Bringing My Wife's 16 yr old Daughter To US

[LoveMyMiky 35]

My wife and I have been married for 2 years and are currently filing to remove conditions (K1). My wife, who is South Korean, has a daughter who is 16 and we were finally able to get her birth father to sign documents to allow her to live in the US with her mother. What is the best, fastest way to enable the daughter to live and attend school in the US? Thx

[kzielu 1,149]

Fastest way at this point is for you to petition her as stepdaughter.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Fastest. US citizen stepparent filing for a step-child as an Immediate Relative. 6-12 months for a visa. Look at the Guides.

Where is the daughter now - US or Korea? Is she visiting the US right now?

Edited July 29, 2013 by aaron2020

[LoveMyMiky 35]

Yikes! Was hoping there was another way i.e. student visa or other. She is not currently visiting, but we would like to have her come next week on a visiting visa, but need to have her attend school if she were to stay. We needed notarized documented approval from father, which we now have in hand. Two trips in one year is $5,000 to $6,000.

[aaron2020 11,651]

It's illegal to enter the US on the VWP (S. Korea is part of the VWP) or a non-immigrant visa with the intent to immigrate. It's perfectly okay to enter with the intent to visit and subsequently change your mind and seek to stay by adjusting from a non-immigrant status to a Legal Permanent Resident.

It's a violation of the TOS to advise you on how to do something illegal. Here, I will tell you the consequences.

Once your stepdaughter is in the US, you could file both the I-130 and I-485 to adjust her status.

USCIS would most likely overlook any preconceived intent to immigrate when it invokes an Immediate Relative minor child of a USC. Most likely, she would get a green card.

USCIS could deny her a green card if they believe she had the intent to immigrate when she entered. However, USCIS has to have some proof or belief that she had the intent.

Showing up at the POE with more stuff then she needs for a visit would be a sign she had the intent to immigrate. Showing up with stuff for a normal visit would generally be a sign of a visit only.

Public high schools cannot refuse enrollment for any student based on legal status. It's a federal law that public schools (K-12) must take all students regardless of status. This is why illegal immigrant children can attend public school. Some of these kids even get green cards later based on a petition by a USC stepparent.

Also, children under 18 do not accumulate days o unlawful presence, so there are no penalties except leaving the US. This does not preclude coming back when there's a uSC stepparent who can file for her in under a year.. Over 18 is an adult, so the consequences are different if a person is here illegally after age 18.

Edited July 29, 2013 by aaron2020

[LoveMyMiky 35]

Aaron, nice job in laying this out, thanks!