parental consent form for kids, no info about parent

[SadFace 56]

8 hours ago, Husky_Rescue said:

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). 

 

 

What tot you do with custody? 
 

 

[Villanelle 4,122]

13 hours ago, Husky_Rescue said:

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). 

 

 

I suppose "odd" was a poor choice of wording. Probably more appropriate to have said its 'unfortunate'. The US visa guidelines require that if both parents on the birth certificate are not immigrating that the parent who is shows proof of custody or a letter of parental consent. I understand in some places they dont enforce this strictly due to as you described the local customs. However as you can see when one does not get official custody or a letter of consent it can cause problems in the future. As explained just because the visa/subsequent GC was issued w/o having a custody document it does not negate the fact that such a custody document is needed for other processes. 

 

My advice to the OP remains the same. If she can get a local court to draft her a custody document prior to applying/being granted citizenship then her children should have no problem automatically deriving citizenship when she obtains it. She is fortunate that she posed this question when she did as it appears she does have time to sort out getting proper custody documents - ones which will be dated prior to her becoming a citizen.

 

As to your situation- have you attempted to also apply for the n600 certificate? Sometimes people have more luck doing that then the passport. It is an additional fee to file but if you do file it- it would be processed by a different office then the passport issuance people. So they may be more knowledgeable about the local customs/reasons why you do not have an official custody order and may be more inclined to interpret the snippet SusieQQQ posted about 'case by case' basis in your favor when you provide them with such evidences.

 

Best of luck to both of you. Please keep us updated on what happens as it will be helpful in the future to others facing similar issues. 

[SadFace 56]

22 minutes ago, Villanelle said:

I suppose "odd" was a poor choice of wording. Probably more appropriate to have said its 'unfortunate'. The US visa guidelines require that if both parents on the birth certificate are not immigrating that the parent who is shows proof of custody or a letter of parental consent. I understand in some places they dont enforce this strictly due to as you described the local customs. However as you can see when one does not get official custody or a letter of consent it can cause problems in the future. As explained just because the visa/subsequent GC was issued w/o having a custody document it does not negate the fact that such a custody document is needed for other processes. 

 

My advice to the OP remains the same. If she can get a local court to draft her a custody document prior to applying/being granted citizenship then her children should have no problem automatically deriving citizenship when she obtains it. She is fortunate that she posed this question when she did as it appears she does have time to sort out getting proper custody documents - ones which will be dated prior to her becoming a citizen.

 

As to your situation- have you attempted to also apply for the n600 certificate? Sometimes people have more luck doing that then the passport. It is an additional fee to file but if you do file it- it would be processed by a different office then the passport issuance people. So they may be more knowledgeable about the local customs/reasons why you do not have an official custody order and may be more inclined to interpret the snippet SusieQQQ posted about 'case by case' basis in your favor when you provide them with such evidences.

 

Best of luck to both of you. Please keep us updated on what happens as it will be helpful in the future to others facing similar issues. 

Yep I have time, but local court cant help me because noone is citizen (that what layer tald me), we cant locate their father, tecnically I must go to Russia, but there is no such thing. So I must keep going on my N400 process. 

[Villanelle 4,122]

4 minutes ago, SadFace said:

Yep I have time, but local court cant help me because noone is citizen (that what layer tald me), we cant locate their father, tecnically I must go to Russia, but there is no such thing. So I must keep going on my N400 process. 

What lawyer told you this? Generally family courts do not care of ones citizen status. I believe the issue may be more that the father does not live in the US but even so there are complex laws about how jurisdiction is established. Here is a basic outline by a random attny- https://www.mcconnellfamilylaw.com/child-custody-filing-connecticut/  And this is the actual form the CT court uses- https://www.jud.ct.gov/webforms/forms/fm161.pdf No where on it is the word "citizen". 

 

I would encourage you to consult with several local family court attnys. If they all tell you the same thing I would very much appreciate if you can post the exact text of the legal reasons why they are saying you can not obtain such an order. You can also contact the court clerk directly and ask about the issue. 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

1 hour ago, Villanelle said:

As to your situation- have you attempted to also apply for the n600 certificate? Sometimes people have more luck doing that then the passport. It is an additional fee to file but if you do file it- it would be processed by a different office then the passport issuance people. So they may be more knowledgeable about the local customs/reasons why you do not have an official custody order and may be more inclined to interpret the snippet SusieQQQ posted about 'case by case' basis in your favor when you provide them with such evidences.

As an FYI, we actually found we had to upload more - not less - evidence than the passport agency required when we applied for N600. (Passport agency was happy just with proof of legal custody, N600 asked for proof of physical custody too - we provided school letter for that)

I do think USCIS is more likely than the passport agency to feel empowered to make a decision on de facto legal custody under INA320. DS11 evidence requirements do not allow for anything other than clear proof of legal custody, whereas the USCIS manual as per above does.

Edited May 4, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[To_the_moon 94]

6 hours ago, SadFace said:

What tot you do with custody? 
 

 

I did provide proof of physical custody, i.e. school records, medical, and tax filings and they said that physical custody requirement is now satisfied. But for the legal custody, I only had a notarized mother's consent that says that she allows me to live with my father in the U.S., but the passport agent said that this may not be enough and that they need to ask the legal department. It's now been more than 2 months since they are "asking" the legal department. 😒

[To_the_moon 94]

1 hour ago, Villanelle said:

I suppose "odd" was a poor choice of wording. Probably more appropriate to have said its 'unfortunate'. The US visa guidelines require that if both parents on the birth certificate are not immigrating that the parent who is shows proof of custody or a letter of parental consent. I understand in some places they dont enforce this strictly due to as you described the local customs. However as you can see when one does not get official custody or a letter of consent it can cause problems in the future. As explained just because the visa/subsequent GC was issued w/o having a custody document it does not negate the fact that such a custody document is needed for other processes. 

 

My advice to the OP remains the same. If she can get a local court to draft her a custody document prior to applying/being granted citizenship then her children should have no problem automatically deriving citizenship when she obtains it. She is fortunate that she posed this question when she did as it appears she does have time to sort out getting proper custody documents - ones which will be dated prior to her becoming a citizen.

 

As to your situation- have you attempted to also apply for the n600 certificate? Sometimes people have more luck doing that then the passport. It is an additional fee to file but if you do file it- it would be processed by a different office then the passport issuance people. So they may be more knowledgeable about the local customs/reasons why you do not have an official custody order and may be more inclined to interpret the snippet SusieQQQ posted about 'case by case' basis in your favor when you provide them with such evidences.

 

Best of luck to both of you. Please keep us updated on what happens as it will be helpful in the future to others facing similar issues. 

I don't think that OP can receive such document from the local court. If you meant "local" as being her home country; there is just no such thing as giving sole custody to a parent after divorce. The only option is to file a lawsuit due to the fact that he does not pay child alimony and in that case he may lose his parental rights, but this process is very complicated as all lawsuits are, and I don't think OP wants to sue her ex-husband after immigrating to the U.S.                                                               

 

In regards to N600 certificate, yes that was the first thing I tried to attempt. But the system wouldn't allow me to go forward when I specified that one of my parent was a citizen when I immigrated. It said that I already have citizenship through my parent and that I can apply for a passport instead. Maybe there is an option to overrun this feature and apply for N600 anyways, but I decided to try get a passport because that's the only thing I need for travel. If I knew back then that it would take THAT long, I would apply for the certificate too. 😁 But I'm pretty sure I would have faced the same challenges in both cases and some other people from this blog said they finally got their passport after being in the same situation. So the only thing I can do is wait and hope for a good outcome.🙄

[Ontarkie 14,224]

I had full custody of my kids when we moved here. But In Canada full/sole custody is not the same as in the US. It's more like joint custody here in the US. It's nearly impossible to have the other parent's rights removed. Sounds similar to what the OP is going through. 

 

I had one child who was 16 when I naturalized and one that was 14. The 14 yr old I had to jump through more hoops. They wanted my ex's signature, at first they wanted him to appear. Umm ya Canada may be close but that doesn't mean anyone can just cross over willy nilly. He actually cannot cross at all for multiple reasons. 

 

Anyway, I had to prove that I could not find him. I didn't know if he was/is alive (world of health/drug/alcohol problems). He did not work, lived at one point in the basement of his so called girlfriends house. 

 

So there is a form to fill out to go this path, it might be what you need. But you may need something from the birth country laws explaining how custody works there because the child must also be in your legal custody and they want proof.

 

 I listed everything I did to try to find my ex.  When we were in Canada we left messages for him to see the kids at the last known # never heard from him in the 3 weeks we were there. Tried his mother, she said she didn't know where he was. I asked my ex sister law and she said she hasn't seen or heard from him either. Now I also mentioned in my letter that the ppl I contacted either lied to me because they didn't want to tell me or they truly didn't know.  I listed the friends that I knew who would have contact with him. But they said they haven't seen him in years. I searched FB, IG and listed how many times in the past few years I tried to look for him.  He also never paid child support hard to do when you do on purpose to not work. He also said if I ever left him (one of the many forms of abuse) I would never get a dime or find him. He lived or died with that threat hot in his mind. Also mentioned that prior to my move with the kids was given our phone number and address of where we would be living. (Still at the same place today)

 He not once tried to contact the kids. 

[Ontarkie 14,224]

2 hours ago, SadFace said:

Yep I have time, but local court cant help me because noone is citizen (that what layer tald me), we cant locate their father, tecnically I must go to Russia, but there is no such thing. So I must keep going on my N400 process. 

Yes the lawyer is correct. The US courts will not alter another countries custody. Even though you don't have a paper saying you have custody of the kids the country laws are still there. 

 

In this case what you do is ask a lawyer in Russia to write you a letter explaining the how custody works in Russia. You might be able to find a lawyer in the US who knows the legalities in Russia about custody and can explain it in a letter with how to find the legal requirements in Russia. 

 

Years ago there was a Philippines member who needed to go down this path as she was having a hard time with the passport agency about custody also. 

[To_the_moon 94]

1 hour ago, Ontarkie said:

I had full custody of my kids when we moved here. But In Canada full/sole custody is not the same as in the US. It's more like joint custody here in the US. It's nearly impossible to have the other parent's rights removed. Sounds similar to what the OP is going through. 

 

I had one child who was 16 when I naturalized and one that was 14. The 14 yr old I had to jump through more hoops. They wanted my ex's signature, at first they wanted him to appear. Umm ya Canada may be close but that doesn't mean anyone can just cross over willy nilly. He actually cannot cross at all for multiple reasons. 

 

Anyway, I had to prove that I could not find him. I didn't know if he was/is alive (world of health/drug/alcohol problems). He did not work, lived at one point in the basement of his so called girlfriends house. 

 

So there is a form to fill out to go this path, it might be what you need. But you may need something from the birth country laws explaining how custody works there because the child must also be in your legal custody and they want proof.

 

 I listed everything I did to try to find my ex.  When we were in Canada we left messages for him to see the kids at the last known # never heard from him in the 3 weeks we were there. Tried his mother, she said she didn't know where he was. I asked my ex sister law and she said she hasn't seen or heard from him either. Now I also mentioned in my letter that the ppl I contacted either lied to me because they didn't want to tell me or they truly didn't know.  I listed the friends that I knew who would have contact with him. But they said they haven't seen him in years. I searched FB, IG and listed how many times in the past few years I tried to look for him.  He also never paid child support hard to do when you do on purpose to not work. He also said if I ever left him (one of the many forms of abuse) I would never get a dime or find him. He lived or died with that threat hot in his mind. Also mentioned that prior to my move with the kids was given our phone number and address of where we would be living. (Still at the same place today)

 He not once tried to contact the kids. 

Did you eventually receive a passport for your kids? If so, how long did the process take for you? Because in my situation, I also provided all the legal information about local customs and how custody after divorce works in my county; took exempts from the family code and sent them to the DoS. Also, as I mentioned earlier I do have my mother's notarized consent stating that she allows me to live with my father in the U.S. but I guess this was not enough for them. But I'm still waiting and it's been 6 months now😒

[SadFace 56]

1 hour ago, Husky_Rescue said:

I don't think that OP can receive such document from the local court. If you meant "local" as being her home country; there is just no such thing as giving sole custody to a parent after divorce. The only option is to file a lawsuit due to the fact that he does not pay child alimony and in that case he may lose his parental rights, but this process is very complicated as all lawsuits are, and I don't think OP wants to sue her ex-husband after immigrating to the U.S.                                                               

 

 

In Russia it would not work, child support he has to pay is 24$ / month for 2 kids and his debd is just  1272$ so even if court will find him is easy to pay. But the thing after they turn 18, he can apply for his support, so kids will pay money to him, whats why he wil try to stay in custody. And there just few cases where father lost custody because of it, mostly is when father is alcoholic/drug edicted or in prison.  The thing is, if father lost custody mother has benefits from government and employer, thats prevent such decisions in court. Speaking of adoption by my current husband - it will fail, once they file adoption to russia , because americans cant adopt russian kids. 

 

SO yes, I will look for another layer, but because we are all ru citizens and father is somewhere there it might be harder

[Ontarkie 14,224]

4 minutes ago, Husky_Rescue said:

Did you eventually receive a passport for your kids? If so, how long did the process take for you? Because in my situation, I also provided all the legal information about local customs and how custody after divorce works in my county; took exempts from the family code and sent them to the DoS. Also, as I mentioned earlier I do have my mother's notarized consent stating that she allows me to live with my father in the U.S. but I guess this was not enough for them. But I'm still waiting and it's been 6 months now😒

After I gave them the additional forms and my statement. It took another 2 months before they sent his passport. This was long before covid so the timeline will be much different.

[SadFace 56]

Ah yes, I tried to get custody when we were in russia, I gave a proof that he was choking kid in shop, but judge said that kid was not physically hurt (mental trauma is not considered as violence), so it can't be a case, so they didnt even took my paperwork to open case.

[To_the_moon 94]

4 minutes ago, SadFace said:

In Russia it would not work, child support he has to pay is 24$ / month for 2 kids and his debd is just  1272$ so even if court will find him is easy to pay. But the thing after they turn 18, he can apply for his support, so kids will pay money to him, whats why he wil try to stay in custody. And there just few cases where father lost custody because of it, mostly is when father is alcoholic/drug edicted or in prison.  The thing is, if father lost custody mother has benefits from government and employer, thats prevent such decisions in court. Speaking of adoption by my current husband - it will fail, once they file adoption to russia , because americans cant adopt russian kids. 

 

SO yes, I will look for another layer, but because we are all ru citizens and father is somewhere there it might be harder

Yes, I know what you are talking about. I'm pretty familiar with Russia 😄. That's why I'm saying that it would not be possible to get a sole custody right now, especially if you no longer live there. So the only option is to either get a written consent from your ex husband or maybe from the "Органы опеки и попечительства" saying that they allow you to get a passport for your kids or get a death certificate (if he is no longer alive).

[SadFace 56]

4 minutes ago, Husky_Rescue said:

Yes, I know what you are talking about. I'm pretty familiar with Russia 😄. That's why I'm saying that it would not be possible to get a sole custody right now, especially if you no longer live there. So the only option is to either get a written consent from your ex husband or maybe from the "Органы опеки и попечительства" saying that they allow you to get a passport for your kids or get a death certificate (if he is no longer alive).

Im sorry to say that, but I was thinking about last option I just need to find out how to send him a covid kiss  and find where he is hiding .