@dcw121165 Hi - Here's what I did:聽 I did the application on the FBI website, where you can do everything BUT the fingerprints.聽 There were clear directions - there undoubtedly still are. That application remains incomplete until they receive your fingerprints.聽 I then went to a company in Honolulu, my home city, which takes passport photos and does fingerprinting and other services.聽 (I had already visited Bulgaria and opened a bank account, hired a lawyer, etc).聽 The company took my fingerprints on regulation cards. I had them make 2 sets in case one was determined to be unreadable. The fingerprint company had good mailers. I was careful to make sure my application number from my online application was also on the fingerprint cards - again, the website specified exactly what to do.聽 I mailed those via overnight mail, with tracking, and was able to verify online when they were received.聽 Within a short time, I received an emailed form verifying my lack of any criminal history. This is the "FBI Background Check" required for the D Visa.聽 (Meanwhile, I had obtained the necessary documentation of my pensions (state and federal US) and my bank, etc.)聽 All of the US documents had to be notarized, including the FBI document.聽 Then the documents had to be apostilled.聽 The US Government docs (pension and FBI background) had to be apostilled by the United States Department of State. So, I contacted a firm in the DC suburbs (don't remember which company - there are quite a few). This firm received my notarized federal docs and walked them through the apostille process, and expressed them back to me in Honolulu. (Meanwhile, I had the state documents apostilled by my state Attorney General). Once I had ALL the docs, I DHL'd them to my lawyer in Sofia. He's also a certified interpreter.聽 All docs not in Bulgarian had to be translated into Bulgarian, and notarized by a Bulgarian notary.聽 When my lawyer had all of these done, he DHL'd them back to me in Honolulu.聽 I then submitted them with the necessary fee, photo, form, etc, to the Bulgarian Consulate in Los Angeles, which is the nearest one to Honolulu (2700 miles away !) In a few weeks I had a phone call to set up an appointment. I flew to Los Angeles for my scheduled appointment a couple of weeks after the interview). I was notified that my visa was granted, so I then had to DHL my passport to Los Angeles to have the visa placed into it. (Of course if you live nearer you can take it in person - I think the choices are LA, Chicago, and DC -- maybe one other.)聽 I got my passport back and soon after, flew to Bulgaria.聽 聽Be aware that the FBI background check is good for only 6 months. The time from my getting the FBI background check to getting my D visa was about 5 months, with all the notarizing, apostilling, translating, shipping back and forth, etc.聽 SO - since I planned to apply for a 1-year (non EU) residency, I had a second FBI background check done before I left Hawai`i. A couple of months later it was still good, and I used it to apply for my one-year residency card. If any of this is unclear, of course just ask. And of course, some of these procedures could have changed.
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