Beneficiaries parent

[AjT1 13]

Hello,

 

I've had to make an account to ask a question I don't seem to be able to find the answer for. 

 

I'm looking over my documents for my interview in London, which is in two weeks time, and on the I-129f form under beneficiaries parents we have put the name of my not-biological father. He is my parent though and he has looked after me since I was six months old. I have also changed my surname so that I have his and everything from medical records to school reports have always been in his surname. 

 

I filled in my DS160 about 3 weeks ago and because it stated that it wanted biological parents information I filled in that form with my biological fathers information. 

 

Now I'm worried that because the my father on the I-129f and the DS-160 do not match it could cause an issue. 

 

Has anybody got any experience in this? Or any advise?

 

Thanks in advance. 

[Boiler 45,525]

Were you adopted?

[AjT1 13]

8 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Were you adopted?

Unfortunately not. I have a change of name deed which is legal but I've not been adopted. 

 

I'm starting to think that this easy to make error is going to be costly... 

[Villanelle 4,122]

Best advice is to bring all relevant paperwork to the interview and explain what happened. They can make corrections to the form if they are so inclined (so be polite and humble when asking for this) or they can be difficult and deny/send back to USCIS/etc etc basically telling you to start over with the correct info possibly going as far as determining a misrep if they want. 

 

IMO they should make the correction for you. London is not known for being a 'tough' Embassy. Bring it up at the beginning of the interview if possible. 

[AjT1 13]

7 hours ago, Villanelle said:

Best advice is to bring all relevant paperwork to the interview and explain what happened. They can make corrections to the form if they are so inclined (so be polite and humble when asking for this) or they can be difficult and deny/send back to USCIS/etc etc basically telling you to start over with the correct info possibly going as far as determining a misrep if they want. 

 

IMO they should make the correction for you. London is not known for being a 'tough' Embassy. Bring it up at the beginning of the interview if possible. 

Thanks for your advise. I hope you're right! 

[AjT1 13]

Just relooked at the instructions for the i129f form and it just says beneficiaries parents, no mention of biological parents like on the ds160. I'll mention it at interview as I'm not trying to misrepresent at all. I've filled the forms in correctly according to the instructions so I can calm down again! 

[geowrian 22,337]

I'm not so sure there's a difference between "beneficiary's parents" and "biological parents". Well, not in this case.

Edited October 3, 2019 by geowrian

[AjT1 13]

51 minutes ago, geowrian said:

I'm not so sure there's a difference between "beneficiary's parents" and "biological parents". Well, not in this case.

I hope that I will be able to talk to the CO at the interview to explain the situation. It would be devastating for the visa not to be issued due to this honest mistake.

[geowrian 22,337]

4 minutes ago, AjT1 said:

I hope that I will be able to talk to the CO at the interview to explain the situation. It would be devastating for the visa not to be issued due to this honest mistake.

As noted, it can be an issue, but personally I wouldn't expect them to raise a stink about it.

[Ed&Midori1031 330]

If you have sufficient evidence to cover your story, I would say politely bring it up to the officer.  Best to be honest. 

[dentsflogged 352]

3 hours ago, geowrian said:

I'm not so sure there's a difference between "beneficiary's parents" and "biological parents". Well, not in this case.

There's the potential to be a huge difference though.

 

Biological parents are just your DNA donors.  Plenty of people are not on speaking terms at all with them and are raised in foster or adoptive homes.  There are unfortunatley some children who are never fostered or adopted but were removed from their biological parents at a young age (I was part of the team removing a 4 day old infant from her biological parents about 10 years ago - to the best of my knowledge she has never been returned to their care - nor should she be though that is very off topic) who may simplify their life by saying "I don't have any parents" or similar.  

While I'm not pretending to know the way USCIS thinks, I've always assumed the question is twofold - first, to be able to have an accurate profile of the person seeking immigration benefit, and second, to see if there are familial ties to anyone who throws up a red flag in the system.   John Smith (probably) won't be an issue, but if there's an uncommon name that matches anyone on a watch list, then I would think that the beneficiary in that case would find themselves with a lengthy AP time while their ties to that person are proven or disproven. 

 

I daresay that 20 years from now we are going to see MANY questions like this - assisted reproduction technology is helping more and more unique families, blended families and uncommon family bonds are already blurring the lines of "what's a parent" and will only continue to muddy the (legal) water.   USCIS really should clarify exactly what they mean though - do they want biological parents, legal parents or social parents - ie: DNA donors, the people legally responsible for you, or the people who you personally see to be your parents regardless of what genetic or legal ties they have to you - because language being what it is, "parent" just doesn't hold the same meaning it did anymore and needs further clarification. 

The point of my rant is, OP - just be upfront - explain your mistake and let them decide which information they'll keep and what they'll toss. 

[Highmystic 234]

On 10/2/2019 at 10:12 AM, AjT1 said:

Now I'm worried that because the my father on the I-129f and the DS-160 do not match it could cause an issue. 

 

Has anybody got any experience in this? Or any advise?

 

Thanks in advance. 

I guess that depends on the legal definition of "parent".  Since you were not adopted, your biological father is your legal parent, and your stepdad, even if he raised you from 6 months, is your "dad".. but not your legal parent.  As others said, they could or should fix it once they understand your situation.  At this point in your life, I don't think they should care at all about the biological parent after all this time.  I hope you update us after your interview, as many here learn from others experiences.

[geowrian 22,337]

@dentsflogged

No fundamental disagreement. I was speaking solely on how USCIS interprets the response on the petition, nothing more. Hence why I edited to say "Well, not in this case".

Edited October 3, 2019 by geowrian

[AjT1 13]

Thanks for the advise. I don't think it will be a problem if I explain everything. It seems a little weird though that this could be a sticking point for the whole visa. However I understand that London is not a really tough embassy and I have a lot of evidence of my father, the guy who brought me up, being my parent. I'm going to explain the what we, me and my fiancee thought of as a parent as I honestly don't think of my biological father as my dad because he didn't bring me up and I've had so little to do with him throughout my life, I've seen him a handful of times my whole life. 

 

So when on the I-129f it asked for beneficiaries parents I had no hesitation to put the names of the two people who have been my parents, as I mentioned before in the instructions it just says parents with no mention of biological parents. At the time of filing the I-129f I only had my short birth certificate so it didn't have the names of my legal parents on it. However by the time I completed the DS160 I had obtained a certified copy of my full birth certificate which had the name of my biological parent on it. Also when completing the parent information on the DS160 it very clearly stated the I should input the details of biological parents, unlike the I-129f which just Staes 'beneficiaries parents'.

 

In terms of evidence I intend to bring a written statement from my mother and father, the guy who brought me up, explaining the relationship.

 

I'm glad for all of the advice and I really hope that it isn't going to be a problem. Me and my fiancee have been together for almost four years, we spent two and half of them together in Tokyo. Since her return to the US I have visited her and her family five times over the past year so I am well known to the family. And she also visited my family over here in the UK earlier this year. We've got a lot of evidence of our relationship and commitment to each other, testimonies from family and friends, all the documents we need we have and she earns well over the 125% poverty guideline. So the thought of possibly not getting the visa due to putting my parent, although not biological parent, on the original I-129f petition is terrifying. 

 

I just really hope that the CO understands all of this and doesn't take this genuine mistake as trying to misrepresent or something.  

Edited October 3, 2019 by AjT1

[AjT1 13]

1 hour ago, Highmystic said:

I guess that depends on the legal definition of "parent".  Since you were not adopted, your biological father is your legal parent, and your stepdad, even if he raised you from 6 months, is your "dad".. but not your legal parent.  As others said, they could or should fix it once they understand your situation.  At this point in your life, I don't think they should care at all about the biological parent after all this time.  I hope you update us after your interview, as many here learn from others experiences.

And I will update!