bringing child of immigrant spouse

[Gringuitico 4]

Hi there,

 

I've read through the guides and the only post on here I could find, but I'm not clear on what exactly I need to bring (or who fills out the form) for applying to bring the daughter (from a previous relationship) of my immigrant spouse to the US.  Let me explain a bit, then I'll ask my questions.  We are about to START the IR-1/CR-1 process, and will apply for the child at the same time, so she doesn't yet qualify as a Legal Resident.    I know we need a separate I-130, and a copy of the child's birth certificate (translated into English) and a copy of our marriage certificate.  In this case, I believe I am sponsoring the child, myself, by virtue of being her step-dad, as a result of being married to her mother.

 

Per the guide here, then, I have the following list of things I need:

 

 Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative 
 A copy of your birth certificate or U.S. passport 
 A copy of the child's birth certificate showing the child's name and the names of both parents
 A copy of civil marriage certificate showing the names of both parents, or proof that a parent/child relationship exists or existed (if you are petitioning for a stepchild, your marriage to the child's parent must take place before the stepchild's 18th birthday) 
 A copy of any divorce decrees, death certificates, or annulment decrees that establish the termination of any previous marriages entered into by you or your spouse 

 

So... since I'm planning on submitting the child's packet along with my wife's packet, some of these supporting documents are redundant (i.e. marriage certificate and my own birth certificate).  Do I need to include TWO copies of each of those (one copy per I-130)?  Or is having one good one in the joint packet sufficient?

I also note that the guide does not explicitly say "certified copy" of these documents, whereas it DOES say that I might be asked for certified copies later down the line.  So, do I need to submit certified, official copies of everything to start the application?  I know that sounds like a dumb question, but after many years of different immigration systems, I take nothing for granted.

 

Aside from that... am I on the right page here?  Am *I* the indeed the child's sponsor, or will that be my wife?  If it's the latter... are the requirements the same?  I ask because the guide says "both parents' names" must be on the birth certificate. Since I'm a step father, obviously my own name won't be on there, but I don't see separate instructions for  step father.

 

Thank you so much!

[JFH 12,190]

*~*~*moved from "bringing family members of LPRs" to "briniginh family members of USCs"*~*~*

 

As these will be 2 separate petitions, you must include a full set of required documents and supporting documents for each petition. You may send them in the same envelope but they are separate petitions which may or may not be handled by the same person at the same time.

 

You are the sponsor and petitioner for your step-child, not your wife. 

 

You can send photocopies of documents at this stage. Certified copies will be needed at the interview. 

 

Most importantly, does your wife have permission from the other parent to remove the child from the country? 

[Gringuitico 4]

Thank you! That's exactly what I needed to know!  

And yes, she does, indeed, have permission from the other parent. We have documentation to show that (and will re-validate as-needed).  Do you think I should include a copy of that document?  It's not asked for, but it seems like the kind of thing I could PREDICT they'd ask.

[Gringuitico 4]

Hi there, just to follow up on this thread.... I had a consultation with an immigration lawyer on this, and she gave me explicitly INCORRECT advice.  She told me (more than once, despite me pointing out instructions that seemed to contradict her) that I could include my stepdaughter (As a derivative beneficiary) on my wife's application.  I figured, hey... safer to trust a lawyer who specializes in this than a forum, right?  NOPE!  

 

In this case, the instructions (upon a re-read) make more sense, and now seem perfectly explicit to me.  Lawful Permanent Residents MAY add their unmarried, minor stepchildren onto their spouse's application, but US Citizens must file separate applications (I'm not sure why citizens get a worse deal than lawful residents here, but them's the breaks).

 

This is confirmed here:
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/A1en.pdf
"What about my relative’s family? In most cases, when your relative reaches the front of the line, your relative’s spouse and unmarried children under 21 years of age can join him or her by also applying for an immigrant visa."
"For example: You marry someone with a child. The child will usually qualify as your stepchild if he or she was unmarried and under 18 years of age at the time of your marriage. In this example, you are required to file two petitions: one petition for your wife and another for the child."

 

and in on page 8, category H of the USCIS Form i-130 instructions

 

"

H. Stepparent/Stepchild: If your petition is based on a stepparent-stepchild relationship, you must file your petition
with a copy of the marriage certificate of the stepparent to the child’s natural parent showing that the marriage
occurred before the child turned 18 years of age, copies of documents showing that any prior marriages were
legally terminated (if applicable), and a copy of the stepchild’s birth certificate.

"

Finally, I spoke with a live agent at USCIS (following some cheat code-esque instructions from this other thread), and, after admitting that I did NOT have a case pending, and then explaining that I was asking about my  (obviously unmarried) 10 year old stepdaughter, the agent confirmed the information a 3rd time.  So, that's 3 independent sources from within CIS that all say the same thing.
 

Long story short:   either they've significantly improved their instructions since I started this investigation, or I was just dense before. This information is (now, at least) very black and white.

 

EDIT:  Admins, can you please delete the attached images?  I've tried multiple times, but they keep magically reappearing

Edited October 4, 2017 by Gringuitico
remove images... unable

[BuiQuang 95]

green card do not get better deal.  if u file like them, you save 1 fee but have to wait 2-4 years.  if u okay with ur wife and stepdaughter wait 2-4 years instead of 1 year for us citizen petitioner to save $535.

 

rule has not change.  us citizen must alway file separately for wife and child.  lawyer wrong.

[Gringuitico 4]

8 minutes ago, BuiQuang said:

rule has not change.  us citizen must alway file separately for wife and child.  lawyer wrong.

That makes sense. Just makes me even more angry at the lawyer.  Also frustrated with myself that I was ever confused on this topic.