Stepdaughter

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

Hello everyone!

 

My first post after digesting a lot of great info here!  Here is some background:

 

• I am a U.S. Citizen living in the Philippines since 2013.
• I married my Philippines citizen wife in 2015.
• Her daughter, my stepdaughter, is 16, in 11th grade.  Also a Philippine citizen.  Our father/daughter relationship is 8 years and easily documented.
• My wife's previous marriage was annulled.
• We have two younger daughters, both with CRBA, U.S. passport and Philippines passport.

 

We have decided to move to the U.S. and the timing we hope for is after my stepdaughter finishes 12 grade in Spring 2022, moving around May/June 2022.  After reading about the requirements, I think I can cover all of them, including U.S. domicile.

 

I have a few questions I need help with.

 

1.  I understand that I will need to file a I-130 petition for my wife and another for my stepdaughter, to start the IR-1 process.  Is there some way they are bound together as mother and daughter in all the following steps and required forms?  I noted that in the K3/K4 process, they seem to be bound together from the start.  I am thinking ahead to the medical tests and interview.  I would hope that they would do these at the same time.

 

2.  Are there any techniques I could use to try and time the finish to be in my target move window of May / June 2022?  I read that when everything is ready, they have 6 months to enter the U.S.  I would not want them to be approved too early.

 

3.  In the K3/K4 process, I see that the intent when it was started was to minimize the time a family is separated, but now that processing is faster, that is not so relevant.  With either process, I don't see where I am going to be separated from my family.  Am I missing something?  My plan is to sell our house and everything here, then we all fly out together.  I will have our new home waiting for us.

 

I do realize the U.S. Embassy in Manila is not doing much now, but I hope they will return to normal early next year.

 

Thanks for any help !

[Boiler 45,525]

1. No individual petitions.

 

2. Apply early 2021.

 

3. K3 is effectively dead. How will you meet I 864 requirements, you say you have Domicile covered?

 

4. Not sure I expect they to be a lot of change for the foreseeable future but who knows.

 

[mushroomspore 3,044]

3 minutes ago, seekingthetruth said:

Hello everyone!

 

My first post after digesting a lot of great info here!  Here is some background:

 

• I am a U.S. Citizen living in the Philippines since 2013.
• I married my Philippines citizen wife in 2015.
• Her daughter, my stepdaughter, is 16, in 11th grade.  Also a Philippine citizen.  Our father/daughter relationship is 8 years and easily documented.
• My wife's previous marriage was annulled.
• We have two younger daughters, both with CRBA, U.S. passport and Philippines passport.

 

We have decided to move to the U.S. and the timing we hope for is after my stepdaughter finishes 12 grade in Spring 2022, moving around May/June 2022.  After reading about the requirements, I think I can cover all of them, including U.S. domicile.

 

I have a few questions I need help with.

 

1.  I understand that I will need to file a I-130 petition for my wife and another for my stepdaughter, to start the IR-1 process.  Is there some way they are bound together as mother and daughter in all the following steps and required forms?  I noted that in the K3/K4 process, they seem to be bound together from the start.  I am thinking ahead to the medical tests and interview.  I would hope that they would do these at the same time.

 

2.  Are there any techniques I could use to try and time the finish to be in my target move window of May / June 2022?  I read that when everything is ready, they have 6 months to enter the U.S.  I would not want them to be approved too early.

 

3.  In the K3/K4 process, I see that the intent when it was started was to minimize the time a family is separated, but now that processing is faster, that is not so relevant.  With either process, I don't see where I am going to be separated from my family.  Am I missing something?  My plan is to sell our house and everything here, then we all fly out together.  I will have our new home waiting for us.

 

I do realize the U.S. Embassy in Manila is not doing much now, but I hope they will return to normal early next year.

 

Thanks for any help !

Just a few notes...

 

K-3 is obsolete. Never heard of K4. You can't do K1/K2 since you're already married. It's going to be IR1/IR2 for your wife and step-daughter respectively.

 

Did you ever officially adopt your step-daughter? I don't know what the laws are between US and Philippines about bringing step-children over but you will want to look into that to make sure everything's kosher and there is no legal red tape about bringing her over.

 

There is no way to guarantee or predict your immigration timeline and approval dates. Once you file the papers, it's basically a lottery in terms of how long you'll need to wait. Visajourney provides most likely dates but these are ultimately just probabilities. You may be approved very fast or you may be approved very slowly. Do not make ANY plans until they have the visas in hand. Even when you get the "approval" notification, it may take longer than expected to get their passports back etc. 

 

@geowrian Maybe you can provide more detailed info, O Wise Guru?

 

 

[payxibka 10,045]

10 minutes ago, seekingthetruth said:

Hello everyone!

 

My first post after digesting a lot of great info here!  Here is some background:

 

• I am a U.S. Citizen living in the Philippines since 2013.
• I married my Philippines citizen wife in 2015.
• Her daughter, my stepdaughter, is 16, in 11th grade.  Also a Philippine citizen.  Our father/daughter relationship is 8 years and easily documented.
• My wife's previous marriage was annulled.
• We have two younger daughters, both with CRBA, U.S. passport and Philippines passport.

 

We have decided to move to the U.S. and the timing we hope for is after my stepdaughter finishes 12 grade in Spring 2022, moving around May/June 2022.  After reading about the requirements, I think I can cover all of them, including U.S. domicile.

 

I have a few questions I need help with.

 

1.  I understand that I will need to file a I-130 petition for my wife and another for my stepdaughter, to start the IR-1 process.  Is there some way they are bound together as mother and daughter in all the following steps and required forms?  I noted that in the K3/K4 process, they seem to be bound together from the start.  I am thinking ahead to the medical tests and interview.  I would hope that they would do these at the same time.

 

2.  Are there any techniques I could use to try and time the finish to be in my target move window of May / June 2022?  I read that when everything is ready, they have 6 months to enter the U.S.  I would not want them to be approved too early.

 

3.  In the K3/K4 process, I see that the intent when it was started was to minimize the time a family is separated, but now that processing is faster, that is not so relevant.  With either process, I don't see where I am going to be separated from my family.  Am I missing something?  My plan is to sell our house and everything here, then we all fly out together.  I will have our new home waiting for us.

 

I do realize the U.S. Embassy in Manila is not doing much now, but I hope they will return to normal early next year.

 

Thanks for any help !

in the future you may wish to post Philippines specific questions in Philippines regional forum so as to avoid generalized or misinformation as it relates to the Manila process 

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hi,

 

1.  Since there will be two I-130, there will be two separate and unrelated cases.  USCIS and the NVC will not coordinate the two cases.  Once the cases reaches the US Embassy, you can ask for their interviews to be conducted at the same time.   Since your stepdaughter is a minor, you will need to get the father's written permission for her to immigrate to the US at her visa interview.

 

2.  File the I-130s now.  It will take USCIS about 6 months to approve them and then forward them to the NVC.  You can slow things down at the NVC.  Once the NVC contacts you to pay the fees and file the paperwork, you have one year to complete the tasks.  You can take your time so that you can file the paperwork at the same time.  It would be best to complete the paperwork around December 2021/January 2022.  They would interview sometime at the end of winter/beginning of spring.  Their visas will expire 6 months after their medical exams.

 

3.  Forget about the K3/K4.  It's a relic from a time when cases for immediate relatives took a long time.  Since that is no longer the case, the K3/K4 has become a relic and visas in these categories are rarely issued.

 

Best of luck.

Edited October 5, 2020 by aaron2020

[payxibka 10,045]

1 minute ago, aaron2020 said:

Hi,

 

1.  Since there will be two I-130, there will be two separate and unrelated cases.  USCIS and the NVC will not coordinate the two cases.  Once the cases reaches the US Embassy, you can ask for their interviews to be conducted at the same time.  

 

2.  File the I-130s now.  It will take USCIS about 6 months to approve them and then forward them to the NVC.  You can slow things down at the NVC.  Once the NVC contacts you to pay the fees and file the paperwork, you have one year to complete the tasks.  You can take your time so that you can file the paperwork at the same time.  It would be best to complete the paperwork around December 2021/January 2022.  They would interview sometime at the end of winter/beginning of spring.  Their visas will expire 6 months after their medical exams.

 

3.  Forget about the K3/K4.  It's a relic from a time when cases for immediate relatives took a long time.  Since that is no longer the case, the K3/K4 has become a relic and visas in these categories are rarely issued.

 

Best of luck.

you can get the i130s joined at NVC 

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

28 minutes ago, Boiler said:

1. No individual petitions.

 

2. Apply early 2021.

 

3. K3 is effectively dead. How will you meet I 864 requirements, you say you have Domicile covered?

 

4. Not sure I expect they to be a lot of change for the foreseeable future but who knows.

 

Regarding no individual petitions, that may be true for K1 but for IR 1 they are separate.  Somebody please correct me if I am wrong.

 

For domicile, all my banking and investments have remained in the states.  I just sold a rental house and now I will buy another house in both our names.  For the past 4 years my wife and I have filed a joint U.S. tax return.  I will open a new joint bank account for us.

[Boiler 45,525]

11 minutes ago, seekingthetruth said:

Regarding no individual petitions, that may be true for K1 but for IR 1 they are separate.  Somebody please correct me if I am wrong.

 

For domicile, all my banking and investments have remained in the states.  I just sold a rental house and now I will buy another house in both our names.  For the past 4 years my wife and I have filed a joint U.S. tax return.  I will open a new joint bank account for us.

That is what I said

 

Do not know how tight PI is on domicile, something for the Regional forum, sounds like you intend qualifying using assets/rental income.

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

57 minutes ago, mushroomspore said:

 

Did you ever officially adopt your step-daughter? I don't know what the laws are between US and Philippines about bringing step-children over but you will want to look into that to make sure everything's kosher and there is no legal red tape about bringing her over.

That type of adoption is a nightmare over here.  Some try for years and just give up.

Her father may have to approve before age 18 but we doubt that he would object and she turns 18 in July 2022.

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

1 hour ago, payxibka said:

in the future you may wish to post Philippines specific questions in Philippines regional forum so as to avoid generalized or misinformation as it relates to the Manila process 

I didn't realize there was one.  If the mods feel it is appropriate, they can move this one.

[Mollie09 1,543]

13 minutes ago, seekingthetruth said:

That type of adoption is a nightmare over here.  Some try for years and just give up.

Her father may have to approve before age 18 but we doubt that he would object and she turns 18 in July 2022.

Would her father approve of her leaving the country permanently?

[aaron2020 11,651]

17 minutes ago, seekingthetruth said:

That type of adoption is a nightmare over here.  Some try for years and just give up.

Her father may have to approve before age 18 but we doubt that he would object and she turns 18 in July 2022.

If the father cooperates and gives his written permission for her to immigrate, then great you can meet your May/June 2022 date for her to immigrate to the US.

 

If the father does not cooperate, then have her interview after her 18th birthdate.  After her 18th birthdate, she will no longer need her father's permission to immigrate.

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

3 minutes ago, Mollie09 said:

Would her father approve of her leaving the country permanently?

He rarely saw her for the last 8 years as he was working out of the country.  We don't think he would block her and when she is 18 he has no rights over her anyway.

Actually, this young lady has some good options.  If she likes, she can go study in Australia and live with uncle.  Or, she can stay here and go to a good university here.  Or go with us.

[aaron2020 11,651]

22 minutes ago, seekingthetruth said:

He rarely saw her for the last 8 years as he was working out of the country.  We don't think he would block her and when she is 18 he has no rights over her anyway.

Actually, this young lady has some good options.  If she likes, she can go study in Australia and live with uncle.  Or, she can stay here and go to a good university here.  Or go with us.

Come to the US.  Most community colleges are free or very affordable.  Get her sea legs before she transfer to a 4 years college.  As an LPR, she could also potentially qualify for financial aid at a US college.  

[payxibka 10,045]

39 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

If the father cooperates and gives his written permission for her to immigrate, then great you can meet your May/June 2022 date for her to immigrate to the US.

 

If the father does not cooperate, then have her interview after her 18th birthdate.  After her 18th birthdate, she will no longer need her father's permission to immigrate.

Not enough facts to make this determination.   A majority of the time such a letter is not required inthe Philippines