Child of my fiance

[Greg & Beth 0]

Hey everyone. My fiance just arrived here in the US and now we wanna bring her daughter, who is 2 years old. I read we have up to 1 year to do so but dont know where to get started. We did put her daughter on the 129 petition as well as the DS160 but I dont know if we need to file anything or if any paperwork is needed for her daughter to leave the Philippines and enter through customs here. Can anyone help with this please?

Thanks

[RainbowDucks 5]

Not sure if it's the same process, but our daughter (who was 16 at the time of moving to the USA to be with us) was a "follow to join" from Australia, about 8 months after I moved to the USA. We contacted the embassy we applied at and they advised us which paperwork was needed (it was the same as my original k-1 paperwork). Our daughter had to go through the same process as I did... medicals, interviews, paying the fees etc.

As your fiance's daughter is a minor, you will also need written LEGAL permission from the biological father to say that he consents to the child applying for a visa and leaving her country permanently to live with her mother in the USA. If the child is traveling without a biological parent, the airline might also ask for some type of letter from the biological parents with their contact information and expressing consent for the child to leave the country.

For us, we wrote up our own Affidavits and had them signed by the father in front of a Justice of the Peace (legal witness) for both the permission to travel and permission to apply for a visa. I also had her biological father sign a third affidavit which gave me sole custody and the right to make all decisions regarding our daughter without consulting him. It wasn't needed, but I got that so when medical or school decisions needed to be made there would be no question here in the states about whether I could do that alone. It was helpful when I enrolled out daugther in school here.

Included in our Affidavits, was a seperate legally witnessed page with the biological father's signature and photo copy of his ID (drivers license etc).

She will also need to have her own passport and you will (depending on the laws in her country) most likely need the biological father's signature on that application too. In Australia, they will ask for the biological fathers contact details as well, and they contact before approving to make sure they are allowing the child out of the country)

As she is only 2, I would guess that a family member would be flying with her?

As she was listed on the original application, she does have up to 12 months to "follow to join".

As I was from a different country to your fiance, I cannot guarentee that the process is the same in her country, but I would assume it would be. My advice, contact the embassy your fiance applied to with a request for information and go from there.

Keep us updated on how you go

[Ian H. 207]

Hi,

I know a read a thread not to long ago with someone in the same situation, of course she was only a month a way from the 1 year limit. She is eligible for follow to join benefits, and I think the visa has to be issued before the 1 year is up. I believe it's one year from when your fiance's visa was issued.

Anyway, I think you have to contact either the NVC or the embassy. I would contact the NVC first just in case to see what they say. Keep in mind, as mentioned before, she will need pretty much the same things even though she's a child. Passport, birth cert. medical. Good luck.

Here is a link with info on follow to join (FTJ) from USEM.

http://manila.usembassy.gov/follow-to-join.html