parental consent form for kids, no info about parent

[SadFace 56]

Hi!

 

Im slowly making plans and wonder. My kids are 10 yo and their father is somewhere in russia, I have absolutely no information about him, he does not pay child support and I even have no clue where he lives and his phone number.

 

Does anyone had such experience?

How can I get passport for kids in such case? or thats it, they stuck?  

Here I married, is it any chance to make my husband their legal guardian?

 

thank you!

[aaron2020 11,651]

You will need to go to court to get passports and permission for them to immigrate to the US.  The US Embassy will require either the father's written permission or a court order allowing the kids to immigrate to the US before they will issue immigration visas.  

Making your husband the legal guardian will not solve the problem.  He will not have the legal authority to get them passports or permission to immigrate to the US.

[SadFace 56]

5 hours ago, aaron2020 said:

You will need to go to court to get passports and permission for them to immigrate to the US.  The US Embassy will require either the father's written permission or a court order allowing the kids to immigrate to the US before they will issue immigration visas.  

Making your husband the legal guardian will not solve the problem.  He will not have the legal authority to get them passports or permission to immigrate to the US.

No, we are already here, we have green cards, and k3 visa was issued to them without a problem. Russian law does not require fathers permission and us embassy follows that rule, so we left country without even saying a word to him, because he is hiding to avoid paying child support. It is very common in russian for fathers ignore kids after divorce, so law does not require them.

 

so my question is, how to get them US passport, after getting my citezenship

Edited April 29, 2021 by SadFace

[Villanelle 4,122]

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/need-passport/under-16.html

 

This page has several drop down boxes that go over various requirements. Do you have a custody order? It must be an original copy (with a seal). Be prepared to face difficulty when submitting the passport applications as sometimes the agents are not very knowledgeable about the process when there is only one parent so you may want to review the regulations on the link above and print them out and bring with you. You also need to make sure you fill out the form properly as different boxes checked about parents custody/consent require different things to be shown.  

[SadFace 56]

I dont have full custody, it is almost impossible in RUssia, my situation is hard, last time he saw kids he started choking one of them, because she was crying for candy in store, I had record from cameras and witnesses, but court still said that it is ok, untill kid is seriously injured. 

 

Thank you for link it was very helpfull, I have found form ds-5525, I guess it is my case, because I havent heard form him for years and he is just hiding from me to avoid paying child support 

[Villanelle 4,122]

Well worst case scenario is the kids have to wait until they are 16 to apply where they would only need one parents consent. You may also want to attempt to get the kids n600- certificate of citizenship- if they are not going to be able to get passports however I believe that requires as well showing you have custody. Your husband can attempt to adopt the children but that can be complicated because the court would have to terminate their bio dads rights and may be reluctant to do so. Perhaps reach out to a local family law attny for a consult on what options you may have to get a sole custody order drafted. It is very odd that the kids were allowed to immigrate w/o such an order and as you see doing so has caused a variety of issues for you because you dont have such an order. 

[SadFace 56]

10 minutes ago, Villanelle said:

ote

Russia does not require second parent approval to get passport, go travel or to even move abroad to live, because it is extremely common for father to just leave kid and disappear. But other side of this is - home violance is legal, so you cant get solo custody even if father is assaulting kid, neglecting .... 

I left country without breaking any law, even US embassy just asked me where is their father and I honestly dont know, officer just shoke his head, it is very common case there. So their dad is somewhere there hiding from us, so I cant come and ask him "where is money for kids" 

Edited April 29, 2021 by SadFace

[Villanelle 4,122]

Im not suggesting you did anything wrong. The thing is in the US you are often required to show proof of custody for various things and it seems you do not have such a document. Typically people are supposed to show proof of custody to relocate their kids to the US at the Embassy- and if you did  you would now have such documents. But you didnt (and thats OK) but it doesnt negate the fact that you still need these documents for other purposes. You may also run into problems in obtaining citizenship for your children as derivatives under your citizenship petition as you can not show you have legal custody of them. So you really should consult with a local family attny and see what kind of options they can offer you to get you a sole custody document where you live. It may be they recommend your husband files for adoption, it may mean a separate petition to the court filed by just you being granted sole custody. 

 

Your original question was poorly worded. It appeared at first you and the kids had not yet immigrated. It seems though you guys all have GCs now and you are eligible for citizenship (not sure if you have applied or not yet). You most likely will be approved w/o any issue but then for your kids to be derivatives (granted citizenship because you became one) you need to show both physical and legal custody- thats two different things. One means showing they actually live with you the other means showing legal document that you have custody. You dont seem to have the latter and w/o such you may not be able to get them passports or n600 certificates. So again I would recommend attempting to get such a document before you are granted citizenship yourself - otherwise you may end up in a case where the children do not become citizens through your naturalization because you dont have documents showing you in fact have custody. In which case it can get messy.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

On 4/29/2021 at 7:39 AM, SadFace said:

I dont have full custody, it is almost impossible in RUssia, my situation is hard, last time he saw kids he started choking one of them, because she was crying for candy in store, I had record from cameras and witnesses, but court still said that it is ok, untill kid is seriously injured. 

 

Thank you for link it was very helpfull, I have found form ds-5525, I guess it is my case, because I havent heard form him for years and he is just hiding from me to avoid paying child support 

Do you at least have joint custody? Joint custody is acceptable for citizenship/ passport purposes: “USCIS considers a U.S. citizen parent who has been awarded “joint custody” to have legal custody of a child”  https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-h-chapter-4 

 

 

[SadFace 56]

5 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Do you at least have joint custody? Joint custody is acceptable for citizenship/ passport purposes: “USCIS considers a U.S. citizen parent who has been awarded “joint custody” to have legal custody of a child”  https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-h-chapter-4 

 

 

no, I dont ahve a word about custody. In russia kids 99% stays with mother and there is no term "custody"

 

during interview in embassy they just ask whem I have seen father last time, I answered that havent seen him fro, divorce, thats it

Edited May 2, 2021 by SadFace

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

11 minutes ago, SadFace said:

no, I dont ahve a word about custody. In russia kids 99% stays with mother and there is no term "custody"

 

during interview in embassy they just ask whem I have seen father last time, I answered that havent seen him fro, divorce, thats it

Hm.. ok, the link above also says “There may be other factual circumstances under which USCIS may find the U.S. citizen parent to have legal custody to be determined on a case-by-case basis.” I guess you will need to go with this angle, would definitely advise getting a lawyer for this - it’s not DIY.

[SadFace 56]

8 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

Hm.. ok, the link above also says “There may be other factual circumstances under which USCIS may find the U.S. citizen parent to have legal custody to be determined on a case-by-case basis.” I guess you will need to go with this angle, would definitely advise getting a lawyer for this - it’s not DIY.

yes, Im looking for layer right now. It sounds veird but RUssia is that way. 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

1 hour ago, SadFace said:

yes, Im looking for layer right now. It sounds veird but RUssia is that way. 

It’s not very unusual, we see quite a few posts here where the local custom for custody is acceptable enough for visa issuance, but unfortunately when it comes to citizenship they are much more strict about custody as it is coded into the law governing who can acquire. I’m sure a good lawyer will be able to put a case together for you - good luck. (Absolute “worst” case is that your kid stays on a green card and can then naturalize on his own when he turns 18, but I doubt it will come to that.) 

[SadFace 56]

I will try just to go and get them passport with filling ds 5525. with as much as I can explanations. 

[To_the_moon 94]

On 4/29/2021 at 7:57 AM, Villanelle said:

Well worst case scenario is the kids have to wait until they are 16 to apply where they would only need one parents consent. You may also want to attempt to get the kids n600- certificate of citizenship- if they are not going to be able to get passports however I believe that requires as well showing you have custody. Your husband can attempt to adopt the children but that can be complicated because the court would have to terminate their bio dads rights and may be reluctant to do so. Perhaps reach out to a local family law attny for a consult on what options you may have to get a sole custody order drafted. It is very odd that the kids were allowed to immigrate w/o such an order and as you see doing so has caused a variety of issues for you because you dont have such an order. 

This is not odd that the kids were allowed to immigrate without the second parent's consent. This happens quite often in many countries. I was a minor when I immigrated to the U.S. and in my country there is also no such thing as court order/divorce decree that specifies legal custody for children. So, I have recently applied for derived citizenship passport and have been having so many issues with the legal custody requirement. It's been 6 months since I applied and they still haven't approved nor rejected my application. (I also paid for the expedited processing, which is supposed to be 4-6 weeks, but not in my case).