Spouses children

[Wee-moon-ah 3]

Hi everyone. I’m new to this site so bear with me. I’m planning on marrying my Vietnamese girlfriend in a year. She has 2 children but we are planning on bringing them at a later date. Maybe a year later. Her and I decided the first year for her to go to cosmetology school. Will there be issues sponsoring her kids to come later? Thanks. 

[aleful 1,905]

no issue

 

 

[Wee-moon-ah 3]

1 minute ago, aleful said:

no issue

 

 

Ok thanks. Just curious. I’m short of money and want to bring her over first and get her situated w her license/lifestyle here and then bring one kid over the following year and the other one the year after. 

[designguy 1,179]

How old are the kids?

Has the father agreed to this kids moving?

Edited October 9, 2019 by designguy

[Wee-moon-ah 3]

26 minutes ago, designguy said:

How old are the kids?

Has the father agreed to this kids moving?

One is 13 and the other is 8. Not sure about the father. The ex grandmother watches the kids while she’s at work. The ex doesn’t seem to be in the kids lives. Would it be a big problem if the father doesn’t agree? I didn’t think of that 

[designguy 1,179]

15 minutes ago, NOTORIOUSJeff said:

One is 13 and the other is 8. Not sure about the father. The ex grandmother watches the kids while she’s at work. The ex doesn’t seem to be in the kids lives. Would it be a big problem if the father doesn’t agree? I didn’t think of that 

With the ages you are not at risk of the children aging out so thats a good thing. Was your fiancé married to the children's father? Does the grandmother have any custodial rights? I am not familiar with Vietnamese family law but it is something you definitely need to get clarity on. In many cases if a parent has parental rights and the other parent tries to move the children to another country without permission, it could be tantamount to child kidnapping. Not saying that is your case, but you definitely want to make sure you have the ducks in a row as there have been cases where a parent has totally blocked the children from being able to emigrate. Although you say the father is not involved in the children's lives, if he chose to be, he would now need to apply for a US visa to be able to go and see them.

 

A few other things to consider. There will be new requirements going into effect soon regarding healthcare. You say you are short on money. Will you and your wife be able to secure health insurance for her within 30 days? Will you be able to secure healthcare for the children as well? The public charge rules are being enforced more strictly so you definitely want to not be hovering around the minimum requirements when you proceed with your petition. If the first child will be joining approx. a year after your fiancé, you should look into the follow-to-join benefits, as they expire after a year.

[Lemonslice 4,853]

Please secure the money before she comes so that she can be reunited with her children as soon as possible.  You can still delay their entry, but you'll know that the funds are there when you both are ready.  No excuse of car breaking down or what not...

[Wee-moon-ah 3]

5 hours ago, designguy said:

With the ages you are not at risk of the children aging out so thats a good thing. Was your fiancé married to the children's father? Does the grandmother have any custodial rights? I am not familiar with Vietnamese family law but it is something you definitely need to get clarity on. In many cases if a parent has parental rights and the other parent tries to move the children to another country without permission, it could be tantamount to child kidnapping. Not saying that is your case, but you definitely want to make sure you have the ducks in a row as there have been cases where a parent has totally blocked the children from being able to emigrate. Although you say the father is not involved in the children's lives, if he chose to be, he would now need to apply for a US visa to be able to go and see them.

 

A few other things to consider. There will be new requirements going into effect soon regarding healthcare. You say you are short on money. Will you and your wife be able to secure health insurance for her within 30 days? Will you be able to secure healthcare for the children as well? The public charge rules are being enforced more strictly so you definitely want to not be hovering around the minimum requirements when you proceed with your petition. If the first child will be joining approx. a year after your fiancé, you should look into the follow-to-join benefits, as they expire after a year.

What do you mean by aging out? Yeah they’ll all have health care. I work for the govt so it wouldn’t be a problem to add them to my health care plan. The grandmother doesn’t have custodial rights. She just baby sits them most of the day. My girlfriend was married but divorced him. 

[designguy 1,179]

8 minutes ago, NOTORIOUSJeff said:

What do you mean by aging out? Yeah they’ll all have health care. I work for the govt so it wouldn’t be a problem to add them to my health care plan. The grandmother doesn’t have custodial rights. She just baby sits them most of the day. My girlfriend was married but divorced him. 

Once children reach the age of 21 they are (in most cases) no longer eligible as derivatives on an application. Meaning they will no longer fall into an immediate relative visa category, they will be in a numerically limited category. Lucky for you the kids are nowhere near that age. For the custody issue you may want to post in the Vietnam regional forum where maybe there will be someone in a similar situation. Your situation might be totally fine, just if I were you I would want to make sure to have clarity on it. Better to know now and be able to plan accordingly rather than a surprise at the end.

 

Have you looked into which visa route you will go down? You said you will marry in a year. Do you plan on a K1 and adjusting status in the US or marrying outside the US and filing for a CR1?

[Wee-moon-ah 3]

24 minutes ago, designguy said:

Once children reach the age of 21 they are (in most cases) no longer eligible as derivatives on an application. Meaning they will no longer fall into an immediate relative visa category, they will be in a numerically limited category. Lucky for you the kids are nowhere near that age. For the custody issue you may want to post in the Vietnam regional forum where maybe there will be someone in a similar situation. Your situation might be totally fine, just if I were you I would want to make sure to have clarity on it. Better to know now and be able to plan accordingly rather than a surprise at the end.

 

Have you looked into which visa route you will go down? You said you will marry in a year. Do you plan on a K1 and adjusting status in the US or marrying outside the US and filing for a CR1?

I definitely need to do more research. We plan to marry in Vietnam and get the cr1 visa so that she has rights in the U.s when she gets here. 

[designguy 1,179]

2 minutes ago, NOTORIOUSJeff said:

I definitely need to do more research. We plan to marry in Vietnam and get the cr1 visa so that she has rights in the U.s when she gets here. 

If you did get married  year from now and file then she probably will have the visa in hand around Feb 2022. If that timeline works for you then no problem. Otherwise might make sense to go and get married and start the process earlier. Just something to keep in mid

[Wee-moon-ah 3]

1 hour ago, designguy said:

If you did get married  year from now and file then she probably will have the visa in hand around Feb 2022. If that timeline works for you then no problem. Otherwise might make sense to go and get married and start the process earlier. Just something to keep in mid

You but we may speed up the process. I’m going in Jan 2020 so we may do it that time. 

[designguy 1,179]

18 minutes ago, NOTORIOUSJeff said:

You but we may speed up the process. I’m going in Jan 2020 so we may do it that time. 

Sounds like a good plan. Good Luck and keep us updated!

[Wee-moon-ah 3]

13 minutes ago, designguy said:

Sounds like a good plan. Good Luck and keep us updated!

Thanks man. I’m just nervous about the whole thing. Just hope everything runs smoothly. 

[designguy 1,179]

19 minutes ago, NOTORIOUSJeff said:

Thanks man. I’m just nervous about the whole thing. Just hope everything runs smoothly. 

Tell me about it haha! I have my interview in 6 days