Minor Child Passport

[Mike n Huong 1]

My wife has her Citizenship interview next week. She has a 10 year old son from her previous marriage. He is living in the United States with us. His father is living somewhere in Vietnam. When my wife and her son become citizens I would like to get them both Passports. I noticed that one of the requirements for a minor child to obtain a US Passport is for both parents to be present when submitting the application. If one can't be present then they can fill out a form for consent. We are not sure if we will be able to locate his father to get this form filled out. Is this required even if his father consented to him coming here to live with us? I thought that pretty much gave up his rights.

Anyone familiar with this process?

Thanks,

Mike

[Gigli2008 70]

My wife has her Citizenship interview next week. She has a 10 year old son from her previous marriage. He is living in the United States with us. His father is living somewhere in Vietnam. When my wife and her son become citizens I would like to get them both Passports. I noticed that one of the requirements for a minor child to obtain a US Passport is for both parents to be present when submitting the application. If one can't be present then they can fill out a form for consent. We are not sure if we will be able to locate his father to get this form filled out. Is this required even if his father consented to him coming here to live with us? I thought that pretty much gave up his rights.

Anyone familiar with this process?

Thanks,

Mike

Did he give up his rights in writing? I had a friend who went through the same situation, maybe not exactly. Child was born in the US so was already a US Citizen but father had to consent in person and he was abroad, That consent in writing by notarization was not sitting well with the Passport guys here in the US. They gave her a rough time with it. She ended up asking him to go to the US Embassy abroad to give that consent in person.

[kelad 8]

My sister did that for my nephew, once the form is signed and notarized he will get the passport with no problems. If you cant find the father call the uscis helpline and ask them what is the procedure if you cant find the father for consent.

[OKflyboy 35]

You probably have to prove that the father cannot be located. Write to his last known address. If he's not there, the letter should return with a stamp. Bring that to the passport agency or post office.

Unless he gave up his parental rights officially, you have to somehow prove that he does not object to the child receiving an American passport. His permission for the child to live in the US with the mother is not equivalent to signing off his parental rights.

Also, if they are divorced, look what the divorce decree says. It might name the mother the only custodial parent. Then you might not be required to present the father's consent.

[NickD 203]

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILDREN

• AS DIRECTED BY PUBLIC LAW 106–113 AND 22 CFR 51.28:

To submit an application for a child under age 16 both parents or the child’s legal guardian(s) must appear

and present the following:

• Evidence of the child’s U.S. citizenship,

• Evidence of the child’s relationship to parents/guardian(s), AND

• Parental/guardian identification.

IF ONLY ONE PARENT APPEARS YOU MUST ALSO SUBMIT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

• Second parent’s notarized written statement consenting to passport issuance for the child,

• Primary evidence of sole authority to apply, OR

• A written statement (made under penalty of perjury) explaining the second parent’s unavailability.

• AS DIRECTED BY REGULATION 22 CFR 51.21 and 51.28:

Each minor child applying for a passport book and/or passport card must appear in person.

Often wonder how strict the USA is about this, Venezuela was impossible even with a court order of permission to bring my stepdaughter here and certified divorce papers showing full physical custody. Just for the permission to bring her over here, her biological father moved to a different country and we had to track him down. And Venezuela was 18 years of age, not 16 like here.

With the requirements for both parents, guess applying for the N-600 wouldn't help, but at least can get a certificate without additional permission. And it seems if you have full custody of the child, the "Primary evidence of sole authority to apply" should apply. Think I read this in a post awhile back.

Every document filed for the DOS and USCIS carries the " A written statement (made under penalty of perjury) explaining the second parent’s unavailability." type of penalty. The loose ends of this, how much effort is required to find that person? The same as that Osama bin Laden guy? Are you suppose to offer a 25 million buck reward?

Then finding an experienced agent to help you, as I posted before, our clerk of court gal was doing this for twenty years, the guy at the post office, six months. Don't be afraid to ask.