K-2 Visa Procedures: Please Help!

[Ohemaa 0]

Hi Everyone,

My now-husband and I are in an incredibly ironic situation: he is now in the U.S., waiting on his green card (he's received Advanced Parole and his working permit), while I am temporarily on a fellowship in his home country (Senegal). His 7 year old son is here with me, and our plan has always been for the son to join us in the U.S, but we don't want to disrupt his school year, so we have waited. In retrospect, it might have been easier if we'd just had him accompany his father last November.

Does anyone have any guidance as to procedure that they can share? We listed him as my husband's son on the I-129F, and again on the visa forms--stating specifically our intent to have the son follow-to-join within a year of my husband's K-1 visa issuance. That yearlong period will expire in mid-September 2013. I'm leaving Senegal in mid-June.

I don't need to file a I-130, right? Just the affidavit of support and the visa forms (DS-156, DS-157)? What's the procedure involved? Do I need to contact the Consulate here and Dakar and simply state our intent to schedule an interview and a medical appointment? I'm working on getting the notarized letter from his birth mother quitting any claim to him, or in the alternative, a court-ordered decree. And the $240 interview fee? Am I missing anything else?

Should the father use his AP documents to come and accompany the son for his interview? Or, can I, the step-mom attend the interview with him?

If anyone has any insight, I would be truly grateful to hear from you.

Best of luck to EVERYONE!

[Ronn63 41]

Hi!! Quite a story!! I don't think the year anniversary will make any difference now. Your husband is getting a green card, right? He can petition to have his son join him anytime after that. Check with other posts here, but I think that's the way it works. You apply through USCIS here stateside.

Hope that helps.

[Villanelle 4,122]

You just need to contact the embassy and let them know you are ready. They will set you up with an interview and let you know what to do. (you need the medical and have to pay the fees).

Youd have to ask them if they will allow you to accompany the child or if they require the childs legal guardian to be there. Make it very very clear you do not have custody of the child, you are the fathers legal wife, the childs mother will not be there and if thats okay. (Perhaps a letter or something from the mother or father giving you temporary guardianship?)

You may want something like that anyway if you intend to travel alone with the child. I mean traveling internationally across borders with a child whos not yours and no documents that says its okay... (?) The last thing you want is to be accused of kidnapping. So you def need something saying its okay to travel with you. (it could be from the father)

Your husband is going to want something saying the childs mother is allowing the child to immigrate to the US. There are far too many stories on here about international custody disputes where the foreign parent 'changes their mind' later. The notarized letter from the parent abroad is the only thing that US based parent has that allows them to keep the child in the US.

[Pitaya 2,577]

Take a look here for more information:

DoS K-1 Visa FAQs