permission of non custodial parent K-1/K-2

[tom&tanya 48]

Does anyone have a sample letter that they have used for the non-custodial parent to give permission for the embassy in Kiev (K-2 visa)? I need to prepare one for my step daughter. Her father has said yes but he does not want to be bothered to write it, he wants to just sign and get it notarized.

Thanks!

[Audy_Rob 26]

Does anyone have a sample letter that they have used for the non-custodial parent to give permission for the embassy in Kiev (K-2 visa)? I need to prepare one for my step daughter. Her father has said yes but he does not want to be bothered to write it, he wants to just sign and get it notarized.

Thanks!

You will need something quite solid that will hold up to Ukraine law. Ideally you would want a Ukranian lawyer draft a court order granting full custody to the mother with the right to remove the child to the United States permanently.

[tom&tanya 48]

The Kiev embassy info packet just says: letter authorizing, notarized by non custodial parent and a copy of his passport.

[az110965 252]

Tom & Tanya,

Make sure the letter states that the father grants permission for the child to "permanently" immigrate to the USA in the body of the letter.

Basically something to the effect of:

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is _______________________ and I am the biological father of ____________________. I am aware that _____________________ intends to immigrate to the United States of America under the provisions of the K-1 Visa and I hereby indicate my permission for my child to permanently immigrate as well.

______________________________.

Make sure the letter ios notarized and you have a copy of the father's official identification card and passport (if applicible).

Good luck,

Alan

[sachinky 465]

It needs to be a very strongly worded notarized affidavit.

[Brad and Vika 129]

Contact Gary and Alla on the RUB forum. He had the same situation for Alla's youngest son. If I recall, the big problem wasn't the form of the letter, but getting the deadbeat to sign it. He used several strategies to convince bio-dad to consent. Gary is a very active poster, and probably will respond immediately. Good Luck!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Does anyone have a sample letter that they have used for the non-custodial parent to give permission for the embassy in Kiev (K-2 visa)? I need to prepare one for my step daughter. Her father has said yes but he does not want to be bothered to write it, he wants to just sign and get it notarized.

Thanks!

I have responded in a PM to the OP but for the sake of others will post my response here....

Hello Tom

I do not really have a "template" per se. I can tell you what the letter must include and even a suggested format.

The letter needs to clearly state his name, his address and his phone number as well as hers to positively identify both people as the parents of the child. The letter needs to state the childs name and date of birth and address. The letter needs to state that the father gives permission (or "has no objection to") your fiancee (by name) relocating the child to the UNITED STATES on a PERMANENT basis. The letter should be specifically "open ended" as to the time frame and that the permission is granted for the purposes of obtaining a visa and FOR ALL FUTURE TRAVEL BETWEEN UKRAINE AND THE USA (you will need this letter EACH time you leave Ukraine with the vhild until the child is age 16 OR becomes a US citizen and travels with a US passport, it does not matter that they are a permanent resident of of the USA, etc.)

You also need to attach a copy of the father's passport photo and signature page. The letter needs to be notarized (it is the only thing that needs to be notarized)

Something to the effect of...

I (name, address, phone of father) the father of (name and address of child) give permission to (name, address, phone number of your fiance) the mother of (name of child) to reloacte the child permanently to the United States of America. I acknowledge that (name of fiancee) has no outstanding obligations to me.

This permission is granted for the purpose of obtaining a visa to the United States fpr permanent residency and for all future travel to and from Ukraine and the United States until the time the child is of legal age to travel without the need for this permission.

If the letter is written in Russian or Ukrainian it needs to be with a certified translation. If it is written in English, it should include a statement that the father understands and is "competent in" both the Russian/Ukrainian language and English. DO NOT ever let them get the idea he may have signed something he does not understand.

Our "interview" went very smooth, in fact we had NO questions during the interview, but they STUDIED this letter when we turned in the documents, it is a very important document, DO NOT lose it and I suggest having several "originals" done up. Just print and have him sign 3-4 letters which say the same thing. We have traveled back to Ukraine since Alla and the boys have been here and they scrutinize that letter each time we leave, it is important. We have one year left until the youngest no longer needs the letter, which means we will need it for our upcming summer trip and that should be the last time we need it.

I presume he has already agreed to this, if not, the best way to overcome resistance is bribery. Alla surrendered any and all child support in order for him to sign the letter and we had a "signing party" at her attorney's office for all the documents to be signed at one time. If bribery is involved, DO NOT give him anything until he signs! It is not necessary, but we had the letter written by Alla's attorney, a tatament added at the bottom by the attorney and she notarized it also. We paid her $100 for quick service on this matter, she also did the papers for releasing her ex of child support. Lawyers are pretty cheap in Ukraine and respond quickly to cash.

Good luck

Edited April 25, 2010 by Gary and Alla

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Contact Gary and Alla on the RUB forum. He had the same situation for Alla's youngest son. If I recall, the big problem wasn't the form of the letter, but getting the deadbeat to sign it. He used several strategies to convince bio-dad to consent. Gary is a very active poster, and probably will respond immediately. Good Luck!

If my response is slow, it is because we have been moving to our new home. Alla is very happy with her "machine for washing dishes" and her remote garage door opener and attached garage, nothing else much matters! LOL The scarey part is she keeps slipping off quietly to Lowe's and calling me from the ceramic tile dept (or kitchen cabinets) and telling me of the wonderful tile she just found for the bathroom! In typical wonderful Ukrainian fashion she puts me on the phone with the salesman last night and he says he will send her home with a sample of the tile for my "approval" LOL Silly goose. I heard Alla in the backgorund..."Vooowhat? It eez not eemportant what zee man zinks, he zhust needs to eenstall zee tile and tell you how much tile I should buy! He will pick it up tomorrow" LOL

Are you SURE you want this letter signed? Just remember, the woman runs the house, you run the finances and take care of things outside the house and do all the heavy lifting.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

You will need something quite solid that will hold up to Ukraine law. Ideally you would want a Ukranian lawyer draft a court order granting full custody to the mother with the right to remove the child to the United States permanently.

If the father will sign the letter as I outlined, forget about a court order. That is the last resort in Ukraine. It has become very difficult (and in fact may always have been difficult) for a woman to get this sort of permission from Ukrainian courts. She needs to document pretty thoroughly that the guy has had no contact and desires no contact with the children. Such court orders are a mess, really. Try to avoid it at all costs. Bribery of the father usually works much better.

Until recently, mothers in Ukraine needed this type of letter just to have permission to get the child medical care or enroll them in school. Women had/have very little "authority" in Ukraine to do anything on their own and can, by law, be discriminated against, paid lower wages, and blocked from certain occupations (find me a Ukrainian policeWOMAN!) Ukraine even has a document called "certificate of no father" which is used by women who have children of unknown father's (lots of them in Ukraine as a childless woman is much more of a stgma than being an unwed mother) Alla is a "fatherless" child and her mother needed this letter each time she went to the doctor, enrolled in school, etc.

Though not necessary, it is not a bad idea to have an attorney draft the letter, just as an additional witness

[tom&tanya 48]

"The machine for washing the dishes" has been a topic of great interest to Tanya, So... yes I do understand the hierarchy in the household! After being a single parent of 2 teenagers for a while now, I will gladly relinquish all household duties to her!

Tanya's daughter is 20 so I don't think we will have any trouble leaving Ukraine. I believe I only need this letter for the embassy interview to obtain the K-2 visa. Right?

She will be staying in the US until she gets her green card and will turn 21 in November, so after this date ... no worries about permission from Dad. It's unfortunate that we even need his permission since she is already 20 years old but the law is the law.

[Brad and Vika 129]

OP - Happy to see you connected with Gary. I knew he would have specifics for you. On the subject of appliances and household equipment, just bear in mind the damage factor. Gary and I have talked a bit about our wives penchant to use things differently than Americans might. My wife breaks things.... lots of things. Can opener (electric), teapot (metal), nic-nacs, door knobs, and a HUGE number of plates, glasses, etc. Gary's wife puts pots and plates outside to feed the animals so that food isn't wasted. He told me he has to clear the lawn of crockery sometimes before cutting it . I wonder how that will go over in the city.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

"The machine for washing the dishes" has been a topic of great interest to Tanya, So... yes I do understand the hierarchy in the household! After being a single parent of 2 teenagers for a while now, I will gladly relinquish all household duties to her!

Tanya's daughter is 20 so I don't think we will have any trouble leaving Ukraine. I believe I only need this letter for the embassy interview to obtain the K-2 visa. Right?

She will be staying in the US until she gets her green card and will turn 21 in November, so after this date ... no worries about permission from Dad. It's unfortunate that we even need his permission since she is already 20 years old but the law is the law.

If she is 20 you do not need the letter. Age 16 is the cut-off for the absent parent letter in Ukraine

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

OP - Happy to see you connected with Gary. I knew he would have specifics for you. On the subject of appliances and household equipment, just bear in mind the damage factor. Gary and I have talked a bit about our wives penchant to use things differently than Americans might. My wife breaks things.... lots of things. Can opener (electric), teapot (metal), nic-nacs, door knobs, and a HUGE number of plates, glasses, etc. Gary's wife puts pots and plates outside to feed the animals so that food isn't wasted. He told me he has to clear the lawn of crockery sometimes before cutting it . I wonder how that will go over in the city.

And today we had our THIRD "machine for washing dishes lesson" 1. The glasses go "upside down" or you just get glasses full of nasty dishwater. 2. The knives and forks go handle DOWN or they just get blasted all over the inside of the dishwasher. 3. No PLASTIC! We have already melted most of our plastic utensils.

The food outside for the animals is yet to be tested. My guess is the neighbors may have a different view of seagulls, crows, raccoons and skunks than we enjoyed on a secluded island.

and for Brad I have one word...CORELLE! They cannot break the stuff!

Edited April 25, 2010 by Gary and Alla

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

"The machine for washing the dishes" has been a topic of great interest to Tanya, So... yes I do understand the hierarchy in the household! After being a single parent of 2 teenagers for a while now, I will gladly relinquish all household duties to her!

Tanya's daughter is 20 so I don't think we will have any trouble leaving Ukraine. I believe I only need this letter for the embassy interview to obtain the K-2 visa. Right?

She will be staying in the US until she gets her green card and will turn 21 in November, so after this date ... no worries about permission from Dad. It's unfortunate that we even need his permission since she is already 20 years old but the law is the law.

You have a whole 'nother problem than what you thought. The letter is moot, you do not need it for a 20 year old. You need to get her here ASAP and file for her AOS ASAP. You will also have to get married and file for your wife's (her daughter is not eligible without her AOS) You can file them together and request an expedite for the daughter on the basis of age out. Write "Possible Age Out" on the package when you send it.

In general if the AOS if filed before her 21st birthday you are OK, but if there are any errors on your part they can be denied and you would have no recourse as she is almost too old now and IS to old to file an I-130 (the marriage would have to be before her 18th birthday to be eligible for an I-130) so you have one shot...make it a good one. Get the latest vaccination list for AOS and make SURE she has all the needed vaccinations NOW and that she takes the vaccination records to the medical in Kiev so she will get a DS-3025 and be ready for that part of the AOS. Get her I-485 papers (both hers and your fiancee's) ready now, just add your marriage certificate and copies of their I-94s when they arrive. When you get married (ASAP after arrival) make sure the officiators know you need certified copies of the marriage cetificate quickly. If necessary you may need to drive to the issuing place and get copies. DO NOT get stuck in a beaurocratic quagmire waiting for snail mail to send you copies of your marriage certificate.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

The Kiev embassy info packet just says: letter authorizing, notarized by non custodial parent and a copy of his passport.

Yes, it also says for children under age 16. Alla's oldest son was 17 when we got married and 18 when he got his visa (K-2 to follow) last summer. We did not need the letter for him, he travels on his own passport and their are no questions asked about parents. He goes through passport control all on his own.

I like your avatar, funny. You know, of course, it falls under the category of "things you will never see in Ukraine"