Child to accompany versus child to follow

[pushbrk 12,801]

Are you applying for the K1? If so then the child can follow to Join with in a year.

What country? All countries have differnt exit requiremtns for the child.

If it is a CR or IR visa then a seperate I-130 needs to filled out for the child.

Again a little more informaiton goes a long way in helping you

And a correction on my previous statement. The one year rule applies to K-2 only. Sorry. HOWEVER for a CR-2 or K-4 the marriage that establishes the petitioner relationship for the child MUST have occured before the child's 18th birthday. For the K-2 the child can be up to age 21 with no pre-qualifying marriage.

Please let us know your visa and intent

Please pardon the delay in my response; I am drowning in paper at the moment.

The 22 December interview will be in Almaty, Kazakhstan for K-1/K-3 visas. The child is five years old and it is not yet known whether or not the father's parental consent document will be available at the time of the interview. The plot thickens because the embassy package made no mention of this document, so they might issue a K-3 for the boy without it. This may not do much for us in the long term, however; even if the boy makes it through Kazakhstan departure Passport Control without the document, it is unlikely that we could later proceed with AOS without it.

This situation is beginning to resemble jumping into a hole in total darkness without having any idea how far one will fall before hitting bottom.

I think you mean K1 and K2 visas but otherwise, yes it's quite likely you'll need that permission letter to obtain the K2 visa for the child.

[TomT2566 1]

You are correct; I meant 'K-2'.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

You are correct; I meant 'K-2'.

Unfortunately, I cannot tell you exactly how Kazakhstan handles this. I can tell you that in most countries (and FSU countries in particular, like Kazakhstan seem particularly strict) you will not get a K2 issued without it. Certainly not in Ukraine or Russia. This is a requirement, not so much of the US State Dpeartment but also of the country your fiancee is from. I am surprised they fail to mention this, BUT do NOT take absence of evidence to be evidence of absence! The Kiev instructions for K2s are significantly lacking in needed documents. I would email or call the visa section and ask directly. That they did not mention it does not mean you do not need it and they will refuse to issue the visa even if it is their mistake.

There are age cutoffs in each country, age 16 in Russia and Ukraine, so ask about that also, if it is a possibility. If the letter is needed, it needs to state that the father gives permission for the mother to reloacte the chid PERMANENTLY to the UNITED STATES, vague language is not permitted. The letter has to be signed and notarized (unless the father will be present at the interview) and you need a copy of his photo and signature pages from his passport or government ID. It is best if you word the letter so that it states plainly that the mother is also permitted to return and leave with the child on visits. She will likely need that letter for future visits and exits from the country. we have a 14 year old who has a green card but we still need the letter to exit Ukraine with him when we visit. Eliminating any vagueness as to when the letter is effective or what it allows will serve you well.

In order to get the biological father's permission Alla surrendered all child support, past present and future. We had the letter done by an attorney in Ukraine who also did the agreement relieving child support and had a "signing party" to make sure everyone got what they needed. We did this BEFORE filing the I-129f. It just is not something you want to start down the road without, you lose a lot of bargaining power when you are up against an interview date.

Good luck.

[TomT2566 1]

It will be interesting to see whether the embassy drops the ball or not; I'll keep you apprised.

[Dakine 26]

Much, much easier to bring the child at the same time.

[TomT2566 1]

That would certainly be my first choice.

[TomT2566 1]

The embassy interview is in two days.

I am the point where, at least, I know the right question to post: if we choose the "child to accompany" option but the child actually follows within two months, would we be created a future problem for ourselves?

[TomT2566 1]

Update:

The interview went well but there will be a delay in visa issuance until we obtain another (police) document from the country (Turkmenistan) of my fiancee's birth. The consular officer did not ask for an affidavit of parental consent from the left-behind parent and stated that the visas would be issued upon delivery of the police document.

The issue at hand is whether said affidavit will be required at any later stage of the immigration process.

[TomT2566 1]

Update 2.0:

K1 and K2 visas were both issued in the absence of a parental consent document.

The next part of the story is rather odd. The U.S. embassy literature "strongly" suggests that permission for permanent residence abroad be obtained from the Kazakh migration authorities and the famous parental consent document is required for that. However... the embassy information goes on to state that it is not a requirement for U.S. permanent residency.