US Citizen Dad, ESTA Mom, non-ESTA baby

[hudsonmiears]

Hello, I am going to have a child soon and I would like to be able to travel with the child to the US along with my wife within the first year to visit family. I am struggling to understand the exact visa process for a baby, or whether it will be possible. I am a US citizen, living with my wife (dual citizen UK and Bulgaria, already holding an ESTA) in Bulgaria, and the baby will be born in Bulgaria as a Bulgarian citizen (not eligible for ESTA). I cannot impart US citizenship to the child because I haven't lived there since I was 14 years old.

My current understanding of the process is this:
1. Get the baby a Bulgarian passport
2. Apply for a B2 Visa, which likely won't need an interview because the baby will be under the age of 13
3. The visa will be valid for up to 10 years.

My concerns are:
1. Am I missing any part of the process here? Is there a special scenario for children?
2. What is the likelihood that the visa is denied?
3. Will I face difficulties with entering with my wife and baby? I have heard from another family which is half US, half Bulgarian that the Bulgarian mom and child were never granted a visa to the US at the same time.

Thanks in advance for any help

[CR001]

Why not apply for a British passport and then an esta?

Presumably your wife is British through naturalisation. This would.make the baby automatically British by descent.

[hudsonmiears]

From my understanding, the baby is not automatically British, but is eligible for nationality through application with a pretty high fee of 1000 pounds (not including the fee for applying from abroad, as well as the fee for applying for a passport afterwards) and can take 6+ months.

[CR001]

If your partner naturalised as British while living in the UK, any child born abroad is automatically British by descent and can apply for a passport directly.

It is important to understand how your partner attained British citizenship as it makes a big difference regarding children born abroad.

[hudsonmiears]

She did naturalise as British while living in the UK. That makes the process much simpler if we apply for a British passport, but I wonder what the process for a US visa is still? We were not considering to give the child all 3 citizenships unless necessary.

[CR001]

British passport holder applies for an esta

[hudsonmiears]

Sorry, I mean to say I would still like to understand the process for applying for a US visa for the child without a British passport, even if we are to go with that route

[Ticktack]

Hello, I am going to have a child soon and I would like to be able to travel with the child to the US along with my wife within the first year to visit family. I am struggling to understand the exact visa process for a baby, or whether it will be possible. I am a US citizen, living with my wife (dual citizen UK and Bulgaria, already holding an ESTA) in Bulgaria, and the baby will be born in Bulgaria as a Bulgarian citizen (not eligible for ESTA). I cannot impart US citizenship to the child because I haven't lived there since I was 14 years old.

My current understanding of the process is this:
1. Get the baby a Bulgarian passport
2. Apply for a B2 Visa, which likely won't need an interview because the baby will be under the age of 13
3. The visa will be valid for up to 10 years.

My concerns are:
1. Am I missing any part of the process here? Is there a special scenario for children?
2. What is the likelihood that the visa is denied?
3. Will I face difficulties with entering with my wife and baby? I have heard from another family which is half US, half Bulgarian that the Bulgarian mom and child were never granted a visa to the US at the same time.

Thanks in advance for any help

A child born outside the United States to one U.S. citizen parent and one non-U.S. citizen parent may be entitled to citizenship providing the U.S. citizen parent has been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for five years, at least two years of which were after reaching the age of fourteen, prior to the birth of the child. These five years do not need to be consecutive.

[/Birth of U.S. Citizens and Non-Citizen Nationals Abroad
If you are a U.S. citizen (or non-citizen national) and have a child overseas, you should report their birth at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate as soon as possible so that a passport and/or Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) can be issued as an official record of the child’s claim to U.S. citizenship or nationality. The U.S. embassy or consulate will provide you one original copy of an eligible child’s CRBA.quote]

Your first steps would be the above to confirm if the child is actually American. With the quotations above, I believe that your child should be.
It seems that you're a natural (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jus_soli) born American.

If child is already American, then dear old Uncle Sam cannot and wouldn't grant child a visa or ESTA.
If child isn't which I doubt, why not get the child a British passport and get an ESTA which is faster and hassle free.
If all that fails for whatever reason, then apply for visa with your copy of data page attached. or just simply walk into the American consulate and talk to them. That should come under your consular services.

[hudsonmiears]

providing the U.S. citizen parent has been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for five years, at least two years of which were after reaching the age of fourteen

Unfortunately, I have not been physically present in the US for two years after the age of fourteen (there's a possibility I have via various holidays, but I certainly have no proof of that and they list passport stamps as bad evidence).

[hudsonmiears]

then apply for visa with your copy of data page attached

Which page is this?

just simply walk into the American consulate and talk to them. That should come under your consular services.

My thoughts exactly, but in emails they have basically said it's not their jurisdiction

[meself2]

Which page is this?

Biometrics, with your photo.

[Ticktack]

providing the U.S. citizen parent has been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for five years, at least two years of which were after reaching the age of fourteen

Unfortunately, I have not been physically present in the US for two years after the age of fourteen (there's a possibility I have via various holidays, but I certainly have no proof of that and they list passport stamps as bad evidence).

Fair play, my advise would still be to approach the US embassy regardless. Whilst you're there, ask about the visa option on the Bulgarian passport. That's what the embassies are there for. Feign ignorance, and say you want to enquire about application for a first US passport for your child. Then you take it from there.

You don't want to pay $160 visa fee and lose that. There might be some manoeuvring loophole somewhere.