Putting a child on the K1 but can't get Father's signature

[Jaime and Melvin 0]

I'm not sure if anyone can help me or if anyone on this forum has been in my situation, but I thought I would give this a go.

I'm relatively new to this forum, so please be gentle and if I've posted this question in the wrong section, please be kind to point me in the right direction.

I have an 8 year old son and his biological father is on his birth certificate. He has only seen him one time, when he was 5 days old and signed the birth certificate.

I have no idea how to contact him, as we haven't had contact since that day. Child Support find him, then lose him again etc. Last I heard (through Child Support paperwork), he was residing in NZ, where he's originally from (we are in Australia).

When the time comes in the K1 procedures, does anyone know how I'm going to get over this bug hurdle? I highly doubt I could even find him, let alone get his signature.

My son has a Passport, I managed to get that by filling out a B-9 form and filing it with the Passport application and it was issued to us with no questions asked.

I'm praying someone here has been in the same situation and can help me out.

Thanks everyone

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I'm not sure if anyone can help me or if anyone on this forum has been in my situation, but I thought I would give this a go.

I'm relatively new to this forum, so please be gentle and if I've posted this question in the wrong section, please be kind to point me in the right direction.

I have an 8 year old son and his biological father is on his birth certificate. He has only seen him one time, when he was 5 days old and signed the birth certificate.

I have no idea how to contact him, as we haven't had contact since that day. Child Support find him, then lose him again etc. Last I heard (through Child Support paperwork), he was residing in NZ, where he's originally from (we are in Australia).

When the time comes in the K1 procedures, does anyone know how I'm going to get over this bug hurdle? I highly doubt I could even find him, let alone get his signature.

My son has a Passport, I managed to get that by filling out a B-9 form and filing it with the Passport application and it was issued to us with no questions asked.

I'm praying someone here has been in the same situation and can help me out.

Thanks everyone

First, I am going to say, check with the consulate for their requirements for the K-2 visa. MOST, but not all, countries require writtent permission from the biologica father specifically granting permission for the child to reside permanently in the United States OR a court order of sole cutody with transport privileges OR a death certificate of the father. If this is the case, and given what you have stated, I would think the court order may be easier for you to persue, but you would need to check with a local family attorney.

I strongly suggest you do not file the petition until this has been sorted out. It is simply to important to "hope" it will be resolved before the time of the interview. Many people have been in the same situation...we were, and it took us four months to get the needed letter from the father and then only after relasing him from all child support, past, present and future. We did not file the petition until the letter was in hand, such a thing would have been a deal breaker, to say the least.

[TerriandEric 4]

Jamie I had to do the whole kid thing for this process. I rang the Family Law Court to find out what my options were because my ex husband has never furnished us with an address, he changes jobs faster then Child Support can catch him, and is in general a pain in the butt. I was advised that I had to make a concerted effort to find him -- think Electrol Roll, Family, Friends, last known employer etc. Once those avenues are exhausted you can apply to the courts for permission to take the children overseas for immigration purposes. IF you already have sole custody granted through the courts, you do not need the fathers permission. I managed to find my ex husband & got him to sign a Stat Dec stating he gives permission for me to take my children to reside in the USA permanently. If you get the stat dec make sure they also send you with that stat dec a copy of their photographic ID. You will need all of this for Interview stage....if you have to find him I would start now to save any headaches later.

[Jaime and Melvin 0]

Thanks for your replies

Gary and Alla - I was thinking of calling the Courts and seeing if I could get some kind of court order. There's no way I'd file the K1 without a document stating

I can leave the country with him, so no problems there. We aren't filing the petition for a little while yet anyways ... I'm just doing my homework and trying to get things in order before we even think about getting serious about filing and I knew this part was going to be a hurdle.

Hey Terri! I don't have any kind of court ordered custody of my son ... I will call the Court on Monday, you have given me the exact information I'm seeking I think .

I have tried and tried to find him over the years, even to the point of me going through the New Zealand Yellow Pages and calling up people in his hometown that had his surname, hoping that I'd at least find a family member ... no luck I'm afraid. It sounds like a similar process that I needed to do for his Passport, thankyou so much again!

Lucky that you found your ex husband!

You're a gem xx

[Deb+Steve 13]

The Consulate will want court orders at interview stage.

Like Terri said, you will need to ring the Family Law courts in your state to find out the requirements for filing custody orders. Victoria may have Chamber Magistrates, like NSW, that you can see for advice on how to proceed. Qld does not have them.

Ring CSA and find out if you have a case manager and speak to him/her about contacting him on your behalf. I have done this but that was 7 years ago and havce not had to deal with the CSA since. I am sure the whole system is now different, If the details they have for him are not current, you may be able to use that. Also contact the NZ consulate and see if you can find out if they have electoral roles (like we do) that you can check.

Good luck.

[Jaime and Melvin 0]

Thanks for that Don'twhatever me . I'll call the Court on Monday, see what they say and go from there ... will update this thread when I know more, as it may help someone else that needs to go through this process.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Thanks for your replies

Gary and Alla - I was thinking of calling the Courts and seeing if I could get some kind of court order. There's no way I'd file the K1 without a document stating

I can leave the country with him, so no problems there. We aren't filing the petition for a little while yet anyways ... I'm just doing my homework and trying to get things in order before we even think about getting serious about filing and I knew this part was going to be a hurdle.

Hey Terri! I don't have any kind of court ordered custody of my son ... I will call the Court on Monday, you have given me the exact information I'm seeking I think .

I have tried and tried to find him over the years, even to the point of me going through the New Zealand Yellow Pages and calling up people in his hometown that had his surname, hoping that I'd at least find a family member ... no luck I'm afraid. It sounds like a similar process that I needed to do for his Passport, thankyou so much again!

Lucky that you found your ex husband!

You're a gem xx

Great, sounds like you are on top of it and the other Aussies here have been a great help with specifics. If you look through the forums you will see lots of posts such as "We have our interview next week, do we need a permission letter for the child?"

Congratulations and good luck

[Jaime and Melvin 0]

Thanks Gary and Alla, they sure are ... I don't know what I would do without this forum, it's people and experiences! You guys rock hehe.