Elmedico

pushbrk, 3 petitions filed. Thanks for the info

Hello. I am here seeking information /advice on several subjects. Hopefully, I'm in the right place. First, let me give you the backstory. I'm a US citizen married to a Thai wife and I have 2 step-daughters. We got married in 2022 and are still going thru the immigration process. [ it's taking awhile ] I think I know the answers to my questions but I would like clarification from someone that may have already gone thru this process. 1. I want to adopt the daughters and give them my last name. Is this easier to do here in the USA or in Thailand? And is it better to do a name change in Thailand before they arrive or after arrival? 2. I have been supporting them since even before we got married. Can I claim them on my taxes without them having social security numbers?- I dont think they get SSANs until they arrive in the USA. I also want to add them as my dependents [ for work ] is this possible without ssan? I was told the passport number works in place of ssan, but not sure about that. Thanks in advance for any info/advice

I have done this process before successfully without an attorney or problems but it was long ago and I don't recall all the steps. Which is why I came to this forum in the first place- to get insight from other that may have gone thru the same thing. You assume to know everything about my situation and you do not because I haven't disclosed all of my situation here. You don't know what I have done or read. Although I appreciate the help you attempt to give I don't appreciate it coming with a condescending attitude. Thanks anyway and I will end our conversations here. I will find the info I need and my situation will be just fine. No need to reply.

I appreciate your willingness to offer advice/information but trying to belittle me is NOT helpful [ Your failure to study the actual instructions, put you in the place you are. Don't make that same mistake twice. ] " Was told" came from an immigration official several years ago and I have been thru this process years ago, with a step child and I did NOT file a separate case. I was asking on this forum in case someone had been thru it recently. And yes the process is different now due to technology. In any case, I will find the correct Information. I appreciate your willingness to offer advice/information but trying to belittle me is NOT helpful [ Your failure to study the actual instructions, put you in the place you are. Don't make that same mistake twice. ] " Was told" came from an immigration official several years ago and I have been thru this process years ago, with a step child and I did NOT file a separate case. I was asking on this forum in case someone had been thru it recently. And yes the process is different now due to technology. In any case, I will find the correct Information.

This is from the Guides on this website; This information is for United Stated (U.S.) citizens and lawful permanent residents who wish to bring their child(ren) to live permanently in the U.S. NOTE: If you are a US CItizen filing for a K1 or K3 Visa for your non-US fiance/spouse, and they have children, then they may bring them here under a K2/K3 Visa. The children automatically qualify fro the K2/K3 visa as derivitive status of their mom's K1/K3 status (you need only petition for your fiance/wife and list the children on that petition in the relavent blanks). Now since we are already married, I listed the kids on the wife's petition as I was told to and judging by the above information that was all that was required. I will be on top of this to find out the correct info though.

Will I need to pay a separate fee for each child also?

Well, actually I have been thru this process before and although it was a long time ago, I am familiar with some of the steps- which is why I felt I could do this again without an attorney. The process has changed and I was not taking advice from just anyone. I asked an official. But thanks for your input- I will check the guides. I wish there was a phone number so I could speak to an actual person to confirm things.

Since the daughters are still minors I was told I didn't have to do separate petitions for them. This is disturbing news because we had to wait a year for the wife to get approved. If I have to start over for the daughters, I'm afraid what the timeline will be like. Also I did read the website and I saw no instructions of what or where to submit anything. I will go look again but this process could be a bit more user friendly.

Almost exactly a year from filing to bring the wife here, our case was approved. We got the I-797 Notice of Action and soon after we got an "Introduction to Document Collection" email from NVC, telling us about next steps. But the email was pretty vague. Basically, it said check these several websites, and I did, and that there would be more documents to submit but there was no mention of what documents exactly, when they would be requested or how to submit them. I figured we just need to wait and further instructions would be coming but the wife is wanting to go get police certificates and vaccines and I'm telling her to be patient so we don't do stuff we may not need to and waste time and money. If anyone has gone thru this before I would really appreciate some info on what happens next. I know I need to send financial verification for support and that she will be contacted on what she needs to do prior to her embassy interview. I would like info on what fees I will need to pay for the rest of the process and I have 2 step daughters that will be immigrating with the wife. I think they also need to attend the embassy visit at the same time. You can see where we are in the process in the attached image. Any advice or help is greatly appreciated. Thanks and good luck to all. Q