My Fiancee's daughter from a previous relationship

[NaTroy 0]

My fiancee has a daughter which I have included in the K-1 visa process. She was never married to the father. The bio father declared himself at the time of the child's birth and has still been a part of the child's life thru weekly visits, etc... My fiancee and he have agreed upon shared custody; the child will live with us in the United States for 10 months out of the year and then will visit her bio father in the Dominican for two months. Do we need to take any sort of signed statement from bio dad to the visa interview which gives my fianee permission to take the child out of the country to comform with child abduction laws? My gut feeling says yes, but I have been unable to find any information pertaining to this on the Embassy's website as to what documents would be necessary. Has anyone else been thru a similar situation that can give me some advice? Thanks.

[sj5 4]

Travel of children and EXIT requirements: Strict exit requirements apply to minors under 18 years of age (of any nationality) who are residents in the Dominican Republic. Such children traveling alone, without one parent, or with anyone other than the parent(s), must present written authorization from a parent or legal guardian. This authorization must be in Spanish, and it must be notarized at a Dominican consulate in the United States or notarized and then certified at the Dominican Attorney General’s office (Procuraduria de la Republica) if done in the Dominican Republic. Though not a requirement for non-resident minors (in the Dominican Republic), the U.S. Embassy recommends that any minor traveling to the Dominican Republic without one or both parents have a notarized document from the parent(s). In addition to clarifying the reason for travel, this will facilitate departure from the Dominican Republic.

The specific guidelines on the Dominican regulations governing the travel of children in the Dominican Republic can be found (in Spanish) at http://www.migracion.gov.do.

[pushbrk 12,898]

Travel of children and EXIT requirements: Strict exit requirements apply to minors under 18 years of age (of any nationality) who are residents in the Dominican Republic. Such children traveling alone, without one parent, or with anyone other than the parent(s), must present written authorization from a parent or legal guardian. This authorization must be in Spanish, and it must be notarized at a Dominican consulate in the United States or notarized and then certified at the Dominican Attorney General’s office (Procuraduria de la Republica) if done in the Dominican Republic. Though not a requirement for non-resident minors (in the Dominican Republic), the U.S. Embassy recommends that any minor traveling to the Dominican Republic without one or both parents have a notarized document from the parent(s). In addition to clarifying the reason for travel, this will facilitate departure from the Dominican Republic.

The specific guidelines on the Dominican regulations governing the travel of children in the Dominican Republic can be found (in Spanish) at http://www.migracion.gov.do.

That covers the Dominicans letter her out but you'll need a notarized statement from the father giving permission for the child to immigrate to the US or a court document awarding full custody to the mother. This is to satisfy the US authorities so they'll issue a K2 visa. You must take care of both leaving one country and entering another.

[NaTroy 0]

Thanks for the info!

[NaTroy 0]

So I read up on the DR's law regarding authorization for travelling minors ( http://www.migracion.gov.do/viajes_menores.htm ). I then called the Visa Information Center ( http://www.usemb.gov.do/Consular/K1-K2%20Instrucciones.htm ) to ask if I needed to bring a copy of bio-dad's notarized and legalized signature to the interview or we needed to bring the original. The agent danced around the question for a few minutes saying "does it say to on the instructions?" I advised him it did not but that I wanted to make sure I had everything for the interview for the child to get her visa. He finally stated "you do not need anything more than what it asks for in the instructions, the father's signature is only needed by Dominican authorities." This makes things a bit more difficult since bio-dad won't sign the paperwork until he absolutely has to, which is in August when my fiancee returns to get her. Is the VIC agent correct in what he told me?

[pushbrk 12,898]

So I read up on the DR's law regarding authorization for travelling minors ( http://www.migracion.gov.do/viajes_menores.htm ). I then called the Visa Information Center ( http://www.usemb.gov.do/Consular/K1-K2%20Instrucciones.htm ) to ask if I needed to bring a copy of bio-dad's notarized and legalized signature to the interview or we needed to bring the original. The agent danced around the question for a few minutes saying "does it say to on the instructions?" I advised him it did not but that I wanted to make sure I had everything for the interview for the child to get her visa. He finally stated "you do not need anything more than what it asks for in the instructions, the father's signature is only needed by Dominican authorities." This makes things a bit more difficult since bio-dad won't sign the paperwork until he absolutely has to, which is in August when my fiancee returns to get her. Is the VIC agent correct in what he told me?

The Consular officer will not grant the visa without the letter or a court document awarding full custody to the immigrating parent. You could arrange a follow to join interview in August though, instead of getting both visas at the same time.

Edited March 31, 2008 by pushbrk

[NaTroy 0]

Thanks pushbrk for the advice. We were finally able to get bio-dad to sign the authorisation paperwork. The lawyer who served as public notary concurred that we need the paperwork for the visa interview so that the child could get her visa.