I have a son but never been married???

[tvn0521 1]

Okay here's my situation. I am in the NVC process at this moment. I have never been married before, this is my first legal marriage with a Vietnam girl. I have a 9 year old son who is living with me here in the US. I still communicate with my ex-girlfriend (not ex-wife) here and there because our son is living with me. We agreed upon our son living with me without any legal custody. My question here is during my wife's interview with the consulate in HCMC, will the consulate know about my son? Will they ask for custody documents? I had notice many people that had been divorced, the consulate ask for custody documents if they have kids. Thanks all

[tcTTct 37]

I have a 9 year old son who is living with me here in the US. I had notice many people that had been divorced, the consulate ask for custody documents if they have kids.

I don't think this is an issue at all on the petitioner side. The HCMC consulate will know about your son since it'll probably come up in your background check but there probably won't be any need for custody docs. If your lady is divorced and has kids then they will need to see the Quit Claim to prove she can take the kids with her. You will need to prove that your income meets 125% of the Poverty Line to cover you and your child if he is your dependent.

[Inky 1,111]

Custody documents are needed from the person who is NOT a USC if they have children from a prior marriage and are bringing these children with them to America on a visa.

[tvn0521 1]

He is living with me but on my income tax return I did not claim him as my dependent. His mother claim him on her tax return so I can't claim him. She sends me money every month to take care of our son.

I don't think this is an issue at all on the petitioner side. The HCMC consulate will know about your son since it'll probably come up in your background check but there probably won't be any need for custody docs. If your lady is divorced and has kids then they will need to see the Quit Claim to prove she can take the kids with her. You will need to prove that your income meets 125% of the Poverty Line to cover you and your child if he is your dependent.

He is living with me but on my income tax return I did not claim him as my dependent. His mother claim him on her tax return so I can't claim him. She sends me money every month to take care of our son.

[Penguin_ie 5,995]

They will know about yours son- from the household size for your affidavit of support, if nothing else. But like the others said, you won't need any custody docs.

[ScottThuy 140]

Make sure your wife can explain the situation confortably in detail if needed... They may wonder why the house size differs from the tax filing but it should not be an issue unless they think the ex is still in the picture with you... It would be best to have some evidence that your ex is not living with you should this come up...

[Moomin 292]

I was in an almost identical situation(my fiancé is the Usc, has child but was never married, haven't got legal custody documents), only difference is joint custody and I'm the non-USC. I had my interview June 1st and I did not try to hide the fact my fiancé has a son but does not claim the son on his income tax returns. They weren't hard on me but they asked questions. Even though it's about the non-USC they may ask any questions. Fortunately I have always been aware of how things are which meant they didn't require any additional papers or legal documents. But they also said it did not matter what the income tax return said; as long as there's a mouth to feed that's what counts. This is up to the embassy whether or not they'll settle for not providing additional documents.

I was never scrutinized but don't let the interviewing officer get the impression that both of you have not been honest about things affecting your relationship, including a child.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Trying to think like an HCMC consular officer...

The only potential problem with this scenario is that, since you've never been married, you have no way to prove that the relationship with your ex-girlfriend has ended. The CO's in HCMC are known to get very suspicious when they suspect there's an ex-spouse who is still involved in the life of either the petitioner or beneficiary. Either situation is a red flag for a different kind of visa fraud, but both types of fraud involve getting a temporary divorce in order to make immigration possible. A temporary breakup with a boyfriend/girlfriend is substantially easier to do than a divorce.

If they know about the child then they'll know there was a relationship. How can you convince them that the relationship has ended, and that it ended before you met your wife? It's possible they might ask for detailed information about your ex-girlfriend, especially proof of where she's lived for the past X years.

[seattlerain 1]

My friend has a child with this girlfriend in the US. The child is with the mother. The child is 3 years gold. His relationship ended with the one in the US. He entered a relationship with a girl in Hanoi for 2 years and later married her. His wife in Vietnam did not know that he had a son since he didn't tell her.

When she went to the US consulate for the interview. The CO questioned her so much around whether he has a kid or not. Keeping asking, , "Are you absolutely sure he doesn't have a son?" "Did he ever tell you he had a son?". She told him that he has no son and stayed very firm with it. The consulate told her to go back home and they will call her. A week later, the consulate call her asking her to give them her yahoo email account password. Then she finally got pink.

I believe for your case, the CO will know about your son. Just make sure your wife know the name and age of your son if they ask.

[ScottThuy 140]

. The consulate told her to go back home and they will call her. A week later, the consulate call her asking her to give them her yahoo email account password.

This is so F'd up!!!!

[Anh map 2,098]

Any minor child is included in the household count regardless of who claims the child for income taxes.

[tvn0521 1]

Any minor child is included in the household count regardless of who claims the child for income taxes.

But don't they look at the income tax in order to approve the I864?

[tvn0521 1]

Any minor child is included in the household count regardless of who claims the child for income taxes.

Claiming the child would reduce my income and it would most likely will not meet poverty line.

[tvn0521 1]

Any minor child is included in the household count regardless of who claims the child for income taxes.

I really don't understand what you mean? All consulate or the NVC look for is what it says on paper as in tax return. I also have a minor nephew living with me, does that mean he's included in the head count? Doesn't head count means (including myself) how many dependent that is living with me that I am supporting?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I really don't understand what you mean? All consulate or the NVC look for is what it says on paper as in tax return. I also have a minor nephew living with me, does that mean he's included in the head count? Doesn't head count means (including myself) how many dependent that is living with me that I am supporting?

The I-864 instructions for part 5 cover this.

21d - Enter the number of unmarried children you have who are under age 21, even if you do not have legal custody of these children. You may exclude any unmarried children under 21, if these children have reached majority under the law of their place of domicile and you do not claim them as dependents on your income tax returns.

You have to list your son.

Anyone else doesn't need to be listed unless you claim them as a dependent on your tax return, or they are signing an I-864A and combining income with you.

21e - Enter the number of any other dependents. You must include each and every person whom you have claimed as a dependent on your most recent Federal income tax return, even if that person is not related to you. Even if you are not legally obligated to support that person, you must include the person if in fact you did support that person and claimed the person as a dependent.

...

21g - This question gives you the option of including certain other non-dependent relatives who are living in your residence as part of your household size. Such relatives may include your mother, father, sister, brother or adult children, if they are living in your residence. However, the only reason to include these family members in your household size is if you need to include their income when you calculate your household income for purposes of meeting the income requirement for this form. To be considered, any relative indicated in this category must sign and submit Form I-864A.