Bringing Children to the US

[dwheels76 5,468]

Okay a few questions to ask about bringing children over on a I-130. This is for Nigeria and no its not me. LOL

1. The children and mother are listed on birth certificate with fathers surname although the couple never were married. Will this be an issue since this is a norm to carry fathers last name married or not?

2. This will be a mother bringing daughters are DNA always asked for?

3. What do you do if you haven't seen nor heard from the father in years? Don't they need a letter giving permission to take kids to America/ What do they do now?

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

DNA is less likely for the mother but does happen frequently because Nigerians are noted for taking in near relatives and creating paperwork to back up the change in parents. To bring the children without the fathers consent she will need to be declared the sole custody parent. I am sure that can be gotten from some Nigerian court after paying the appropriate fees.

[dwheels76 5,468]

DNA is less likely for the mother but does happen frequently because Nigerians are noted for taking in near relatives and creating paperwork to back up the change in parents. To bring the children without the fathers consent she will need to be declared the sole custody parent. I am sure that can be gotten from some Nigerian court after paying the appropriate fees.

What do you think of the names all same on the BC? issue or non-issue?

And you right about the fee.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

It isn't bad enough Nigerians have their own definition of brother and uncle , they have an open intra family child placement practice that would make ancestry.com blow up. Because immigration is about genetics they will probably test. Using the fathers name is the norm there so that should be ok

[nigerwife 17]

My husband brought his daughter from his first "marriage" with him when he came to the US. We did get a notarized letter from her mother stating that she was aware and in agreement. In addition, we had a Nigerian attorney write up a document that helped establish "custody" per se.

The only issue I can see that she may have is that in Nigeria, children are customarily considered a member of the father's family rather than the mother's. In the US, we assume that the mother carries more rights than fathers--and historical custody decisions reflect that. But it is the exact opposite in Nigeria. The consulate makes immigration decisions based upon the customary practices in the immigrants home country--Nigeria--so this could be tricky for a woman trying to take her children without the father's express permission.