer 6 mo, 12 mo, and even 37 mo Interest Free Payment Plans.
- We can help you with 3rd party low interest financing options: 5.99% APR over 60 mo.
- We can help you with third party grants.
- Domestic fees are payable with a credit card via PayPal.
- Adoption Tax Credit is like a refund on your taxes and it is $14,300 per child adopted.
Additional Resources
It is always good to have the US Embassy In Sofia available.
The Department of State has really good info and updates about Bulgaria and their adoption process here.
Rainbowkids.com has info about Bulgaria here. You can see our agency’s profile here.
This article by “Considering Adoption” has good info about the Bulgarian adoption process.