Ben Dover

Hello, I was taking care of my terminally ill mother for the first half of this year until she passed away. During that time, I wasn't working. I just started a new job in July. My annual income at my job is more than enough to meet the requirements for the affidavit of support for my family size. The problem is that since I will only work about half of this year, the income stated on my 2024 tax return will be less than half of what I should earn in a year, and I won't qualify to sponsor my wife on that income. I just filed the I-130 in May 2024. I'm expecting NOA2 sometime around May 2025. My question: Is the affidavit of support required around the NOA2 period or will I have time to work one full year (2025) and have a complete tax return that I can send to my wife to take to the interview which should be in 2026? Thank you!

I wasn't planning to, but I certainly wouldn't mind traveling with them if it makes things better somehow.

Thanks for the input. My main concern with using the Nigerian passport was whether a dual citizen could use the passport of a third country he is neither residing in nor applying from to get a visa to enter the United States. On the other hand, my concern with using the Filipino passport is that I assume you have to enter your passport number on the visa application and since both the name and passport number are likely going to change halfway through the visa process (once the adoption is recognized), I assumed that would cause serious issues when someone with a different name and passport number shows up for an interview.

They never responded regarding DCF, and we left the country before the B visa appointment came up.

The human trafficking concerns are with children of unknown origins from adoptions through the orphan and Hague processes. We went through the third option which is a family-based petition so there is no such concern in our case as I am married to his biological mother, his biological father is deceased and we went through a legitimate process. There is evidence of all of this. https://www.uscis.gov/adoption/immigration-through-adoption/family-based-petition-process Also, it's completely legal to adopt a child in a new residence. I.e. a child relocates to the United States and establishes residency there for the required period and is adopted by someone in a New York court. The parent would not have to travel back to the Philippines to adopt that child. All adoptions are not required to take place in the country of birth. Otherwise, the Philippines wouldn't have a process in place and established Supreme Court rulings for acceptance of foreign adoptions of Filipino-born children. But this has turned into a debate about the merits of adoption when I am simply seeking advice about which name to use on an application. I got legal advice from lawyers in all 3 countries prior to filing the adoption so I am not really seeking legal advice about adoption. I really just wanted to know if anyone can advise on the name to use until the name change is finalized in both passports but it seems I'll have to pony up and contact my lawyer for an hour session.

It might not have been necessary for immigration purposes but I didn't adopt because of immigration the same way you shouldn't only get married for immigration reasons.

There is a whole section on the adoptive step-parent relationship here https://fam.state.gov/FAM/09FAM/09FAM050203.html and no, the adoption did not sever the step-parent relationship for the purposes of immigration. The I-130 can still be used and yes it does meet USCIS standards for immigration once the 2-year legal and physical custody period has been met. We have a whole thread on this and you can check my history if you want to learn more.

Adoptions do not only take place in the country of birth. They can also take place in a foreign country where residence has been established by the parents and/or the child. This is not uncommon which is the reason the Philippines has a court process to recognize adoptions that take place overseas in the first place. I am not at all concerned about that as this was well-researched in advance and I sought legal counsel on this. I am simply seeking advice regarding which name to use for the application process since I am essentially about to start a long process of a name change. Anyone who may have changed their name during marriage or any other process that can provide input would be appreciated.

Hello all. I'm a US citizen who adopted my Filipino stepson while living in Nigeria last year. In Nigeria, my son is legally recognized by his new name (my last name) and even obtained Nigerian citizenship, so he has a Nigerian passport with my last name on it. I have since left Nigeria and moved back to the United States, and my wife and son are now in the Philippines. I plan to start the I-130 process this week so I can bring them over. The problem is that the Philippines does not automatically recognize adoption decrees from foreign countries. There is a court process for a judge to decide on "recognition of foreign adoption" which, if approved by the judge, would mean that the Philippines recognizes that adoption as valid and my son's name can be changed to my last name in his Filipino passport. Unfortunately, this process takes between 1 year and 1.5 years and I have not started that process yet. So for now he basically has two identities. Do I have to file the I-130 using the name in his Filipino passport which is the name I plan to change and may have already changed in the middle of the immigration process? Or can he use his Nigerian passport to apply to avoid confusion since this passport already has his new name in it even though he will be residing in, applying in, and coming from the Philippines?

Totally unrelated. She applied for a tourist visa about 3 years ago while we had no plans of relocating but due to the long wait in Lagos, the appointment date is just approaching.

Yeah, she definitely would be heading home while they process the paperwork. Totally forgot about the DCF option but I'll see if it's available. Haven't actually accepted the offer yet. I just want to know what I'd be getting myself into as far as immigration before making a decision.

Thanks for this detailed response and the link. It perfectly addresses everything I needed to know. We've been married for over 5 years, and just to clarify, we've had a joint residence for more than the required 2 years, so I believe we've met the physical custody requirement. It's mainly the legal custody requirement I'm concerned about since the adoption was only finalized 3 months ago.

My wife is the biological parent and has had physical custody his entire life (11 years).

Hello. I am a US citizen who has been living overseas basically for the last 12 years. However, I now have a good job opportunity, so I might be moving back to the US in January. I recently finalized a local adoption of my wife's son in May, and I would like to start the process of bringing my family over to be with me as soon as possible. Given that the I-130 process requires two years of legal and physical custody for adopted kids before starting the immigration process, and we are only 3 months into the legal custody part, can my son still be classified as a stepchild for immigration purposes so that we don't have to wait two years or is he simply viewed as my child by USCIS once the adoption is complete? Thanks!

Nope, she's not eligible for ESTA.