How to bring a child over?

[cardigans5 43]

Hi! A few years ago I did the whole visa thing. It was successful...I married a Russian lady and her daughter came over as well. Unfortunately after a year the marriage didn't work and her and her daughter returned to Russia. Anyway I kept in touch with her daughter because I was her dad for almost 4 years now. Her daughter has expressed interest in living with me and my son instead of her mom. Her mom would allow this. My question is is it possible? Is there a visa to bring her over? She keeps asking me and I'm very confused on the subject. Please help!

[southcoast 27]

If you are still legally married then you are still her step-father. In this case file a new petition just as you did the first time. If you are divorced there is no way to file the petition.

[Boiler 45,516]

How old is she?

[canadian_wife 1,822]

Are you still legally married to the child's mother?

good luck

[Ian H. 207]

If you are her step father because you married her mother while she was under 18, then you may be able to petition her as your stepdaughter, even if your marriage ended, as long as their is an ongoing stepparent-stepchild relationship. Did they ever get their green cards or did they just leave without waiting for them?

See 8 CFR 204.2(d)(2)(iv) for information regarding primary evidence for a stepchild.

(A) Creation of the Stepparent-Stepchild Relationship.

A stepchild relationship is created whenever a parent of the child marries someone (other than the child’s other parent) before the child’s 18 th birthday. The relationship is created automatically as a result of the marriage, assuming that the marriage is not a sham or does not violate the Defense of Marriage Act - see Matter of Teng , 15 I. & N. Dec 516 (BIA 1975) and Chapter 21.3 of this field manual.)

(B) Termination of Stepparent-Stepchild Relationship.

Normally, a step relationship terminates when a marriage ends, especially if it ends in divorce. See Matter of Simicevic , 10 I. & N. Dec. 363 (BIA 1963). However, under certain circumstances a step relationship may continue after the death of the natural parent or even after the legal separation or divorce of the stepparent and natural parent if there is an ongoing relationship between the stepparent and stepchild (see Matter of Pagnerre , 13 I. & N. Dec. 173 (BIA 1971), Matter of Mowrer , 17 I. & N. Dec. 613 (BIA 1981), and Matter of Mourillon , 18 I. & N. Dec. 122 (BIA 1981)). If the marriage ends in annulment, however, the step relationship is deemed to have never existed because legally the marriage never existed.

Note The creation of a step relationship in no way terminates the relationship between the child and his or her other natural parent (i.e., the one who did not marry the stepparent). It is neither unusual nor improper for a child who acquired LPR status through a stepparent to later petition for the other natural parent once the child naturalizes and reaches the age of 21.

[cardigans5 43]

Thanks for the responses so far! We are legally divorced now...the marriage was definitely not a sham and her daughter now is now 12yrs old. They never got their green cards here.

[Ian H. 207]

Sounds like you would be able to petition her based on the above info. They would require proof as to the ongoing relationship. The fact that you have kept in touch is your way to go. You should research what kind of proofs they like to see. I will see if I can find some info.

Thanks for the responses so far! We are legally divorced now...the marriage was definitely not a sham and her daughter now is now 12yrs old. They never got their green cards here.

[Ian H. 207]

This is the best info I could find and it's official because it's from the dept of state manual for visas. It's a link to a pdf you can verify by going to page 5 of 18, and I will post on here as well. There was also a court case recently where a woman tried to petition her former stepchild, in this case her petition was denied because she couldn't prove that ongoing relationship existed at the time of filing. She didn't have proof of ongoing correspondence, financial support, or other involvement in the child's life. I will provide the link to that as well. If you have proof that can establish the ongoing relationship between you and your stepdaughter, you should be able to petition her. Telephone calls, email, christmas cards, gifts, etc anything you have that can prove the ongoing relationship should help.

9 FAM 40.1 N2.2-2 Stepparent/Stepchild Relationships After

Termination of Marriage

(CT:VISA-1000; 09-03-2008)

a. A stepchild who has met the requirements to qualify as a “child” of the

stepparent under INA 101(b)(1)(B) may continue to be entitled to immigration

benefits from such marriage, even though the relationship between the natural

parent and the stepparent has been terminated by divorce or by the death of

the natural parent, provided the marriage was a valid marriage and the family

relationship continues to exist as a matter of fact between the stepparent and

stepchild.

b. The fact that the stepparent petitioner is willing to provide the required Form I-

864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Act is not by itself sufficient

evidence that the family relationship continues to exist between the stepparent

and the stepchild. There must be evidence of some form of contact (e.g.,

letters, electronic mail, telephone calls, etc.), though it is not necessary that

the stepparent and stepchild have met in person.

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/86920.pdf

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCOURTS-laed-2_13-cv-05125/pdf/USCOURTS-laed-2_13-cv-05125-0.pdf