I need your wisdom everyone

[shirleyjeremy 0]

Hello my visajourney friends I have a situation I was wondering if anyone could comment on. My wife is From Guatemala and we adopted a little girl who lives with are family in guatemala. We want to bring her to the usa with us and are other children. If my wife as a guatemalan adopted her legaly in guatemala can we just apply for a visa like a normal child of a US citizen? thanks for any and all advice

Jeremy and Shirley

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hello my visajourney friends I have a situation I was wondering if anyone could comment on. My wife is From Guatemala and we adopted a little girl who lives with are family in guatemala. We want to bring her to the usa with us and are other children. If my wife as a guatemalan adopted her legaly in guatemala can we just apply for a visa like a normal child of a US citizen? thanks for any and all advice

Jeremy and Shirley

It depends. This is a really complex area in immigration law. You should consult an attorney.

This is what I know -

A parent may file an I-130 for an adopted child if the child was adopted before age 16 and must have been in the legal custody and living with the parent for 2 years.

If the above does not apply, then there are special rules. The child must be an "orphan" as defined by the immigration law. This is to prevent fraud where a sibling adopts a niece or nephew to try and get an immigration visa when the child's parents are both alive.

[aaron2020 11,651]

I can give you some help if you supply the following information;

1) Have you adopted or your wife adopted the child?

2) How old was the child be when you adopted the child or how old will she be when you plan to adopt her?

3) Have you had legal custody and lived with the child for at least 2 years?

4) Is this child a niece, nephew, or other relative of yours or your wife?

5) Is this child's biological mother and father still alive?

[aaron2020 11,651]

If you try to adopt the child now, you will have to comply with the Hague Convention which protects child from kidnapping and child trafficking. An adoption may be legal in Guatemala, but insufficient to get the child an immigration visa. This gets expensive as a home evaluation is necessary.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD

[shirleyjeremy 0]

I can give you some help if you supply the following information;

1) Have you adopted or your wife adopted the child?

2) How old was the child be when you adopted the child or how old will she be when you plan to adopt her?

3) Have you had legal custody and lived with the child for at least 2 years?

4) Is this child a niece, nephew, or other relative of yours or your wife?

5) Is this child's biological mother and father still alive?

1) We adopted her

2) the child is 8

3)the cild lives with our family in Guatemala we live in NY

4)the child in no relation

5)Mother and Father still alive but abanden the child and signed over rights.

I quess the problem is like you said the adoption was legal in guatemala and she is our daughter but thats where it gets screwy with the immigration laws.

[aaron2020 11,651]

I can give you some help if you supply the following information;

1) Have you adopted or your wife adopted the child?

2) How old was the child be when you adopted the child or how old will she be when you plan to adopt her?

3) Have you had legal custody and lived with the child for at least 2 years?

4) Is this child a niece, nephew, or other relative of yours or your wife?

5) Is this child's biological mother and father still alive?

1) We adopted her

2) the child is 8

3)the cild lives with our family in Guatemala we live in NY

4)the child in no relation

5)Mother and Father still alive but abanden the child and signed over rights.

I quess the problem is like you said the adoption was legal in guatemala and she is our daughter but thats where it gets screwy with the immigration laws.

Yeah, you will need a lawyer. Guatemala is a signatory of the Hague Adoption Convention. You should look at this State Department website and then consult an immigration lawyer.

http://adoption.state.gov/

http://adoption.state.gov/visas/hague.html