Specific guidelines to adopt from Bulgaria

International adoption can be an exciting process. When you partner with Upbring, we will help you through every step. If your family is seeking the adoption of a child who is either young and healthy or has very specific characteristics, the traditional program is for you. While each adoption is unique, this is a general outline of what you can expect from the traditional adoption process. **Please note that the process for a Waiting Child adoption will be different.

1. You will complete the provided application materials and return them to Upbring.
2. You will participate in a home study (including a Hague compliant online training). As an agency that is licensed in Texas, we can act as your primary provider as well as providing your home study and post placement services. For out-of-state families, however, you will need to identify a licensed agency in your home state to work with. During the home study process, a social worker will visit your home to complete an assessment of suitability for international adoption. Based on those interactions, combined with required documentation, the social worker will draft a home study report.
3. You will submit the I-800A form and a copy of the home study to the United States Citizen and Immigration Service (USCIS) for approval. To familiarize yourself with USCIS and this process, we recommend that you review their website.
4. You will prepare a dossier (a collection of documents required by Bulgaria) and submit if for approval to be registered on the Bulgarian adoptive family registry.
5. You will receive confirmation of your approval, and then you simply wait for a referral.
6. When you receive a referral of a child, you will review it and either agree to proceed or decline the referral.
7. If you proceed with the referral, you will travel to Bulgaria to meet the child. Plan for two days of travel time and five days in Bulgaria.
8. If you still want to proceed, you will submit the I-800 paperwork to USCIS for approval.
9. You will then wait for the adoption hearing to be completed and the child’s birth certificate and passport to be issued.
10. At that time, you will travel to Bulgaria to complete the visa process, which will require another 5-7 days.
11. You can then celebrate and return home with your child.
12. Once home, your new family will participate in post-adoption support services through Upbring or your local home study agency if you live outside of Texas. During this time, a social worker will visit your home on 5 occasions over a 2-year period: within the first 6 weeks after arriving home and then at 6 months, 12 months, 18 months and 24 months. At each visit, the social worker will assess the family to see how everyone has adjusted to the adoption and offer any support that is needed. You will be required to provide several photos of your family and the child to accompany each report. The social worker will then write a report that Upbring will have translated and submitted to the Ministry of Justice.
13. The final step is to re-adopt your child in a U.S. court and have another celebration.