US Immigration from Costa Rica

Hi Everyone!

I was redirected to this forum by a poster on Reddit Immigration, I'm hoping I can get some guidance as to what to do as I am completely overwhelmed by everything I've read.

I am a US Citizen living as a permanent resident in Costa Rica since 2014, I have been married for 5 years to a Costa Rican Citizen, I have a ten year old son who is not his. My family lives in South Florida and I sponsored my mother 10 years ago to live in the US, which she currently does as a permanent resident.

We have decided as a family that we want to attempt getting my husband's US residency and move to Florida to be closer to my family. My questions are as follows:

1. Can I file I-130 in Costa Rica? Via DCF? Is DCF available in Costa Rica?

2. When filing Affidavit of support, how do I prove I want to reestablish domicile in the US? We plan to live with my aunt while I find a job.

3. Can I do this at the US Embassy in Costa Rica?

4. Should we file in US, for an adjustment of status? He currently has a B1/B2 visa.

Guys any help/guidance, reading material is greatly appreciated. I am so overwhelmed I want to cry, we really want to move to Florida but want to do it legally, and have no clue how to do it.

Hi,

I am new to this forum, and I am currently preparing my I-751 package, and I have questions concerning the affidavits.

• Do we have to submit affidavits from our friends that are US Citizen? Because I have a very good friend that I would like him to help me write the affidavit, however, he is a Canadian. So I am not sure if anyone has such experience? Will this work?
• Does the person who is writing the affidavits has to do so in a notary? Or it suffices if he just signed and dated the affidavits, and I submit the original letter?
• Finally, does anyone has a good template of a good affidavit?

Thank you everyone for your response and help!

Hello everyone.

I understand that this might not be the most adequate place to ask this but, we know that with a job offer letter you can ask to get your EAD expedited (alongside other reasons of substantial weight for your request) but, how does one go about asking for this to an employer?

What do you say to them? How do you explain the situation? etc.

I'm about to have an interview with a potential employer but the possibility of asking for this and being turned down is very real & scary as we are in a very bad situation financially and life wise.

Thanks.

I recently arrived on cr1 and went to the ssn office to apply for the number but was told i couldn t apply as it automatically will be processed and sent to me in three weeks.

For people who checked the box on the ds200 how long did it take for the physical number to arrive?

*I am the boys' step-sister, preparing this post and the adoption process for my dad and their Mom.

My Dad (a US citizen) wants to start the adoption process for his wife's "L" two boys, ages 7 "N" and 14 "P". L, N, and P were all born in Costa Rica and have their own US green cards. My Dad and L have been married for two years, and they and the boys have lived together for that long in Pennsylvania, too. N and P's biological dads (different) are listed on their birth certificates, but L has full custody of them. My Dad has a decent relationship with both of the bio-dads and believes he could gain permission to adopt them/have them sign decrees. Both boys have said they want to be adopted. My Dad would like to adopt them for family reasons but also so they can gain the rights entailed with being US citizens.

I'm going to list below what I've found so far about the adoption process. If anyone could personally advise, especially if you have adopted stepchildren from Costa Rica, I would really appreciate it! Please let me know if anything I've posted is inaccurate, or if I'm missing parts of the process.

First step:

• Does my Dad have to file Form I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative? Or is this only necessary for 2 American parents who want to adopt internationally?

Second step(s): Complete adoption process according to Costa Rica's Laws.
*I found the following information at this Source, but it seems written for American couples wishing to adopt from Costa Rica, not an American with a Costa Rican Spouse...

• RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS: Costa Rican law requires that, at the initial stage of the adoption process, both prospective adoptive parents must be in Costa Rica to sign the official consent documents before the Costa Rican court. In the case of adoption by a single prospective adoptive parent, that individual must be present to sign the documents. At least 30 days should be allowed for this initial trip. At the end of the process, one of the adoptive parents, or the sole parent if it is a single-parent adoption, must be in Costa Rica to finish the paperwork for the adoption, obtain a travel document for the child (they already have these), and complete immigration procedures at the U.S. Embassy. Since the length of time for the entire adoption process may vary (from eight months to a year), many prospective adoptive parents make two trips to Costa Rica; others prefer to remain in Costa Rica for the entire process.
• While in Costa Rica, the adopting parents need to take the following steps to satisfy local adoption requirements:
  • Meet the child;
  • Give formal consent for the adoption at the court;
  • Obtain a decree of abandonment;
  • Obtain a certified copy of the final adoption decree from the court;
  • Register the adoption at the local Civil Registry;
  • Obtain a birth certificate from the Civil Registry with the new name of the child;
  • Obtain PANI authorization for the child to leave the country;
  • Obtain a Costa Rican passport for the child (both boys have these)
  • AGE REQUIREMENTS: Prospective adoptive parents must be at least 25 years of age and under 60 years of age. (conditions met)
  • MARRIAGE REQUIREMENTS: Costa Rican law permits adoption by married and single persons. A foreign couple must have been married for at least five years.
  • DOCUMENTS REQUIRED: The following documentation is normally required:
    • Certified and authenticated copies of the adoptive parent(s)' birth certificate(s);
    • Certified and authenticated copy of the adoptive parent(s)' marriage certificate (if applicable) and proof of termination of any previous marriages (certified copy of spouse's death certificate or divorce decree);
    • Medical certificate(s) for adoptive parent(s) notarized. The certificate must be authenticated by the Costa Rican Embassy in the U.S. and translated into Spanish.
    • A certificate of good conduct/no criminal record for each adoptive parent from a local police department, notarized or bearing police department seal and authenticated. An FBI report is acceptable in lieu of local police record. This is separate from the FBI check conducted by USCIS as part of the petition process;
    • Verification of employment and salary, notarized and authenticated;
    • Two letters of reference notarized and authenticated;
    • A certified and authenticated copy of property trusts deeds, if applicable;
    • A home study prepared by an authorized and licensed social agency, certified and authenticated, may be required in some cases by the Costa Rican authorities if necessary information was not included on the USCIS (I-800A).
    • Bank statements, notarized/certified and authenticated;
    • Family letter of intent to adopt, which states any general preferences requested by the family, i.e. a certain age, sex, etc. notarized and authenticated.
      

Third step(s): Get adopted in the US courts:

For adoptions to be finalized in the United States: The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 allows your child to typically acquire American citizenship when the U.S. state court issues the final adoption decree. So, in our case, we would go to the Pennsylvania court and present the adoption paperwork from Costa Rica (certified translations of all, I think?) and start this process. Any feedback on how long this takes?

Final steps:

Apply for naturalization papers? Then apply for US passports for both boys?

Sorry for the long post, TIA for the help!