New Rules for Minors Seeking Citizenship?

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Hello All:

Wanted to see if anyone knows anything about this.

Background: My wife and step-daughter are permanent residents based marriage to an American (me). They will be eligible to apply for citizenship in late August. At that time, I'll apply for my wife and will include my 13 year old daughter in the application.

Issue: My wife attends English classes at the local college and was talking to one of her friends who is going through the process to become a citizen. The friend has a minor child (16) and she included him on her citizenship application. According to this friend, she received notice from the US government that she must provide proof that she has custody of her son (original documentation required). She was a single mother. A father is listed on the son's birth certificate, but the father and mother were never married. According to this lady, the requirement to provide proof of custody is a relatively new rule (2008 or 2009). In Colombia, the process to execute such a document will take about two months, but the U.S. government has only given her 30 days to provide the documentation....or else she'll have to file later for her son and pay another application fee.

Has anyone ever heard of this rule? That if an applicant is including her son/daughter on her citizenship application, the applicant must provide documentation that he or she has custody of the minor child?

My wife was a single mother. She never married the father of her child (long story). The father still leaves in Colombia and has signed agreements to allow my wife to take the daughter out of Colombia. By Colombian law, she has custody (but not sole custody, per se). If we need to get this documented legally, we need to start soon so that we can apply for citizenship on schedule in August.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Mike (and Adriana)

[canadian_wife 1,822]

How did your wife's friend get permission to take the child to the US in the first place? Would that same document not suffice?

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Good question! In order to leave Colombia with a minor, you need to have a notarized document signed by the non-custodial spouse. Every time my wife goes to Colombia with my step-daughter, she has to go to the notary and get a new copy of the agreement. She gives the agreement to DAS every time she leaves the country. My wife's friend has the same kind of document, but was told that it was not sufficient....because it apparently is not a court order of custody (in Colombia, a single mother is assume to have custody). Now, if my wife was divorced and the divorce decree indicated custody, there would be no problem. Ugh

[TheBears 9]

I don't know anything about it, but I've always thought of "Just In Case" when dealing with immigration-related matters. I would get the document, just in case. You still have a little more than 3 months before you apply for naturalization. You say the process takes 2 months. So you should be able to get it done in time. Even if it's not necessary, I can't imagine that it would hurt your case.

[NickD 202]

Before my step-daughter could even get her conditional resident card, her mother had to both show the original and translated documents of her divorce awarding my wife full custody of her daughter, and a document signed and fingerprinted with an apostile from the Republic of Colombia-Department of Cundinamarca. Not only to become a LPR, but also just to leave

Columbia, and this was over six years ago, so certainly not a new rule.

Now regarding USC, our daughter turned 18 before we could apply for USC for my wife, so I cannot say we had to show these same documents again, but sure had to show her divorce papers again. But if we did, could simply show that permission document again. Can recall my step daughter's comment on her 18th birthday, I am free from my a$$hole dad, finally. She never did like that severe restriction her country put on her.

[Mike and Adriana 0]

I believe that your wife/daughter were required to provide the divorce papers primarily to show that she was no longer legally married when he married you. We have NEVER had to show any papers to the U.S. government regarding custody....and my wife and daughter are both U.S. permanent residents (with conditions lifted). We had to show my daughter's birth certificate, but no more. Of course, my wife never married my daughter's father. That said, we DO have to show the Colombian government the official document that certifies that my daughter's father is OK with her leaving the country with her mother. We do that every time.

If we have to get this new document, we will. But we'll have to hire a lawyer and we'll have to have it go through the court. Just seems kind of stupid....can't figure out what the U.S. government is looking for....proof that my daughter was not kidnapped? Ugh.

Before my step-daughter could even get her conditional resident card, her mother had to both show the original and translated documents of her divorce awarding my wife full custody of her daughter, and a document signed and fingerprinted with an apostile from the Republic of Colombia-Department of Cundinamarca. Not only to become a LPR, but also just to leave

Columbia, and this was over six years ago, so certainly not a new rule.

Now regarding USC, our daughter turned 18 before we could apply for USC for my wife, so I cannot say we had to show these same documents again, but sure had to show her divorce papers again. But if we did, could simply show that permission document again. Can recall my step daughter's comment on her 18th birthday, I am free from my a$hole dad, finally. She never did like that severe restriction her country put on her.

[NickD 202]

I believe that your wife/daughter were required to provide the divorce papers primarily to show that she was no longer legally married when he married you. We have NEVER had to show any papers to the U.S. government regarding custody....and my wife and daughter are both U.S. permanent residents (with conditions lifted). We had to show my daughter's birth certificate, but no more. Of course, my wife never married my daughter's father. That said, we DO have to show the Colombian government the official document that certifies that my daughter's father is OK with her leaving the country with her mother. We do that every time.

If we have to get this new document, we will. But we'll have to hire a lawyer and we'll have to have it go through the court. Just seems kind of stupid....can't figure out what the U.S. government is looking for....proof that my daughter was not kidnapped? Ugh.

I am surprised you didn't need that court order permission document from the biological father, can only say it was required of us and an expensive one at that. We had to show the divorce papers to our state and wait ten business days while they checked it out before we got married, then again during our AOS, then again for USC. That permission document we got for our daughter was worthless for her to renew her Colombian passport as was the divorce papers giving my wife full physical custody. They wanted another permission document at the consulate in Chicago that her father refused to sign unless I sent him $5,000.00. So my daughter had to wait until she was 18. In five years, your child will be 18 if all else fails, under 18, not required to carry their LPR card, so can lock it up and go on with your life. Step-daughter had her choice to live with her father, no way, you would think they would at least ask the kid which parent they wanted to live with and let just one document be sufficient, referring here to Colombia. It was a mess, but time took care of it all, she will be applying for USC next month, then it will soon be all over for us.

Well not exactly, even with USC and and a US passport will still be required to have a current valid Colombian passport as well if they want to visit their home country. And to do that will have to maintain a Colombian ID as well, more expense.