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[geezer 1]

Persons born on or after 11/14/86 can ONLY use method #2...

[Pinay Wife 47]

Exactly. We are talking here about children yet to be born so that definitely covers them.

[geezer 1]

Exactly. We are talking here about children yet to be born so that definitely covers them.

There are 3 requirements for legitimization under method 2

1. the father (unless deceased) has agreed in writing to provide financial support

for the person until the person reaches the age of 18 years

2. while the person is under the age of 18 years the person is legitimated under the law of the person's residence or domicile

3. the father acknowledges paternity of the person in writing under oath, or the paternity of the person is established by adjudication of a competent court.

All three need to be met not one or two of the three but all 3.

[geezer 1]

Miller v Albright 523 U. S. 420 at 431 (1998)

[Pinay Wife 47]

But the idea of having to adopt my baby in the philippines still bothers me...if she could have waited a few more weeks

I don’t think there would be a competent court in the Philippines that would hear a case wherein the natural father petitions for the adoption of his natural and biological child. That is absurd. If your name is recorded in the birth certificate as the father, then the child is yours.

My baby was born a month before we married. I wish we had been married when she was born. There would have been several less things to deal with...

No wonder you unnecessarily dealt with a lot of things. You misunderstood the requirements.

All three need to be met not one or two of the three but all 3.

You only needed to meet one of the three. Don’t you think it’s rather absurd to have to go through all three legal processes just to acknowledge paternity of your child?

You also posted the requirements differently than how the embassy website posted it just so it would suit your argument. This is how the embassy website posted the requirements:

"Legitimation Method 2 - The person can be legitimated if:

1__the father (unless deceased) has agreed in writing to provide financial support for the person until the person reaches the age of 18 years and,

2__while the person is under the age of 18 years -

____1. the person is legitimated under the law of the person's residence or domicile,

____2. the father acknowledges paternity of the person in writing under oath, or

____3. the paternity of the person is established by adjudication of a competent court."

and this is how you posted yours which would make it appear that indeed you have to fulfill all 3 requirements:

"1. the father (unless deceased) has agreed in writing to provide financial support

for the person until the person reaches the age of 18 years

2. while the person is under the age of 18 years the person is legitimated under the law of the person's residence or domicile

3. the father acknowledges paternity of the person in writing under oath, or the paternity of the person is established by adjudication of a competent court."

Anyway Geezer, believe what you want to believe. I don’t wonder anymore why you had such difficulty having your baby recognized as a US citizen.

At any rate, let's see what happens with tomnjas when they register their baby. Do keep us posted with developments tomnjas.

[Pinay Wife 47]

Miller v Albright 523 U. S. 420 at 431 (1998)

The above case mentions a Fil-Am child born in the 70s who sought US citizenship after she reached the age of majority and involves other issues that are complicated (American father was not around when child was born, birth certificate was left blank for father's name, nationality left blank, father did not have contact with child or child's mother, American father acknowledged child belatedly after she reached age of majority).

This is a different case than what is being discussed here.

[geezer 1]

Miller v Albright 523 U. S. 420 at 431 (1998)

The above case mentions a Fil-Am child born in the 70s who sought US citizenship after she reached the age of majority and involves other issues that are complicated (American father was not around when child was born, birth certificate was left blank for father's name, nationality left blank, father did not have contact with child or child's mother, American father acknowledged child belatedly after she reached age of majority).

This is a different case than what is being discussed here.

In the US the Supreme Court says what the law is... not posters on a forum. It you look at the case at the page I cited Mr. Justice Stevens enumerates what the requirements for legitimization are these are what I posted and you chose not to believe.... You may disagree but I think Ill take the word of the United States Supreme Court Justice.

Also the Philippine family code provides at Art. 165. "Children conceived and born outside a valid marriage are illegitimate, unless otherwise provided in this Code." If the poster was to qualify under these exceptions then they would not have a problem, I did not.

When we registered the childs birth the civil register quite clearly stated that I would need to adopt even though the child bears my name and I acknowledged paternity on the birth certificate.

This discussion illustrates the problems with taking advice on a forum. An opinion that works for one or even the majority most likely wont work for everyone.

[Austin_Volgograd 0]

One thing is is that new law only affect K1 and not K3's if thats the case maybe now K3 will be quicker.

Sorry... But I'm going through the K3 process, and it's deflinitely affected by the new IMBRA. Maybe not directly, but the delay IMBRA has caused our K3 is insane! And now I've got an RFE pending because of it. Argh!

[Pinay Wife 47]

To the original poster, sorry for hijacking your thread. This has become a discussion thread between me and geezer and I apologize. This will be my last post on this thread.

In the US the Supreme Court says what the law is... not posters on a forum. It you look at the case at the page I cited Mr. Justice Stevens enumerates what the requirements for legitimization are these are what I posted and you chose not to believe.... You may disagree but I think Ill take the word of the United States Supreme Court Justice.

Geezer, you and I are both posters and VJ members know that we are not lawyers here and we talk only about our own experiences and that our knowledge are limited but can be expanded by learning from other people's experiences. VJers have the option to either follow or ignore the advise. We do not make the decision for them. Therefore to be safe, I always support my advise with links to the website where I get my information. And the one that I linked in this thread is that of the US Embassy in Manila who I assume still follows the laws of the United States of America and the United States Supreme Court.

We are actually reading the same law but the two of us interpret it differently. People here have had their children recognized as US citizens without having to go through what you went through. I have two Fil-Am nieces who were recognized as Americans without so much ado. They were recognized in a few hours and passports were issued in a few days. They only needed to be acknowledged by their American father.

Also the Philippine family code provides at Art. 165. "Children conceived and born outside a valid marriage are illegitimate, unless otherwise provided in this Code." If the poster was to qualify under these exceptions then they would not have a problem, I did not.

Note the words, unless otherwise provided in this Code. You would have qualified if you were advised wisely.

Art. 177-181, Executive Order No. 209 of the revised Family Code of the Philippines provides for the legitimation of illegitimate children. Here’s the link to our revised Family Code.

http://www.chanrobles.com/executiveorderno209.htm

When we registered the childs birth the civil register quite clearly stated that I would need to adopt even though the child bears my name and I acknowledged paternity on the birth certificate.

Don’t take what some government people tell you at face value. Sometimes they don’t know what they’re talking about. I’m sure you’ve read all about the horror stories in the “misinformation line” of the USCIS, NVC, and other US government agencies.

On how to legitimize a child, here is the link http://www.census.gov.ph/data/civilreg/birth.html

Read “What is legitimation and who can be legitimated?” on requirements and procedures to follow.

The birth certificate of an illegitimate child will be annoted by the words “Legitimated by Subsequent Marriage" indicating the family name which the child shall bear by virtue of the legitimation.

This discussion illustrates the problems with taking advice on a forum. An opinion that works for one or even the majority most likely wont work for everyone.

I couldn’t agree more!

As I’ve said Geezer, do what you have to do. All I’m saying is that there is an easier way to having a child recognized as US citizen. Our VJ members have the option to do it your way (which was difficult as you’ve experienced) or they could choose to do it another way (which I believe is easier and less stressful).

And with that, I'm out of this thread.

PW

Edited July 4, 2006 by PatientlyWaiting

[Pinay Wife 47]

Wait a minute! But after taking a second look at the law, can someone please confirm that what I’m looking at right now is how the law should be interpreted? It is not the father’s domicile that is in question, but the child’s! (italics mine)

while the person is under the age of 18 years:

-the person (child) is legitimated under the law of the person's (child’s) residence or domicile

-the father acknowledges paternity of the person (child) in writing under oath, or

-the paternity of the person (child) is established by adjudication of a competent court

If it is what I think it is, we know now where the confusion lies.

Edited July 4, 2006 by PatientlyWaiting

[geezer 1]

Wait a minute! But after taking a second look at the law, can someone please confirm that what I’m looking at right now is how the law should be interpreted? It is not the father’s domicile that is in question, but the child’s! (italics mine)

while the person is under the age of 18 years:

-the person (child) is legitimated under the law of the person's (child’s) residence or domicile

-the father acknowledges paternity of the person (child) in writing under oath, or

-the paternity of the person (child) is established by adjudication of a competent court

If it is what I think it is, we know now where the confusion lies.

I'm done with this thread also, I'll just cite what I'm relying on ...the primary evidence requirements for legitimation is contained in 8 CFR 204.2(d)(2)(ii) which reads:

Primary evidence for a legitimated child or son or daughter. A child can be legitimated through the marriage of his or her natural parents, by the laws of the country or state of the child's residence or domicile, or by the laws of the country or state of the father's residence or domicile. If the legitimation is based on the natural parents’ marriage, such marriage must have taken place while the child was under the age of eighteen. If the legitimation is based on the laws of the country or state of the child's residence or domicile, the law must have taken effect before the child's eighteenth birthday. If the legitimation is based on the laws of the country or state of the father's residence or domicile, the father must have resided—while the child was under eighteen years of age—in the country or state under whose laws the child has been legitimated. Primary evidence of the relationship should consist of the beneficiary's birth certificate and the parents’ marriage certificate or other evidence of legitimation issued by civil authorities.

The embassy web site is much like this discussion. It states the portion of the statutes that apply to the majority of the petitioners. However, as you can see from the regs there are actually 3 acceptable methods of legitimation. What works for one may not work for all...... and thats all I have to say

[tomnjas2 0]

Just wanted to close out that the CRBA process for a child born before the K1 visa was approved was fairly simple.

Just be sure the UCS's father's name is on the NSO Birth certificate -- which must be on Security Paper, complete the forms and affadavits(you can even get them notarized at the USE and on good days, if you bring the baby with you during the notary, you might even get an appointment the same day), send in the forms, call ACS at the USE make an appointment, bring pics and docs of your relationship at the time of conception AND your baby to the appointment(yes, they do look at the child's face etc for similiarities to the USC father).

Probably the most important document is the one the USC father signs acknowledging paternity and support until age 18.

We all flew to the US in October, the Baby on a USA Passport and the Mother on a K1 visa. the Baby will have a sibling in November..all's well that ends well.

Edited April 4, 2007 by tomnjas2