K1 or CR1 - kids involved

[Nywoek 11]

Hi,

 

I have been with my partner since september 2022, and last november he proposed to me. I am Norwegian, and he is from the US. I have two kids from a previous marriage with an american, but we have always lived in Norway so they have no official ties to the US. My ex husband never filed any paperwork with the embassy, but from what I understand that is still possible (even if they want you to do this when the children are born..). If not I would just file normally, as if they are norwegian (unless that could be a problem?).

 

The initial plan was for him to move to Norway, but due to his job and financial situations outside my control that will take several years and not be the best timing. We are therefore considering a K1 visa so that I can go live with my kids there for a few years before we ultimately move back to Norway for good. Despite the wait being a while, it is still less than waiting for him to go to Norway, and this way we could apply and go there together.

 

Reading on this forum though, it might not seem like the K1 is best for us. Technically it can be fine, the plan is to homeschool my kids so I wont be working initially anyway, but from what I am reading we cannot leave before the paperwork is processed after we get married, and that might take 3-6 months. This is not ideal since my kids should be able to see our family in norway, including their father and his wife/kids. The difference in cost is not really a big deal. I know that it is possible to visit while the K1 is being processed, does this also count for the spousal visa? I read something about filing a temporary visa for this purpose, as to not

Any advice?

[Redro 4,611]

19 minutes ago, Nywoek said:

Hi,

 

I have been with my partner since september 2022, and last november he proposed to me. I am Norwegian, and he is from the US. I have two kids from a previous marriage with an american, but we have always lived in Norway so they have no official ties to the US. My ex husband never filed any paperwork with the embassy, but from what I understand that is still possible (even if they want you to do this when the children are born..). If not I would just file normally, as if they are norwegian (unless that could be a problem?).

 

The initial plan was for him to move to Norway, but due to his job and financial situations outside my control that will take several years and not be the best timing. We are therefore considering a K1 visa so that I can go live with my kids there for a few years before we ultimately move back to Norway for good. Despite the wait being a while, it is still less than waiting for him to go to Norway, and this way we could apply and go there together.

 

Reading on this forum though, it might not seem like the K1 is best for us. Technically it can be fine, the plan is to homeschool my kids so I wont be working initially anyway, but from what I am reading we cannot leave before the paperwork is processed after we get married, and that might take 3-6 months. This is not ideal since my kids should be able to see our family in norway, including their father and his wife/kids. The difference in cost is not really a big deal. I know that it is possible to visit while the K1 is being processed, does this also count for the spousal visa? I read something about filing a temporary visa for this purpose, as to not

Any advice?

How old are your children? 
Have you investigated their U.S. citizenship status? 
There is a chance they could already be American and do not need to be sponsored. 

Edited April 6 by Redro

[Nywoek 11]

1 minute ago, Redro said:

How old are your children? 
Have you investigated their U.S. citizenship status? 
There is a chance they could already be American and do not need to be sponsored. 

My kids are 9 and 13, they are entitled to citizenship status as they were born while I was married to their father, but there is some tension so I am not sure I will be able to convince him to do that for no other reason than making things easier for us. I am assuming I would not be able to just do it on my own.

[Nywoek 11]

That being said he has children with someone else and talked about going to the embassy to get them papers, potentially taking our kids to do the same on a later date. However at the time I do not think he was expecting we might move to the US.

[Redro 4,611]

6 minutes ago, Nywoek said:

My kids are 9 and 13, they are entitled to citizenship status as they were born while I was married to their father, but there is some tension so I am not sure I will be able to convince him to do that for no other reason than making things easier for us. I am assuming I would not be able to just do it on my own.

There might be issues IF you go through through the immigrant or K1 visa route for them, they are denied because they are US citizens… @Lemonslice might have more information about that… 

ETA you might have to have a difficult conversation with your ex to get your children their rightful US citizenship. 

Edited April 6 by Redro

[Nywoek 11]

4 minutes ago, Redro said:

There might be issues IF you go through through the immigrant or K1 visa route for them, they are denied because they are US citizens… @Lemonslice might have more information about that… 

ETA you might have to have a difficult conversation with your ex to get your children their rightful US citizenship. 

Oh, yeah I suppose you are right. But there is no tie to the US other than their dad being american, he never registered or filed taxes with them as dependents. He has been living in Norway for the past 15 years.

 

I would not mind getting them citizenship though, it is just a matter of their dad being somewhat difficult to deal with. But I need his permission to move out of the country anyway, due to Norwegian child laws, so I will have to do that anyway.

 

The current plan is to contact a lawyer that can advise us, but I would like to be prepared for that meeting, and also hear what other people might think we should do.

 

Thanks for responding. 😃

[Redro 4,611]

4 minutes ago, Nywoek said:

Oh, yeah I suppose you are right. But there is no tie to the US other than their dad being american, he never registered or filed taxes with them as dependents. He has been living in Norway for the past 15 years.

 

I would not mind getting them citizenship though, it is just a matter of their dad being somewhat difficult to deal with. But I need his permission to move out of the country anyway, due to Norwegian child laws, so I will have to do that anyway.

 

The current plan is to contact a lawyer that can advise us, but I would like to be prepared for that meeting, and also hear what other people might think we should do.

 

Thanks for responding. 😃

The issue is… if the kids are already American they don’t qualify for immigrant visas… or the K2.
So, have a chat with their dad. You can have a conversation around how they are rightfully US citizens and he is keeping them from going to his home country to understand/ learn about  their heritage… 

Edited April 6 by Redro

[OldUser 6,774]

10 minutes ago, Nywoek said:

Oh, yeah I suppose you are right. But there is no tie to the US other than their dad being american, he never registered or filed taxes with them as dependents. 

Some US citizens never been to the US. @Redro is right, the kids may get denied visas because citizens do not need visas to come to the US. If they're citizens, they'll need to get US passports. 

[Nywoek 11]

5 minutes ago, Redro said:

The issue is… if the kids are already American they don’t qualify for immigrant visas… or the K2.
So, have a chat with their dad. You can have a conversation around how they are rightfully US citizens and he is keeping them from going to his home country to understand/ learn about  their heritage… 

I am glad I made this post and asked for advice because while it did cross my mind I did not think of it this way.

There has just been a lot of complications with all this, and this adds to the problem.. or at least the timeline. I am pretty sure I would have to get him to go to the embassy with them, and its a long trip for him; two different plane rides for him, one for them. So this might add even more of a wait to the timeline, especially because he has two young kids at home (+2 stepkids) and might not want to get this done anytime soon. But I will have to look into what is needed to get this done, and have a talk with him. Unfortunately the whole heritage thing probably wont help, because he was pretty adamant that our kids would not grow up in the US when we were together. However one of my kids heard from her stepbrother that they are considering moving to the US in a few years as well, so I guess I could call him out on that. I also cleared this with my children, they want to do this. I would also make sure they could come visit. I guess I will just have to do my best to find a way to make this work for everyone.

[Nywoek 11]

5 minutes ago, OldUser said:

Some US citizens never been to the US. @Redro is right, the kids may get denied visas because citizens do not need visas to come to the US. If they're citizens, they'll need to get US passports. 

I had to get them ESTAS last year when we visited for the summer.. then I just said they were Norwegian, so hopefully that wont come back to bite me later..

[Boiler 45,585]

You do not have the Fathers approval for them to migrate?

[Redro 4,611]

25 minutes ago, Nywoek said:

I had to get them ESTAS last year when we visited for the summer.. then I just said they were Norwegian, so hopefully that wont come back to bite me later..

A poster a few months back got approved for ESTA even though she was a green holder at the time. 
ESTA doesn’t have as many barriers to obtain compared to an actual visa… you might want to consult with a lawyer about the best plan of action because if the father is still in their lives you will need his written approval and consent for them to move to the US. Try to get that situated before you apply for the K1 or CR1. And if it is important for you to travel back home to Norway with them CR1 is the process you want to pursue over K1. (If they have US citizenship or if they have to move to the US on visas). 

[SalishSea 17,874]

1 hour ago, Nywoek said:

My kids are 9 and 13, they are entitled to citizenship status as they were born while I was married to their father, but there is some tension so I am not sure I will be able to convince him to do that for no other reason than making things easier for us. I am assuming I would not be able to just do it on my own.

If they are US citizens, they are not eligible for visas.  As uncomfortable as it may be, you have no choice but to confirm their citizenship first.

 

If the ex remains in Norway, he will also need to be involved in you being legally allowed to take the kids out of the country.

Edited April 6 by SalishSea

[SalishSea 17,874]

1 hour ago, Nywoek said:

That being said he has children with someone else and talked about going to the embassy to get them papers, potentially taking our kids to do the same on a later date. However at the time I do not think he was expecting we might move to the US.

One angle to approach this would be that regardless of whether the kids move to the US, if they are in fact USCs, they have the right to have US passports.  Norway allows for dual citizenship, right?  It is in everyone's best interest for them to have both if they can.  Also, if he does move back to the US, it benefits him if they're there too, right?

[Boiler 45,585]

Stevie Nicol of ESPN travelled on his British Passport having applied for ESTA and then obtained entry as a USC.