Questions regarding changing my step son's last name

[Jojo92122 1,924]

8 minutes ago, Randyandyuni said:

This .. it also solves his citizenship issues since after two years of living with you he is eligible to be a citizen, it also generates a new birth certificate that can be used as evidence for preparation of the name change request in the PI 

The 2 years living together is for an adoption abroad to qualify for an immigration visa.  That's not the case here with a domestic adoption.

 

The son automatically gets US citizenship under the CCA after the adoption is completed.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

8 minutes ago, jg121783 said:

That's what I thought but what are the steps in the adoption process and what is the timeframe? Like I said before we are planning a trip next year so maybe it's best to wait until after the trip?

Depends on how long it takes to get the adoption completed which varies.  

 

Stop worrying about the name change on the PI passport.  It's a non-issue that you are turning into an issue.

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

4 minutes ago, Jojo92122 said:

The 2 years living together is for an adoption abroad to qualify for an immigration visa.  That's not the case here with a domestic adoption.

 

The son automatically gets US citizenship under the CCA after the adoption is completed.

Even better

[jg121783 3,921]

3 minutes ago, Randyandyuni said:

I am in the process of adopting my stepson, it takes roughly 4 months in Ohio to do so, in November he will have lived with me for 2 years, so conceivably he can be adopted, naturalized and issued a passport by December of this year, I assume it is probably a similar timeline in Wisconsin but honestly, I do not know.  

He will be here for 2 years in February. So essentially I am looking at however long the WI process takes then after February we could possibly apply for his US passport? On a side note it is my understanding that my wife has to be here for 3 years before going through the citizenship process. Is this correct?

[jg121783 3,921]

4 minutes ago, Jojo92122 said:

Depends on how long it takes to get the adoption completed which varies.  

 

Stop worrying about the name change on the PI passport.  It's a non-issue that you are turning into an issue.

It's not so much about changing the name on the passport as it is about having all the documents in order to travel when we plan on traveling.

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

I stand corrected on the 2 years based on jg121783's reference to the CCA, but yes on your wife but she can apply 90 days prior to her 3 year anniversary of her GC

[jg121783 3,921]

So potentially my step son could become a US citizen before my wife is even eligible? Interesting how that works.

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

lol it's the government .. does it ever make sense?

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

12 minutes ago, Randyandyuni said:

I stand corrected on the 2 years based on jg121783's reference to the CCA, but yes on your wife but she can apply 90 days prior to her 3 year anniversary of her GC

sorry i meant Jojo92122's comment

[jg121783 3,921]

I did a little research into the adoption process in WI versus the name change process  and it looks like a long drawn out process. The state requires you to submit to background checks and home inspections by an adoption agency then if you have to dispute the parental rights of one of the parents you are required to have an attorney. Then after all of that you can petition the court. I couldn't find anything about the cost of this but my guess is it will be expensive if I need to pay an adoption agency and attorney on top of court fees. I'm gonna setup a consultation with a family law attorney next week to see what exactly I'm looking at here.

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

1 hour ago, jg121783 said:

I did a little research into the adoption process in WI versus the name change process  and it looks like a long drawn out process. The state requires you to submit to background checks and home inspections by an adoption agency then if you have to dispute the parental rights of one of the parents you are required to have an attorney. Then after all of that you can petition the court. I couldn't find anything about the cost of this but my guess is it will be expensive if I need to pay an adoption agency and attorney on top of court fees. I'm gonna setup a consultation with a family law attorney next week to see what exactly I'm looking at here.

Ohio has similar requirements the entire process is right about $1500, its not an adoption agency you engage but a court appointed child advocate (at least here)

[Hank_ 9,174]

23 hours ago, jg121783 said:

So basically it is less of a headache to wait until he is naturalized? The reason we want to do this is because me, my wife and his baby brother all have the same last name and he feels left out.

That is the simplest ... maybe not the quickest .. but it is guaranteed to give him the name he wants. 

 

But his Philippine passport will not be in his new name without a court process in the Philippines.    His U.S. passport will be in his new name   

[Hank_ 9,174]

22 hours ago, jg121783 said:

So potentially my step son could become a US citizen before my wife is even eligible? Interesting how that works.

yes .. potentially.   But it is more involved completing the adoption... about the time you get that done he and your wife would be close to citizenship time.

 

As for traveling sooner ... there is NOTHING you can do about the Philippine passport being in his birth name, and I don't see it being possible to change later.

[jg121783 3,921]

35 minutes ago, Hank_ said:

yes .. potentially.   But it is more involved completing the adoption... about the time you get that done he and your wife would be close to citizenship time.

 

As for traveling sooner ... there is NOTHING you can do about the Philippine passport being in his birth name, and I don't see it being possible to change later.

So basically I should wait until we aren't planning on traveling for a while to start the adoption process.

[ekim 10]

On 7/6/2018 at 2:31 PM, jg121783 said:

So potentially my step son could become a US citizen before my wife is even eligible? Interesting how that works.

Also check if your employer has an adoption benefit for step-child or foreign adoption. Some employer offer this benefit and it will save you a lot. Basically cover all the expenses including the newspaper ad except probably it is taxable.