Stepchild and adoption process from Philippines to Pennsylvania

[Usaph 19]

My wife came out K1 visa in 2019, and at the time we did not apply for her child (under 10) to come with. Now we are ready for that process but have some questions.

 

Do we follow the I-130 with me as the petitioner since she is not yet a citizen?

 

The child is in Philippines with my wife's parents. My wife has full custody. We live in Pennsylvania. Does anyone know what the adoption process is like? Do we do that before or after the child arrives in the US?

 

Anything else we need to consider now? About how long does this process take?

[Boiler 45,522]

You can petition her and say 18 months or so.

 

Adoption well a State issue and i have no idea.

[aaron2020 11,651]

You as the USC stepparent should file an I-130 for your stepchild.  The immigration process will take 1-2 years.

 

Do the adoption AFTER the child immigrates to the US.  Stepparent adopting a spouse's child is fairly easy to do in state court in the US.  

[Usaph 19]

1 hour ago, aaron2020 said:

You as the USC stepparent should file an I-130 for your stepchild.  The immigration process will take 1-2 years.

 

Do the adoption AFTER the child immigrates to the US.  Stepparent adopting a spouse's child is fairly easy to do in state court in the US.  

Ok thanks for the feedback. We will start on the I-130 immediately and contact our court so we know what information they will need.

[Eric-Pris 1,606]

FYI- You don't have to adopt the child for them to be able to emigrate and live with you.  Adoption is a personal choice.  Personally, I chose not to adopt my step kids.  I'm not sure about this, but I believe that if you adopt, and you happen to divorce your wife before the child turns 18, you would be on the hook for child support until 18th birthday.