Child Consent

[TheLiftingCouple 4]

Hello guys, Im going to be emigrating with my 8 year old son to New York State. I have permission to travel with him and have a signed permission letter from his biological father. He had the letter witnessed  but not by an official person like a solicitor. All his contact details, address number and passport number are on there, will this be enough to travel with? It’s hard to find official guidelines on this. 

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

9 minutes ago, TheLiftingCouple said:

It’s hard to find official guidelines on this. 

There is no official guidelines. If you have a signed permission letter from the father, that's all you need. I don't think it needs to be "witnessed" either. 

[kris&me 572]

child I assume is coming on K2 visa with the stamp in passport

so POE officer should know immigration has done all the work to ok the visa and entry 

 

if wrong i stand corrected by more knowledgeable than me (i didn't to do a K2)

 

https://www.stilt.com/blog/2019/06/k2-visa/

[Georgia16 2,858]

I have never had a signed permission to travel with my son and never been asked for it but it good to have.

 

If you mean the one for the embassy for your child to get the K-2 visa then they might ask for it to be notarised. 

[Greenbaum 12,259]

32 minutes ago, TheLiftingCouple said:

Hello guys, Im going to be emigrating with my 8 year old son to New York State. I have permission to travel with him and have a signed permission letter from his biological father. He had the letter witnessed  but not by an official person like a solicitor. All his contact details, address number and passport number are on there, will this be enough to travel with? It’s hard to find official guidelines on this. 

You may want to check in with the sub-forum for your country. Find it under the tab "forums" scroll 3/4 of the page down and then locate. Many there can help answer as they may be country specific. I doubt you will have a problem but I would check with the folks in the sub-forum

[TheLiftingCouple 4]

2 hours ago, Greenbaum said:

You may want to check in with the sub-forum for your country. Find it under the tab "forums" scroll 3/4 of the page down and then locate. Many there can help answer as they may be country specific. I doubt you will have a problem but I would check with the folks in the sub-forum

Thank you, I posted there  

[Pitaya 2,577]

4 hours ago, USS_Voyager said:

There is no official guidelines. If you have a signed permission letter from the father, that's all you need. I don't think it needs to be "witnessed" either. 

There are no official guidelines. However, in the link below, CBP makes a strong recommendation for a letter authorizing the minor travel, if the minor is traveling with one or none of the minor's parents. They also suggest that the letter be notarized. This is primarily as a consequence of the increased international awareness of child trafficking. Evidently some countries are stricter than others regarding this type of documentation. It is likely better to be safe than sorry.

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-3643?language=en_US

 

Specific form examples can easily be found by doing a quick Google search for "minor travel consent form."

 

HTH, good luck on your immigration journey.

[TheLiftingCouple 4]

2 minutes ago, Pitaya said:

 

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-3643?language=en_US

 

Specific form examples can easily be found by doing a quick Google search for "minor travel consent form."

 

HTH, good luck on your immigration journey.

Thank you, I will check it out :)

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

I traveled with my son (2 yr old at the time) as well as my wife also traveled with him several times from US to Vietnam. We passed through South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong. Nobody ever asked anything. Everyone was pretty much like “get that kid away from me”

[Pitaya 2,577]

Just now, TheLiftingCouple said:

Thank you, I will check it out

Additionally, if this travel is for immigration, I would strongly suggest that you get a noticed letter from the other parent authorizing immigration of the child. It is unclear if you have had your visa interview yet, your timeline is not updated. 

 

When my wife and stepson were applying for their K1 and K2 visas at the US Consulate in Guangzhou, my then-fiancee produced a notarized letter from her. ex-husband authorizing the child's immigration. She had been awarded full custody, as noted in the divorce degreee. 

 

However, the letter left no doubt of the father's consent. The last thing that the US government wants to get involved with is an international child custody battle.

 

Good luck on your immigration journey.

[Pitaya 2,577]

4 minutes ago, USS_Voyager said:

I traveled with my son (2 yr old at the time) as well as my wife also traveled with him several times from US to Vietnam. We passed through South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong. Nobody ever asked anything. Everyone was pretty much like “get that kid away from me”

That may be true. lol..    However, isn't it better to be safe than sorry? Besides, the concern seems to be when the minor is not traveling with both parents, but one parent or none.

[TheLiftingCouple 4]

5 minutes ago, Pitaya said:

Additionally, if this travel is for immigration, I would strongly suggest that you get a noticed letter from the other parent authorizing immigration of the child. It is unclear if you have had your visa interview yet, your timeline is not updated. 

 

 

Yes it is we are just awaiting notification that our case has been received at the NVC. I do have a letter agreeing to the move and it’s witnessed just not by a notary.

[Pitaya 2,577]

3 minutes ago, TheLiftingCouple said:

Yes it is we are just awaiting notification that our case has been received at the NVC. I do have a letter agreeing to the move and it’s witnessed just not by a notary.

OK, first sorry for the spelling error.... *notarized letter.... My wife went the notarized letter route in order to avoid any potential future problems...any woulda, coulda, or shoulda talk in the future (and I am glad that she did!).  I am just telling you what worked for us at the US Consulate in Guangzhou in June 2012. Additionally, I will tell you that I have made the same suggestion for many, many similarly-situated folks here at the VJ Forums since then, and have heard no negative comments about this recommendation. I just found that CBP link and recommendations today, and feel that it that certainly lends credence to our previous now time-honored course of action. Of course, the choice is yours....

 

Good luck on your immigration journey.

[Cndn 98]

2 hours ago, Pitaya said:

That may be true. lol..    However, isn't it better to be safe than sorry? Besides, the concern seems to be when the minor is not traveling with both parents, but one parent or none.

No you’re right to advise getting a notarized letter. I travel with my toddler back and forth from Canada quite a bit (on AP). Most of the time I’m not asked for anything but once I was. I showed him the notarized letter I had from my husband and he (border guard) expressed concern that it was dated a few months before. He let me in but advised me to get an updated one for next time, which I of course did. It’s always better to be safe than sorry and getting a notarized letter is not a difficult thing to achieve so why not. CBP does not require a letter but they do recommend a notarized one. In my case I did need it one time. 
 

Edit: this was an experience at the Canadian border with a Canadian officer. But I know the states and Canada have very similar guidelines about travel with children. 

Edited December 11, 2019 by Cndn

[TheLiftingCouple 4]

9 hours ago, Pitaya said:

 

 

Good luck on your immigration journey.

Thank you, I have reached out to some solicitors this morning to get it in order. 
 

Thank you for your help :)