USC living in Canada Wants to Move Herself and Her Canadian-born Child Back to USA; She's on Welfare

[BadCivilServant 10]

I was hoping some of my fellow VisaJourney members could give me some advice that I could pass on to my USC/CAN wife's USC half-sister, Melanie.

 

I'm not going to editorialize on the merits (or lack thereof) of what she wants to do. I'm just asking questions on her behalf. So please bear with me.

 

Melanie lives in Ontario. She is 46 years old, is bi-polar and has some other issues. She has a 12-year old son and two older daughters in their 20s. All the kids are Canadian. She was born in Michigan, but has lived in Ontario since she was four, so passing on derivative citizenship to the boy is not possible, She has sole custody of the him. I understand his father is listed as "unknown." The girls have no wish to move, so that's not an issue. 

 

As my wife and I are making plans to move to Orlando, Florida, Melanie decided she would like to join us. She wants to move back to the USA and take the boy with her. 

 

Obviously, there is nothing stopping Melanie from moving back to the USA any time she wants. Can anybody give me some guidance regarding what paperwork she would require for her 12-year-old son? And would the time from be similar to that which I and my USC wife are currently experiencing with our I-130? 

 

To complicate matters, she lives in public subsidized housing and receives some sort of disability welfare payment every month. So, wherever she ends up in the USA, she'll be looking for public benefits (welfare, housing, food stamps). Would that complicate the issue of bringing her son across the border? Would he need a sponsor?

 

Melanie asked my wife about living with us in Orlando. They lived together previously, long before I knew my wife. And it was an unmitigated disaster. No. Just...no. Melanie also has family in Lafayette, Louisiana, so it's possible she may end up there as well. My mother-in-law, who is 63, also born in Michigan, lives near Melanie and also wishes to return to the USA. Probably when she turns 65 and is eligible for Canada Pension and Old Age Pension payments. It's possible she could live close to her daughter Melanie and help look after her. But her resources are limited. As are all of ours.

 

When my wife passed on Melanie's request to live with us, I did tell her that is NOT an option. But there are plenty of cheap apartments for rent in Orlando and we would be happy to help with that. There's section eight for her as well. I'm not sure what kind of assistance the State of Florida (or Louisiana, for that matter, should she end up there) would be inclined to provide to her.  I would actually like to have the boy closer to us so we could help keep him on the rails. In fact, I told my wife, if we could adopt the boy, I would agree to it in a heartbeat. As I said, the boy has two older sisters. The older of the two sisters has struggled with drug addiction, but seems to have her life back on track. So far, the younger sister seems half-way normal. I would love the be able to bring the boy into our lives and try and do our part to keep him on the straight-and-narrow. 

 

In the meantime, I'm going to extend send Melanie passport applications for herself (USA AND Canada), the boy and her girls to fill out. I'll tell her to send them back to me with their pictures and I'll pay the filing fee. And then I'll extend an invitation to all of them to visit us in Orlando this summer. Provided I get through all of this by then, of course.

 

 

 

  

Edited January 3, 2017 by lilbastard
wrong age

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Melanie can petition her son and daughters for immigration visas; the son will be approved quickly as a minor, the daughters, as they are adults, it will take a few years. 

[BadCivilServant 10]

16 minutes ago, Penguin_ie said:

Melanie can petition her son and daughters for immigration visas; the son will be approved quickly as a minor, the daughters, as they are adults, it will take a few years. 

Thank you.

 

Just to be clear, it's just the 12-year-old boy who is coming with Melanie. The girls are staying put in Canada. 

 

Do you know if there is a financial sponsorship or co-sponsorship (i.e. I-864) involved for the boy? 

[Transborderwife 4,666]

3 minutes ago, lilbastard said:

Thank you.

 

Just to be clear, it's just the 12-year-old boy who is coming with Melanie. The girls are staying put in Canada. 

 

Do you know if there is a financial sponsorship or co-sponsorship (i.e. I-864) involved for the boy? 

yes, he'd be add to your household count

[aaron2020 11,651]

Melanie can petition her son with the I-130.  The process is similar to what you went through with your wife.  In fact, it's easier for Melanie to petition for her son than you petitioning your wife.  The process will take 6-12 months.  Follow the Guides on VJ.

 

Melanie does not need a co-sponsor or Joint Sponsor for her 12 years old son.  She files the waiver, I-864w, since her son will automatically become a US citizen once he crosses into the US with his immigrant visa to live with his USC mom.  She can file for his US passport as soon as he enters the US with his immigrant visa.

 

Melanie and her son, both USC, can qualify for US welfare.

 

Let the girls know that if they want to immigrate to the US, it will be at least 7-8 years for them if they are over 21 years old.  They will need Joint Sponsors since they will not qualify for the I-864w.

 

 

Edited January 3, 2017 by aaron2020

[BadCivilServant 10]

5 hours ago, aaron2020 said:

Melanie can petition her son with the I-130.  The process is similar to what you went through with your wife.  In fact, it's easier for Melanie to petition for her son than you petitioning your wife.  The process will take 6-12 months.  Follow the Guides on VJ.

 

Melanie does not need a co-sponsor or Joint Sponsor for her 12 years old son.  She files the waiver, I-864w, since her son will automatically become a US citizen once he crosses into the US with his immigrant visa to live with his USC mom.  She can file for his US passport as soon as he enters the US with his immigrant visa.

 

Melanie and her son, both USC, can qualify for US welfare.

 

Let the girls know that if they want to immigrate to the US, it will be at least 7-8 years for them if they are over 21 years old.  They will need Joint Sponsors since they will not qualify for the I-864w.

 

 

Thank you. I'll let her know. Hopefully we can somehow get her back to work. 

 

As for the girls, they have no interest in leaving Canada. 

[Villanelle 4,122]

Depending on Melanies health records she may be able to qualify for disability in the US as well. I understand she has no work records in the US and that is not a problem. She would be getting (if able) SSI Disability payments + Medicaid. It wont be much as SSI is just a min amount (figured by poverty levels, not sure of the exact amount sorry). 

 

She can also work (limited) on disability as long as her earnings are under 11k a year I believe. Youd have to check out the SS website its called ticket to work program. She would get info on that if/when approved for disability. 

Each state has its own "welfare" and assistance programs and requirements. I would recommend you check out the website needhelppayingbills.com It has links to pretty much every assistance program out there. You can search by state and compare. You'll have to do some leg work and go to each agencies web site for more info. From my understanding Sect 8 housing is very hard to obtain. There are usually wait lists for years. Being disabled can help her obtain more assistance- however I am not sure she would be considered "disabled" in the US unless she is found to be disabled by SSA. Other programs require you to have some sort of min income to qualify. Again, you will have to do a lot of research, but most places are very helpful and will provide info beyond what you can find online if you call up. 

If everyone is agreement and you are going to adopt the young boy, you would want to wait until after he is in the US and settled. Im not sure if you would need an attny for that, youd have to look into the requirements (your county clerk).