Marriage, child no father on birth certificate

[coa24 69]

I have a friend who has a 5 year old whose real father is not listed on the birth certificate.  The now step father is a US citizen would like to bring his wife and step child over. 

 

1. Would the US Step Father have to have an affidavit acknowledging the child?

2. Would USCIS question why the child's real father is not on the the birth certificate. 

3. Any advice?

[coa24 69]

Asking for a female friend who has a 5 year old child whose real father is not listed on the birth certificate.  She was married to a US citizen recently and the step father would like to bring both of them over to the USA. Is there anything special they would need to do before filing I130? Affidavit from the step father, etc??

[pushbrk 12,876]

34 minutes ago, coa24 said:

I have a friend who has a 5 year old whose real father is not listed on the birth certificate.  The now step father is a US citizen would like to bring his wife and step child over. 

 

1. Would the US Step Father have to have an affidavit acknowledging the child?

2. Would USCIS question why the child's real father is not on the the birth certificate. 

3. Any advice?

For one and two, no.  Simply no.  The child is the stepchild of the US Citizen and will be listed on the petition as the child of his Pinay wife.  One thing unique about the Philippines is that the natural father only has parental rights if the couple is married when the child is born, or gains those rights later with a court order.  As such the father's permission is not needed for the child to immigrate to the USA.

[coa24 69]

Awesome that was my thinking,  but they were worried there would be a problem. Thanks for the quick answer :). 

[pushbrk 12,876]

1 minute ago, coa24 said:

Awesome that was my thinking,  but they were worried there would be a problem. Thanks for the quick answer :). 

Actually, the US Citizen will file two petitions, one for wife and one for stepchild.  They go through the same immigration process.

[coa24 69]

Wouldn't the child be added as a dependent/beneficiary on the same application?

[SteveInBostonI130 3,434]

Typically, he will file the I-130 for his wife, attaching the marriage certificate among other things

 

Then he will file another I-130 for the stepchild, attaching the marriage certificate and the child's birth certificate, among other things.  I am not sure how USCIS handles issues when the birth father is not listed on the BC.

[SalishSea 17,818]

1 hour ago, coa24 said:

Wouldn't the child be added as a dependent/beneficiary on the same application?

No.  There are no derivatives for spousal CR-1 visas.

[AKteacher 104]

In Philippines, sole custody of young children is with the mother by default. Should not be an issue.

[pushbrk 12,876]

2 hours ago, coa24 said:

Wouldn't the child be added as a dependent/beneficiary on the same application?

No, and the I-130 is a "petition" not an application.  When the petition is approved, the beneficiary of the petition is invited to apply for a visa.

 

Your initial questions are answered.  Now it is time for the US Citizen involved to come here, set up their own account, then study the spouse visa guide.  THEN, download the forms and their instructions, and become an A-Student of them.  This is a do it yourself site, with emphasis on DOING and SELF.  Lots of homework to do.  We'll be here to answer his A-Student questions.

Edited March 6, 2022 by pushbrk

[Hank_ 9,174]

6 hours ago, coa24 said:

Asking for a female friend who has a 5 year old child whose real father is not listed on the birth certificate.  She was married to a US citizen recently and the step father would like to bring both of them over to the USA. Is there anything special they would need to do before filing I130? Affidavit from the step father, etc??

Nothing is needed from the father.   As noted by AKteacher ^^, the mother has sole custody.

[coa24 69]

Great! Thanks everyone for the replies :).

[Unlockable 7,314]

*** Two threads of the same topic merged please do not start more than one thread of the same topic.

 

VJ Moderation

[pushbrk 12,876]

On 3/6/2022 at 3:12 PM, AKteacher said:

In Philippines, sole custody of young children is with the mother by default. Should not be an issue.

Note this is true only when the parents are not married when the child is born, but certainly applies in this case.

[pushbrk 12,876]

On 3/6/2022 at 6:08 PM, Hank_ said:

Nothing is needed from the father.   As noted by AKteacher ^^, the mother has sole custody.

In this case yes but AKteacher's statement was actually incorrect.  It's only correct when the parents are not married when the child is born.