Confused about 18-yr-old daughter on Mom's K-1 visa

[fairbro 0]

I know I already asked this in another topic, but the discussion succumbed to confusion.

My fiance has 2 children: a boy, 9, and a girl, 18.

My question is, can the daughter come along with mom on the K-1 visa?

Definition from travel.state.gov - "Child: Unmarried child under the age of 21 years."

And then it also says:

"Remember that in immigration law a child must be unmarried. The stepparent/stepchild relationship must be created before the child reaches the age of 18." (whatever that means)

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I know I already asked this in another topic, but the discussion succumbed to confusion.

My fiance has 2 children: a boy, 9, and a girl, 18.

My question is, can the daughter come along with mom on the K-1 visa?

Definition from travel.state.gov - "Child: Unmarried child under the age of 21 years."

And then it also says:

"Remember that in immigration law a child must be unmarried. The stepparent/stepchild relationship must be created before the child reaches the age of 18." (whatever that means)

YES. The establishment of the relationship prior to age 18 applies to the CR-1 visa NOT the K-1. She will be issued he own K-2 visa (each child will) she will probably need her own passport. In Ukraine the cutoff age for being in a parents passport is 18. I strongly suggest they each have their own passport.

Stop referring to sources that do not keep up with the law. VJ is your place!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I know I already asked this in another topic, but the discussion succumbed to confusion.

My fiance has 2 children: a boy, 9, and a girl, 18.

My question is, can the daughter come along with mom on the K-1 visa?

Definition from travel.state.gov - "Child: Unmarried child under the age of 21 years."

And then it also says:

"Remember that in immigration law a child must be unmarried. The stepparent/stepchild relationship must be created before the child reaches the age of 18." (whatever that means)

YES. The establishment of the relationship prior to age 18 applies to the CR-1 visa NOT the K-1. She will be issued he own K-2 visa (each child will) she will probably need her own passport. In Ukraine the cutoff age for being in a parents passport is 18. I strongly suggest they each have their own passport.

Stop referring to sources that do not keep up with the law. VJ is your place!

The other thread you jumped into became the MOST misinformed, incorrect collection of bad advice I ever read in one place. Hands down. It is the new VJ record holder for lame advice in one place. You can toss nearly evrything you read there except what I responded.

One problem is that you need to create your own thread, jumping in with a separate question almost never works to your advantage. Nor does it help the OP of the other thread.

To answer your questions in one place.

The age restriction applies only to IMMIGRANT visas (CR-1) not the non-immigrant k-1/k-2. Good news for you.

Some countries, including Russia allow a child to be included in a parents passport, usually until age 18. After age 18 they need their own passport and I strongly urge to do so anyway, even forthe younger child.

EACH person gets their OWN visa. Visas and passports are NOT the same. Each person applies for their own visa. If a child is listed in a mother's passport, the child's visa will also be placed in the mother's passport but the child has his/her own visa. Mom just carries it around for them and they cannot travel internationally without mom.

For the k-2 application you will need a notarized permission letter from the father for the chidren to relocate permanently to the United States plus the photo and signature pages from his passport (internal or international). OR a death certificate of the father OR a court order of sole custody with transport privileges for the mother. The cut off age for this is 16 in Ukraine, probably similar for Russia, so I doubt you will need one for the 18 year old.

Each person will have a medical exam, pay the visa fee, attend the interview (in Russia ALL applicants must attend) and then when they arrive in the USA file and pay the AOS fees. It is $1010 PER PERSON but there is a discount price of $600 for children under 14 that file concurrently with the parent. It is the k-1 visa times 3. we did it also.

Good luck

[fairbro 0]

The other thread you jumped into became... misnformed...

Maybe he thought I was the beneficiary, not the petitioner, but I knew it was going haywire when he started talking about anyone being able to come to US for 3 months with no visa. If that was true, there would be 3 billion people coming next week...

For the k-2 application you will need a notarized permission letter from the father for the chidren to relocate permanently to the United States plus the photo and signature pages from his passport (internal or international). OR a death certificate of the father OR a court order of sole custody with transport privileges for the mother.

She already got the court order that says the father gives up all rights to the child (she's been planning and waiting a long time to get out of Dodge City). I need to check about the transport privileges, but I think she's already got it covered.

The cut off age for this is 16 in Ukraine, probably similar for Russia, so I doubt you will need one for the 18 year old.

Each person will have a medical exam, pay the visa fee, attend the interview (in Russia ALL applicants must attend) and then when they arrive in the USA file and pay the AOS fees. It is $1010 PER PERSON but there is a discount price of $600 for children under 14 that file concurrently with the parent. It is the k-1 visa times 3. we did it also.

Good luck

YIKES! $1010? Each? Maybe I can get a waiver. Yeah, right. Well, anyway,the AOS doesn't occur until a while later, right? Give me a chance to stop my drunken sailor spending habits (following our US leaders) and save up for a couple of months.

Read your story, interesting about the guy in line giving you misleading advice.

And "The only humorous part was he asked Alla 'How does Gary treat you and your sons?'" I'm gonna have to take a chill pill if they ask something like that, it's a creepy Big Brother in your Bedroom question.

I remember the first time I did this (fiance visa) , the INS official made a big deal of the fact that I had listed my religion (at that time) as Scientology. I thought he was going to emit smoke from his nostrils.

Then there was the INS official who administered the test for citizenship.

My wife said she was asked only one question, "Who was the first president of the United States?"

My wife answered, "George Washington."

Offical: "That's wrong, it was Lincoln, but I'm going to pass you anyway."

This was in Arlington (suburb of DC).

Thanks for good info!

Edited October 7, 2009 by fairbro

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

The other thread you jumped into became... misnformed...

Maybe he thought I was the beneficiary, not the petitioner, but I knew it was going haywire when he started talking about anyone being able to come to US for 3 months with no visa. If that was true, there would be 3 billion people coming next week...

For the k-2 application you will need a notarized permission letter from the father for the chidren to relocate permanently to the United States plus the photo and signature pages from his passport (internal or international). OR a death certificate of the father OR a court order of sole custody with transport privileges for the mother.

She already got the court order that says the father gives up all rights to the child (she's been planning and waiting a long time to get out of Dodge City). I need to check about the transport privileges, but I think she's already got it covered.

The cut off age for this is 16 in Ukraine, probably similar for Russia, so I doubt you will need one for the 18 year old.

Each person will have a medical exam, pay the visa fee, attend the interview (in Russia ALL applicants must attend) and then when they arrive in the USA file and pay the AOS fees. It is $1010 PER PERSON but there is a discount price of $600 for children under 14 that file concurrently with the parent. It is the k-1 visa times 3. we did it also.

Good luck

YIKES! $1010? Each? Maybe I can get a waiver. Yeah, right. Well, anyway,the AOS doesn't occur until a while later, right? Give me a chance to stop my drunken sailor spending habits (following our US leaders) and save up for a couple of months.

Read your story, interesting about the guy in line giving you misleading advice.

And "The only humorous part was he asked Alla 'How does Gary treat you and your sons?'" I'm gonna have to take a chill pill if they ask something like that, it's a creepy Big Brother in your Bedroom question.

I remember the first time I did this (fiance visa) , the INS official made a big deal of the fact that I had listed my religion (at that time) as Scientology. I thought he was going to emit smoke from his nostrils.

Then there was the INS official who administered the test for citizenship.

My wife said she was asked only one question, "Who was the first president of the United States?"

My wife answered, "George Washington."

Offical: "That's wrong, it was Lincoln, but I'm going to pass you anyway."

This was in Arlington (suburb of DC).

Thanks for good info!

LINCOLN????? Public school affirmative action employee no doubt. Yikes.

Yes, it will be $1010 each, but one of the children is under 14, yes? So that one will be $600. It is best to file the AOS within 90 days of their arrival.

If the court order says the father surrenders ALL rights, you are probably OK. You can always email the consulate and ask.

[baron555 934]

Well, anyway,the AOS doesn't occur until a while later, right?

You need to become married within 90 days of her arrival. You really should file for AOS (including all fees) before the 90 days is up, or very soon after that. Once they go past 90 days, they are technically out of status. The receipt of the NOA1 for the AOS is their "temporary permit" to stay. Filing for AOS past 180 days can be troublesome in the future.

If you don't have the money to file for their AOS, then you can tell them to delay coming to the US (they have 6 months in which to leave) to give you more time to save up the money.

Everyone starting down the K-1 path MUST look beyond their arrival to what is coming up in the future, ie AOS.

Edited October 7, 2009 by baron555

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Well, anyway,the AOS doesn't occur until a while later, right?

You need to become married within 90 days of her arrival. You really should file for AOS (including all fees) before the 90 days is up, or very soon after that. Once they go past 90 days, they are technically out of status. The receipt of the NOA1 for the AOS is their "temporary permit" to stay. Filing for AOS past 180 days can be troublesome in the future.

If you don't have the money to file for their AOS, then you can tell them to delay coming to the US (they have 6 months in which to leave) to give you more time to save up the money.

Everyone starting down the K-1 path MUST look beyond their arrival to what is coming up in the future, ie AOS.

Anyone entering this process needs to read through to the end. A lot of people get to the petition filing stuff and stop there and send off the petition and then discover all sorts of surprises (like the letter from the father, etc.) By the way, the court document needs to be translated. And a lot of people do not realize about the AOS fees until it is "that time". For many people it is a considerable sum, in your case $2620, nothing to take lightly for most people, certainly not me! And I paid exacly the same amount, so I know the sum right off. Alla and I sat down together before filing the petition and did a budget for all our expenses for the process, family needs etc. She was working and I was working and we just did a plan and put money away every week, when the time came to file VOILA! the money was there.

You also have to consider the huge expenses of going from being a single guy to having 4 people in the house. No wmatter what you think, you do not have everything a Russian woman needs my friend...do not even think about it. Start with THREE large (12" 5 quart size) covered sautee pans of good quality, minimum $75 each! I mean what single guy needs THAT #######??? Not to mention school supplies, clothes they will leave behind, electrical appliances they HAVE to leave behind because they do not work here (computers will work) Cell phones? Nope, Russian cell phones don't work here and I think every Russian has three of the things, at least two, right? They will muddle by on one here. Your utility bills will triple, food bills quadruple, more than that if the children are boys. Russian women eat like birds, but boys are like WOLVES.

If the children do not speak English now (especially the younger one) I would suggest tutoring in Russia. Any tutoring you get done there will be 1/10th the price it is here. Alla and our 18 year old were already fluent in Englsih, we had the youngest go to tutoring 3 days a week, 2 hours per session for $100 per month. That was at the "London Academy Of English" in Donetsk...a pretty well thought of English school, and for what amounts to $4 per hour. Here, you will pay $25-40 per hour for tutoring. The public schools here will have an ESL program, but you have to give them something to work with. Our youngest (now 14) started in an ESL program and by Christmas had been promoted up 2 grades above his level and finished the year fifth in his class for regular English. He spoke almost none when we made the decision to get married and come here. He knows Washington is the first President.

Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, I love my wife and all our children. BUT if the AOS fees give you pause NOW, I would not count on trying to save the money AFTER they arrive.

Edited October 7, 2009 by Gary and Alla

[Lenie7 0]

I know I already asked this in another topic, but the discussion succumbed to confusion.

My fiance has 2 children: a boy, 9, and a girl, 18.

My question is, can the daughter come along with mom on the K-1 visa?

Definition from travel.state.gov - "Child: Unmarried child under the age of 21 years."

And then it also says:

"Remember that in immigration law a child must be unmarried. The stepparent/stepchild relationship must be created before the child reaches the age of 18." (whatever that means)

Fairbro, here is the info about the K visa directly from the DOS website:

Children Have Derivative Status

The child of a fiancé(e) may receive a derivative K-2 visa from his/her parent’s fiancé(e) petition. You, the American citizen petitioner, must make sure that you name the child in the I-129F petition. After the marriage of the child’s parent and the American citizen, the child will need a separate form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status. The child may travel with (accompany) the K-1 parent/fiancé(e) or travel later (follow-to-join) within one year from the date of issuance of the K-1 visa to his/her parent. A separate petition is not required if the children accompany or follow the alien fiancé(e) within one year from the date of issuance of the K-1 visa. If it is longer than one year from the date of visa issuance, a separate immigrant visa petition is required.

Remember that in immigration law a child must be unmarried. The stepparent/stepchild relationship must be created before the child reaches the age of 18.

You will run into problems with her 18 year old daughter because in order to be allowed to adjust status for her for permanent residence in the U.S., you and your fiancee had to have been married BEFORE her 18th birthday. It sounds like that is not the case and you will not officially be her stepparent until you are married. Even if she is somehow able to get on the K visa, once you apply for adjustment of status on the I-485, they will not allow her to adjust since your marriage took place after she was 18.

Once you are married, your wife, as legal resident, can apply for permanent residence for her, but she will have to live in her own country until a visa number becomes available. There are quotas on these types of family relationships and this can take years (right now it's about 8 for children of LPRs). I had looked into this for my husband's child, but we got married after his daughter's 18th birthday and were unable to get her permanent resident status based on marriage to me.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I know I already asked this in another topic, but the discussion succumbed to confusion.

My fiance has 2 children: a boy, 9, and a girl, 18.

My question is, can the daughter come along with mom on the K-1 visa?

Definition from travel.state.gov - "Child: Unmarried child under the age of 21 years."

And then it also says:

"Remember that in immigration law a child must be unmarried. The stepparent/stepchild relationship must be created before the child reaches the age of 18." (whatever that means)

Fairbro, here is the info about the K visa directly from the DOS website:

Children Have Derivative Status

The child of a fiancé(e) may receive a derivative K-2 visa from his/her parent’s fiancé(e) petition. You, the American citizen petitioner, must make sure that you name the child in the I-129F petition. After the marriage of the child’s parent and the American citizen, the child will need a separate form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status. The child may travel with (accompany) the K-1 parent/fiancé(e) or travel later (follow-to-join) within one year from the date of issuance of the K-1 visa to his/her parent. A separate petition is not required if the children accompany or follow the alien fiancé(e) within one year from the date of issuance of the K-1 visa. If it is longer than one year from the date of visa issuance, a separate immigrant visa petition is required.

Remember that in immigration law a child must be unmarried. The stepparent/stepchild relationship must be created before the child reaches the age of 18.

You will run into problems with her 18 year old daughter because in order to be allowed to adjust status for her for permanent residence in the U.S., you and your fiancee had to have been married BEFORE her 18th birthday. It sounds like that is not the case and you will not officially be her stepparent until you are married. Even if she is somehow able to get on the K visa, once you apply for adjustment of status on the I-485, they will not allow her to adjust since your marriage took place after she was 18.

Once you are married, your wife, as legal resident, can apply for permanent residence for her, but she will have to live in her own country until a visa number becomes available. There are quotas on these types of family relationships and this can take years (right now it's about 8 for children of LPRs). I had looked into this for my husband's child, but we got married after his daughter's 18th birthday and were unable to get her permanent resident status based on marriage to me.

Wrong. This age restriction does not apply to K-1/K-2s it applies to IMMIGRANT visas (CR-1)

This offfical ruling has been posted on this site many times, there is no question about it, neither in my mind or my personal experience. K-2s are eligible all the way up to age 21 (AOS must be filed before age 21) This same question was recently debated among people that know the rules and those that don't in the Ukraine portal. The pertinent rulings were posted there, you can look fo it, I feel no desire to.

In my meeting with the director of the VSC Monday evening it was also a topic dicussed and one of the items he will be answering for me in clarification (soon I hope) LOL Not like he has anything else to do. My particular question is not if they are eligible until age 21 (they are) but if the AOS must be filed or completed by age 21. Some recent court cases indictae that the AOS must be FILED by age 21, I want to know what USCIS says

[fairbro 0]

You also have to consider the huge expenses of going from being a single guy to having 4 people in the house. No wmatter what you think, you do not have everything a Russian woman needs my friend...do not even think about it. Start with THREE large (12" 5 quart size) covered sautee pans of good quality, minimum $75 each!

Electrical appliances they HAVE to leave behind because they do not work here (computers will work) Cell phones? Nope, Russian cell phones don't work here and I think every Russian has three of the things, at least two, right?

What is sautee pan? I don't remember Luba having this, well, maybe one big pot in her kitchen

I just change the Sim card when I go to Russia. All of my Cell phones work there, as long as they are GSM. You just need 20 Ruble 110/220 volt adapter for the charger. Vice-versa, too, especially for computer stuff. I threw away the heavy transformer which I was lugging around in my suitcase when I discovered that everything worked, laptop, monitor, electric razor, cell phone, etc. Of course you do have to look at the plug first. It can be fried if it isn't convertible.

How much can they bring, besides clothes? Aeroflot is charging $4 a kilo for anything over 20 kilos.

If the children do not speak English now (especially the younger one) I would suggest tutoring in Russia. Any tutoring you get done there will be 1/10th the price it is here.

I was looking at that, it seems to be 300-500 rubles an hour, minimum ($15) (in Samara, Russia). That is what my friends charge foreigners, even fellow Russians, for tutoring. I guess the school would be cheaper, instead of individual tutoring. But what I am worried about is driver training. I don't need another heart attack (the first was teaching my first wife ). It's much cheaper there and better, because the driving is more difficult. If you learn to drive in Russia, driving in the US would be a breeze.

In the US, I asked at two schools here, the first never had any experience with no-speak-English kids (I am in remote area of Kansas), the Catholic school said, just put him in the class, immersion from day one. I said, won't the other kids make fun of him. She said, "They won't."

The third choice is home schooling, which I would recommend to Luba if I was still living in the big city, but the schools here are fantastic.

Our youngest (now 14) started in an ESL program and by Christmas had been promoted up 2 grades above his level and finished the year fifth in his class for regular English. He spoke almost none when we made the decision to get married and come here. He knows Washington is the first President.

Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, I love my wife and all our children. BUT if the AOS fees give you pause NOW, I would not count on trying to save the money AFTER they arrive.

What grade did they start in (at 13?) and what grade are they in now (14)? I know in Russia, the kid returning from partial US education is labeled "stupid." Maybe they are a year ahead. I know the Russian girl, in Samara, in 5th grade was already learning algebra (which I learned in 7th or 8th grade in the US).

I don't think it would take a 9 year-old more than 2-3 months to get fluent in English, provided the "educational experts" leave him alone.

It's going to be a battle. Russians like to spend money for things, it seems even more than Americans.

We're still 50/50 on whether we want to live here or there (or both!).

[fairbro 0]

Remember that in immigration law a child must be unmarried. The stepparent/stepchild relationship must be created before the child reaches the age of 18.

You will run into problems with her 18 year old daughter because in order to be allowed to adjust status for her for permanent residence in the U.S., you and your fiancee had to have been married BEFORE her 18th birthday. It sounds like that is not the case and you will not officially be her stepparent until you are married. Even if she is somehow able to get on the K visa, once you apply for adjustment of status on the I-485, they will not allow her to adjust since your marriage took place after she was 18...

Wrong. This age restriction does not apply to K-1/K-2s it applies to IMMIGRANT visas (CR-1)

In my meeting with the director of the VSC Monday evening it was also a topic dicussed and one of the items he will be answering for me in clarification (soon I hope) LOL Not like he has anything else to do. My particular question is not if they are eligible until age 21 (they are) but if the AOS must be filed or completed by age 21. Some recent court cases indictae that the AOS must be FILED by age 21, I want to know what USCIS says

Once again, thank you... спасибо огромный

I guess it's easy to get waylaid or misinformed, because the Official info on the 18 or 21-year-age restriction seems to apply to K-1 visa, because of the way the web site is laid out, rather than CR-1 visas.

Edited October 8, 2009 by fairbro

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

You also have to consider the huge expenses of going from being a single guy to having 4 people in the house. No wmatter what you think, you do not have everything a Russian woman needs my friend...do not even think about it. Start with THREE large (12" 5 quart size) covered sautee pans of good quality, minimum $75 each!

Electrical appliances they HAVE to leave behind because they do not work here (computers will work) Cell phones? Nope, Russian cell phones don't work here and I think every Russian has three of the things, at least two, right?

What is sautee pan? I don't remember Luba having this, well, maybe one big pot in her kitchen

I just change the Sim card when I go to Russia. All of my Cell phones work there, as long as they are GSM. You just need 20 Ruble 110/220 volt adapter for the charger. Vice-versa, too, especially for computer stuff. I threw away the heavy transformer which I was lugging around in my suitcase when I discovered that everything worked, laptop, monitor, electric razor, cell phone, etc. Of course you do have to look at the plug first. It can be fried if it isn't convertible.

How much can they bring, besides clothes? Aeroflot is charging $4 a kilo for anything over 20 kilos.

If the children do not speak English now (especially the younger one) I would suggest tutoring in Russia. Any tutoring you get done there will be 1/10th the price it is here.

I was looking at that, it seems to be 300-500 rubles an hour, minimum ($15) (in Samara, Russia). That is what my friends charge foreigners, even fellow Russians, for tutoring. I guess the school would be cheaper, instead of individual tutoring. But what I am worried about is driver training. I don't need another heart attack (the first was teaching my first wife ). It's much cheaper there and better, because the driving is more difficult. If you learn to drive in Russia, driving in the US would be a breeze.

In the US, I asked at two schools here, the first never had any experience with no-speak-English kids (I am in remote area of Kansas), the Catholic school said, just put him in the class, immersion from day one. I said, won't the other kids make fun of him. She said, "They won't."

The third choice is home schooling, which I would recommend to Luba if I was still living in the big city, but the schools here are fantastic.

Our youngest (now 14) started in an ESL program and by Christmas had been promoted up 2 grades above his level and finished the year fifth in his class for regular English. He spoke almost none when we made the decision to get married and come here. He knows Washington is the first President.

Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, I love my wife and all our children. BUT if the AOS fees give you pause NOW, I would not count on trying to save the money AFTER they arrive.

What grade did they start in (at 13?) and what grade are they in now (14)? I know in Russia, the kid returning from partial US education is labeled "stupid." Maybe they are a year ahead. I know the Russian girl, in Samara, in 5th grade was already learning algebra (which I learned in 7th or 8th grade in the US).

I don't think it would take a 9 year-old more than 2-3 months to get fluent in English, provided the "educational experts" leave him alone.

It's going to be a battle. Russians like to spend money for things, it seems even more than Americans.

We're still 50/50 on whether we want to live here or there (or both!).

A sautee pan is like a deep frying pan with a cover and usually two handles. Russians NEVER cook for four when they can cook for fourty! LOL Alla gets all three of those things going with all sorts of Ukrainian dishes which keep us fed all week!

The problem you will have here with cell phones is that the frequencies used there are different, though they may share 1 or 2 (of four) We tried it but got such poor service we gave up. Try it anyway, what the heck? They really only need one phone, Russians/Ukrainians tend to have more than one because they buy them and keep them, not like here where they are tied to your provider, they tend to collect cell phones.

Check with your state's department of education. It is very likely, even probable that your state REQUIRES the school to hire an ESL teacher for him at no charge to you. That is the case in Vermont. Local schools with no experience will act (or actually be) ignorant of the law. They do not want to hire a new teacher for your kid. I figure it makes us even, I paid taxes to them for a lot years after my other sons finished school, so we're even.

Pasha started at age 13 in 8th grade. He was promoted to 10th grade by Christmas. He is now 14 and in 11th grade. He takes his college entrance exams tomorrow. Ukrainian and Russian students, if normal students, tend to be far ahead of Americans (big surprise) They take education serious in Ukraine. It is the students JOB. Our son worked and works on studies for 12+ hours per day except Saturday and Sunday and holidays. School is only part of it, the rest is done at home. He will finish the US high school cirriculum in 2-1/2 years (maybe less) and ask "Now what?" In fact, as his schedule works now he will begin attending classes at University of Vermont in the second semester of next year. Some classes at the university and some at the high school, by then his counselor says they wil have "run out of things to teach". He takes no study hall and is now studying Spanish also.

Driving lessons in Russia are cheap but tend to be corrupt. Alla had a Russian drivers license and couldn't keep the car on the pavement when she got here. She bribed the guy for the lisence. Big surprise.

Alla is very frugal, really, but she like other FSU women is a homemaker (and student) herself and does all the cooking and most of the cleaning and all of the ordering about in the house (The house BELONGS to a Russian/Ukrainian woman and don't you EVER question it, you can be the boss at work, she is the boiss in the house) and she has her NEEDS for the work she does. I understand. I never needed all those things to take my breaskfast from the toaster or my dinner from the microwave. Of course, she uses them and needs them, I understand. She is anything but a big spender and will not buy any clothes unless they are 40% off.

we have property in Donetsk, a 3 room flat, but I cannot say we "live" in both places. we live here, we visit there, but we use the apartment enough to make it cheaper to keep the place than rent an apartment when we are there. Our older son still goes to college in Moscow and he visits the apartment when he has school breaks, we will meet him there at New Year's.

[Road 2 Peace Arch 0]

I know I already asked this in another topic, but the discussion succumbed to confusion.

My fiance has 2 children: a boy, 9, and a girl, 18.

My question is, can the daughter come along with mom on the K-1 visa?

Definition from travel.state.gov - "Child: Unmarried child under the age of 21 years."

And then it also says:

"Remember that in immigration law a child must be unmarried. The stepparent/stepchild relationship must be created before the child reaches the age of 18." (whatever that means)

Fairbro, here is the info about the K visa directly from the DOS website:

Children Have Derivative Status

The child of a fiancé(e) may receive a derivative K-2 visa from his/her parent’s fiancé(e) petition. You, the American citizen petitioner, must make sure that you name the child in the I-129F petition. After the marriage of the child’s parent and the American citizen, the child will need a separate form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status. The child may travel with (accompany) the K-1 parent/fiancé(e) or travel later (follow-to-join) within one year from the date of issuance of the K-1 visa to his/her parent. A separate petition is not required if the children accompany or follow the alien fiancé(e) within one year from the date of issuance of the K-1 visa. If it is longer than one year from the date of visa issuance, a separate immigrant visa petition is required.

Remember that in immigration law a child must be unmarried. The stepparent/stepchild relationship must be created before the child reaches the age of 18.

You will run into problems with her 18 year old daughter because in order to be allowed to adjust status for her for permanent residence in the U.S., you and your fiancee had to have been married BEFORE her 18th birthday. It sounds like that is not the case and you will not officially be her stepparent until you are married. Even if she is somehow able to get on the K visa, once you apply for adjustment of status on the I-485, they will not allow her to adjust since your marriage took place after she was 18.

Once you are married, your wife, as legal resident, can apply for permanent residence for her, but she will have to live in her own country until a visa number becomes available. There are quotas on these types of family relationships and this can take years (right now it's about 8 for children of LPRs). I had looked into this for my husband's child, but we got married after his daughter's 18th birthday and were unable to get her permanent resident status based on marriage to me.

Dalene,

You need to get your facts straight before being so strident in your answer about the AOS requirements of a K2. You are clearly wrong and if you search around on this topic you'll become better educated. When I read your answer it just jumped out as misinformation and would likely cause undue concern to someone seeking good reliable information on the subject i.e., the OP.

[fairbro 0]

Dalene,

You need to get your facts straight before...

I don't know...it's easy to get confused if you're reading the info on the official government site. I just hope Dalene didn't get waylaid and started on down the wrong track by an equally confused immigration agent. I would believe what she said because it seemed that way to me, too, after reading that same stuff. But I have a propensity for not believing anything I read and to keep hammering my head against the wall until the wall breaks