Bringing ov er my stepdaughter

[patsfan1999 0]

I was married last Christmas in Singapore and it should be only a week or so before my wife gets her date for her interview. We have been going through a difficult time with her ex as he knows we are married and in fact is getting married in September himself. He does not want his daughter to become a permanent Resident of the US until she is 21 and can make up her own mind. We are planning on bringing her over in June next year to go to High School and then will go back home to be with him each summer and over Christmas. Now I am reading our daughter probably can't get a student Visa due to our situation and maybe not a i-130 due to the joint custody as her ex will not give up custody. Any help here would be appreciated before I contact a lawyer, thanks.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

There are high schools in the US that will take international student but they will cost an arm and leg. I looked at 3, there are boarding schools , and range between 27 and 35 thousand a year.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

Since the father has joint custody and will not agree to let his daughter leave for the US, the only way for you and your wife to get her to the US is to sue for full custody.

The US government will not issue an immigration visa to a minor child without the permission of both parents. The only exception is a court order allowing the child to immigrate to the US.

[patsfan1999 0]

Since the father has joint custody and will not agree to let his daughter leave for the US, the only way for you and your wife to get her to the US is to sue for full custody.

The US government will not issue an immigration visa to a minor child without the permission of both parents. The only exception is a court order allowing the child to immigrate to the US.

He actually would give his permission but he was worried about losing custody so as of today he will draft a letter through his lawyer as she will still return each year to live with him when school is out. I think he is worried about never seeing his daughter and I can appreciate that. My wife and I would never do that to him or our daughter but he does not know me so I respect his trepidation.

[Popo's Lady 2]

How old is your step-daughter? I am not sure how it is in her home country but here in the U.S. a child at a certain age can decide who to live with.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

He actually would give his permission but he was worried about losing custody so as of today he will draft a letter through his lawyer as she will still return each year to live with him when school is out. I think he is worried about never seeing his daughter and I can appreciate that. My wife and I would never do that to him or our daughter but he does not know me so I respect his trepidation.

They will not issue a CR2 to a minor child based on a letter that has the conditions you describe. A CR2 is an immigrant visa. The minor child will become a permanent resident of the United States. The "quit claim" letter must state in absolute terms that the non-immigrating parent is giving their permission for the child to immigrate permanently to the United States. If you slap any additional conditions to the letter then the consulate won't issue the visa.

Now, if you want to set up some sort of legal arrangement with the father then that's fine. You just can't lay out the terms of that arrangement in the quit claim letter you provide to the consulate. The US government will refuse to be held accountable if, for example, you don't send your step-daughter back to visit her father when he expects you to. They won't risk anything that might be considered a potential international child abduction. The letter has to be clear - he's giving his irrevocable permission for his daughter to immigrate.