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U.S. Citizen Services

Birth of an American Citizen in Bulgaria

All American citizens born overseas should apply for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA). This document is issued to serve as a birth certificate.

Parents of the child must bring the child, their U.S. passports, their marriage certificate (if applicable), divorce decrees (if applicable) and the child’s local birth certificate. All supporting documents must be originals or certified by the issuing authority. If the documents are not in English, they should be translated. If you’d like, you may prepare the translation yourself. The fee is $100 (or equivalent in BGN).

Important Information for U.S. Citizens Considering the Use of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Abroad

If a child was born outside the United States, but in a country other than Bulgaria (and has not been registered with the Consular Section in that country as an American citizen), we may still accept the application for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, but must forward it to the Consular Section in the appropriate country for processing.

While applying for CRBA, the child may apply for a passport and Social Security Number also.

Here you can download the application forms:

For children born out of wedlock to a US citizen, please fill out the Affidavit of Parentage and Physical Presence (PDF 180 KB).  Please do not sign the document until requested to do so by a Consular officer.

Please schedule an appointment before you come. Once you schedule the appointment, please contact us at acs_sofia@state.gov to provide full name, passport number and DOB of the accompanying parents.

Basic Requirement for Acquisition of U.S. Citizenship By a Child Born Abroad

A child born outside of the United States acquires U.S. citizenship at birth when the child meets the transmission requirements as follows:

Birth Abroad to Two U.S. Citizen Parents in Wedlock: A child born abroad to two U.S. citizen parents acquires U.S. citizenship at birth, provided that one of the citizen parents has resided in the U.S. or a U.S. possession prior to the child's birth as indicated in Section 301(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. (INA).

Birth Abroad to One Citizen and Alien Parent in Wedlock: A child born abroad to one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under Section 301 (g) of the INA, provided the U.S. citizen parent was physically present in the U.S. prior to the birth of the child for the time period required by the law applicable at the time of the child's birth. For birth on or after November 14, 1986, a period of five years physical presence, two of which come after the age of fourteen, is required. For birth between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, the parent must have resided in the U.S. for a period of ten years, five of which must have been after the age of fourteen. Acceptable documentation of physical presence includes school transcripts, academic records, evidence of employment (pay statements), store receipts of charged purchases with your personal card, travel records which can include airline tickets, passports, police reports, change of status immigration docs. At least one natural parent of the child must have been a U.S. citizen when the child was born.  The only exception is for a child born after the death of the parent.

Birth Abroad Out-of-Wedlock to a U.S. Citizen Father: A child born abroad out-of-wedlock to a U.S. citizen father may acquire U.S. citizenship under Section 301(g) and 309 (a) of the INA provided:

  • a blood relationship between the child and the father is established by clear and convincing evidence;
  • the father must have had the nationality of the United States at the time of the child's birth; 
  • the father had been physically present in the United States for a period of five years, two of which were after the age of fourteen; 
  • while the person is under age of 18 years - the father submits recognition of child born out of wedlock under the law of their residence or domicile, the father (unless deceased) must submit a notarized Affidavit of Paternity and Financial Support or the paternity of the applicant is established by adjudication court.

Birth Abroad Out-of-Wedlock to a U.S. Citizen Mother: A child born abroad out-of-wedlock to a U.S. citizen mother may acquire U.S. citizenship under Section 301(g) and 309 (c) of the INA if the mother was a U.S. citizen at the time of the child's birth, and if the mother had previously been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of one year.