Bring niece to US? I'm listed as her dad on the birth certificate (local Ecuador law). Possible I130?

[Ontarkie 14,280]

About the N400 process not listing the niece is not an issue. For starters they would see the issue date of the birth certificate dated after the N400. Second even if the child was really his it's still not an issue. It's been seen on VJ many and I mean many times where a parent left off a child on all their forms. Later they were even able to bring that child over it's not an issue. 

[aaron2020 11,651]

1 hour ago, ra0010 said:

I insist: wouldn't the wife's N400 also be an issue, given that she didn't list the stepchild?

No because his wife gain citizenship before he added his name to the niece's birth certificate.

[aaron2020 11,651]

This is a case of good intentions and bad results.

 

It's the same as someone who adopts a niece and thinks she can immigrate to the US as their adopted child.  The adoption is legal in the home country but does not qualify for an immigration visa.

 

OP is the legal father in Ecuador.  And there is no path to US citizenship or immigration to the US.  

[Kai G. Llewellyn 838]

It should be mentioned that for USCIS to have an issue with misrepresentation it must be both wilful and material.

 

Would not disclosing a child impact on the outcome of a naturalization application? Probably not. Does it shut off a potential line of inquiry? Maybe. It's possibly material.

 

Was it wilful? Did the OP wilfully neglect to disclose the child? Probably thinking not given the strange circumstances.

 

If the change to the BC happened after naturalization then absolutely no issue as far as I'm concerned. The application was accurate and complete up to taking the oath, that's what counts.

 

I would be surprised if this caused denaturalizaton. The process is extremely rarely used and often only for the most heinous of cases. For this circumstance, I absolutely do not think the N-400 was an issue. Especially given that USCIS possibly wouldn't recognize the daughter anyways.

 

USCIS explain at length what constitutes misrepresentation here: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-8-part-j-chapter-2

 

Regarding future Visa Apps/Birth Certificate issues. Any concerns regarding misrepresentation on the birth cert can be avoided by providing an explanation regarding the circumstances surrounding OP being added as the father. It's not like they're forging the document, this is the original and correct BC provided by the Ecuadorian authorities. It's up to DoS/USCIS to determine whether they recognize a parent-child relationship exists there in accordance with existing immigration law.

Edited December 1, 2021 by Kai G. Llewellyn

[aaron2020 11,651]

There is no problem with the wife's naturalization since it happened BEFORE he added his name to the niece's birth certificate.

 

The problem is that if the birth certificate or father's info is included in any visa application, CRBA, N-600, I-130, etc., the OP would be presenting a birth certificate and/or facts with false information willfully, knowingly, and material to the application.   This is why he would be in big trouble.  

[JonInCA 12]

If the child is indeed legally adopted per the laws of Ecuador, then it would seem that would be the route to follow, and hence the I-130.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/adoption/bringing-your-internationally-adopted-child-to-the-united-states

 

That page says the two years can be accumulated over several periods. Approval of an I-130 would result in an immigrant visa, which might not be exactly be what the OP wants, but it is a path to a green card that would allow some back and forth travel. The first issue that comes to mind is the 6 month limit before a green card is abandoned, but it seems likely that some kind of waiver could be granted in this case, to share custody between the mother and adoptive father.

[arken 4,197]

4 minutes ago, JonInCA said:

If the child is indeed legally adopted per the laws of Ecuador, then it would seem that would be the route to follow, and hence the I-130.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/adoption/bringing-your-internationally-adopted-child-to-the-united-states

 

That page says the two years can be accumulated over several periods. Approval of an I-130 would result in an immigrant visa, which might not be exactly be what the OP wants, but it is a path to a green card that would allow some back and forth travel. The first issue that comes to mind is the 6 month limit before a green card is abandoned, but it seems likely that some kind of waiver could be granted in this case, to share custody between the mother and adoptive father.

Mute point. A good reading of the post will reveal there was no adoption and future adoption isn't possible as OP is already the kid's father in Ecuador.

[Crazy Cat 41,981]

11 minutes ago, JonInCA said:

If the child is indeed legally adopted per the laws of Ecuador, then it would seem that would be the route to follow, and hence the I-130.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/adoption/bringing-your-internationally-adopted-child-to-the-united-states

 

That page says the two years can be accumulated over several periods. Approval of an I-130 would result in an immigrant visa, which might not be exactly be what the OP wants, but it is a path to a green card that would allow some back and forth travel. The first issue that comes to mind is the 6 month limit before a green card is abandoned, but it seems likely that some kind of waiver could be granted in this case, to share custody between the mother and adoptive father.

There has been no legal adoption.

The biological parent is still alive.

There is no physical custody.

It is not easy to immigrate a child into the US based on just putting any name on a birth certificate. This would open the door to fast and easy human traffic.

The consulate would still have the option of demanding a DNA test.

This is not a DIY case, and it is not even likely to succeed for immigration, imho.

 

The OP should look at a B visa to allow the child to visit.

Edited December 1, 2021 by Crazy Cat

[JonInCA 12]

22 hours ago, EDreNYC said:

not possible under Ecuadorian law, the biological father would have to step up and provide the child with his last name. 

Have you contacted the biological father? It would smooth out the process if you can get a duly signed statement of his giving up parental rights, or if you cannot find him, produce evidence that a diligent search and public notification was done. In my opinion, you might be better off with an Ecuadoran attorney to get clear paperwork for an adoption that has effectively already been done.

[Crazy Cat 41,981]

1 minute ago, JonInCA said:

Have you contacted the biological father? It would smooth out the process if you can get a duly signed statement of his giving up parental rights, or if you cannot find him, produce evidence that a diligent search and public notification was done. In my opinion, you might be better off with an Ecuadoran attorney to get clear paperwork for an adoption that has effectively already been done.

The OP has stated that he is not interested in the child immigrating to the US

Edited December 1, 2021 by Crazy Cat

[aaron2020 11,651]

12 minutes ago, JonInCA said:

Have you contacted the biological father? It would smooth out the process if you can get a duly signed statement of his giving up parental rights, or if you cannot find him, produce evidence that a diligent search and public notification was done. In my opinion, you might be better off with an Ecuadoran attorney to get clear paperwork for an adoption that has effectively already been done.

Where are coming from with all of this?  Please carefully read the entire thread.  You are missing key facts.  

 

Do you understand how adoption and immigration even work?

Both biological parents are alive, so it would be impossible to get an immigration visa for the niece as an adopted child.

Edited December 1, 2021 by aaron2020

[Boiler 45,664]

Where would we be if reading the whole thread was mandatory?

[JonInCA 12]

6 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

Where are coming from with all of this? 

From the OP: "Whoa time out, how is this fraud? Local Ecuador law allows for any male to recognize a child as their own regardless of a biological relationship. "

 

The rest just following the law in Ecuador, and getting the documents up to snuff for US standards.

[aaron2020 11,651]

3 minutes ago, JonInCA said:

From the OP: "Whoa time out, how is this fraud? Local Ecuador law allows for any male to recognize a child as their own regardless of a biological relationship. "

 

The rest just following the law in Ecuador, and getting the documents up to snuff for US standards.

Oh brother.   

If life was so easy.  

 

Keep dreaming.

 

Please explain how the OP can get "the documents up to snuff for US standards?"   Something based on facts and not what you think.

Supporting people and giving them the right answers are important.  Support is not wishful thinking that everything will work out.

Edited December 1, 2021 by aaron2020

[JonInCA 12]

19 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

Please explain how the OP can get "the documents up to snuff for US standards?"   Something based on facts and not what you think.
 

My answers are simply based on my limited investigation of stepchild name change and adoption. My wife and I have completed the process for a US court ordered name change where the biological father is absent and presumably in another country, as is apparently the case in the thread. Based on the legal standards I've seen for a stepchild adoption, some involvement of an attorney in the country of birth is the was to go to prove the abandonment by the biological father. This case is of course different because there is no marriage to the mother, but according to the OP, that's not an issue in Ecuadorean law.