My case was probably way too far from normal cases than most of you guys had. But you can either just listen to me and give me a bit of thoughts on what i should do....or learn from my lesson... just please don't ignore me... i badly needed help...
let me start it :
I'm a Filipina,i had 4 kids... i came here as K1 visa 3 years ago.. currently living with my 2 small kids (4&3) and husband here in North Carolina... I'm already a LPR holder ...
Now here's the prob:

" i had 2 kids(from a different father) in the Philippines. 16 and 14, i didn't include them in any of my paperworks the time my fiance petitioned me because of the fact that THE KIDS BIRTH CERTIFICATE ARE FALSIFICATED..... meaning it appears in their BC that me and their father are married .... though the truth is WERE NOT!..In the new family code, children out of WEDLOCK must carry with them the maternal name.... let's face the fact that in the Philippines we can make hocus focus in papers... The only reason we did it, it's because we both want the kids to be legitimate kids even without tying the knots.. so when a non-traditional midwife offers it we didn't think twice... (if i only knew the relationship will not last).... i know we make wrong decision sometimes... and in my case i make a very wrong decision that affects me now, and hoping there'll be some a solution. I'm like any mother who wish that she would be able to see all her kids growing up together. Now i don't know if this is just a case UNSOLVED or will there be any possibilities that they could join me here and experienced what i am experiencing.

If in any way i would be able to straighten up the prob (which is the kids birth certificates) do you guys think i can petition them?
I'm afraid the immigration officer will deny it because they never appear on any of my paperworks in their file.
Talking about proofs, i had plenty of them to show.... but if they work with it with what is on their files... i will sure lose the case.
And i can't afford to hire a lawyer 'coz i'm just like some normal citizen here who is living from paycheck to paycheck.

i need some words of wisdom from all of you who's reading this right now.... i honestly don't know what to do....
thank you in advance, and hoping to hear from all of you....

i honestly dont have a clue either but i wish somehow you can get them and be part of their growing life... the best way is really get a legal advice and probably its cheaper to hire it in phil. just the lawyer's advice and not really doing the paper works for the petition to save some money... see the options and what not... i hope in the end, we'll have a better outcome! good luck and God bless!!!

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i honestly dont have a clue either but i wish somehow you can get them and be part of their growing life... the best way is really get a legal advice and probably its cheaper to hire it in phil. just the lawyer's advice and not really doing the paper works for the petition to save some money... see the options and what not... i hope in the end, we'll have a better outcome! good luck and God bless!!!
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i will surely try that advice..... it was so nice of you...thank you so much and i really appreciate your concern... God Bless You too

oh no worries! this site will really help you a lot, it may not be in visa process but a support group as well lol... its a passing time when you're bored and got nothing to do except visit VJ and read experiences and sharing your own... a bunch of ppl will be here for ya!

Im not a lawyer but from what i understand in our law , you can check in the NSO for that if its recorded that ur married , if it is recorder then u can request for change of a surname for ur kids just prove that ur not married to the guy , who by the way signed the bc of the kids ? if the father u can say that u dont hve any idea he told the midwife ur married , if you then u can tell its honest mistake coz before usually midwife make mistake in submitting documents, especially if they are the one who submit , you try to go to the local register and tell them u want to change the status of that , about the embassy i think u would not have a problem about their papers as long u can prove to them that they are ur children and u really never been married before coz im sure they will check ur background coz of the issue. but try to ask the local municipal in where their name is recorded , maybe they help u out for the records.. Hope this give u a little information .

Do you really need to change/correct the birth certificates of your older children in the Philipines to sponsor them now? Won't the father or your family, whoever is taking care of them, allow them to come?

I will say this is a question for a qualified immigration attorney.

But you may find that you can still petition for them to come, even with their current birth certificates. It only depends on if their father will let them come to USA.

well i dont know anything but when you filed for k-1 didnt you have to submit a cenomar of singleness does that tell when they do research if you had ever been married well an attorney would be able to help i am sure any way just a thought that might help you down the line good luck and prayers are with you

You mentioned that their names never appeared during the process of the K1, meaning you only listed the names of your two children who are with you now. This is a big concern because if you file a petition for them to join you now, it would mean that you made false statements in your forms which most were under oath and thus might affect your current status on the ground of fraud.

With regards to your children's birth certificate, you can always file a petition before the court in the Philippines where they were born to correct the wrong entry. Since you are here, you can send a special power of attorney to a relative to file the same in behalf of you since your children are still minors. Hopefully, they are in the cusotdy of your family in the Philippines

You might want to see an immigration lawyer too to weigh your options.

Goodluck and hang in there, im sure there will be a lot of good replies that will somehow give you an idea of what to do. Godbless.

Myla

Myla have a valid point in the highlighted quote but this saddens me. I'm a mother also and as a mother I could feel the longing in lho's heart.

It seems a good immigration lawyer would be your best option as of now. They know the process and the system better. It might be expensive but just think of how wonderful it will be to be with your kids again, that will be priceless.

I hope everything will be ok with you. I'm holding you in my thoughts and prayers. Stay strong always. God bless.

lho,

Im not an immigration lawyer but I've really read your case over and over and I dont see why you cant petition your kids in the PI. As long as their under 21 and not married, you should be able to petition them.

Also, please correct me again if Im wrong but I'm looking over at birth certificates from the Philippines and it only states the names of father and mother. It doesnt say, and it shouldn't, on the birth certificates if the parents are married or not.

So... Am I missing something? Why dont you think you can't petition them.

If I were you, I'd go ahead and petition them, under the names that are on the birth certificates. The only prrof you need are your childrens birth certificates with your name on it. It doesnt matter who the father is on their certificates. It could be different fathers for both and USCIS dont care.

Hope that helps.

First of all, I think dont think USCIS gives a hoot about the fact that your now husband did not list your children on your I-129 application. That petition is over and you are now starting a "new" one.

USCIS receives thousands of applications everyday and I highly doubt they will go in the old warehouse just to look for your old I-129 application to see if your husband listed these children or not. Again, I'm not a lawyer but you get my drift?

But here's another thought for you lho,

The processing times for unmarried children under 21 are July, 2007 for US citizens and January 2005 for LPR. That is a huge difference.

When are you going to be a citizen? Can you wait to file? Hope this helps and good luck! It must be hard for you to be separated from your children.

With due respect to Noelandtintin's comment. . old petitions are not stored in warehouses but are in fact recorded in the computer and system of the USCIS and the OP did state that she has lived here for 3 years now which is just really recently.

An example. Our friend had his second K1 petition. His first wife was chinese and he petitioned her 20 yars ago, of course they got divorced and his second K1 was just approved. In his NOA2 it states there that this is his second K1 . . . so the record is intact, even after 20 years. Knowing the system of the USA which is highly advanced, everything is stored not in a warehouse but in their files in the computer. Also, if she decides to petition her two children now, such benefit will be derived from her K1( the very reason why she is here now) , and not a separate petition.

The fact alone that she ommitted the names of her two children in the K1 can be considered as fraud, because she declared a false statement that of having only 2 children instead of 4.

In the BC, there is no entry whether or not the parents are married but there is an entry of the date of marriage of the parents, so the OP was right again in saying that it was falisified since there was actually no marriage. My nephew had to go to court to correct this entry because the date of his parents' marriege entered in the BC was wrong.

I believe the OP's best option now is to seek the advice of an immigration lawyer regarding on what to do with the two kids left in the Philippines.

Just my opinion.

Myla

i know... i can tell... thank God i found this site.. thanks to all of you ...for ur support and prayers...

i don't have worries now on straightening up their BC... our system in the Philippines is not as quite tough as it is here in US... my real worries is at the IMMIGRATION.... i don't wanna complicate my status here right now and so with my future filings of citizenship..and Myla is right ...it is a FRAUD coz i swear under oath.

of course he will allow them...we both want good futures for our kids... i'm sure it'll never be an issue....

yes they do.... but the fact is.... I WAS NEVER MARRIED .... so even if they do research they're not gonna find out anything.... i guess i reAlly need to talk to a qualified immigration lawyer....

actually what you just said is what i'm worried the most. I don't want any conflict in my status right now... so i was thinkin' the best options are:
1. to seek an immigration attorney (which i can't hardly afford) or
2. to wait till i file my citizenship and get approved and petition my mom ( i dunno how long it'll take for her to be here) and she'll be the one to put them on her petition...

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

yup all of us here got a point but guess what? its only a matter of opinion... myla is a lawyer lol so thats the closest good answer by far about talking to an immigration lawyer... and i agree its so easy for the kids to be here in the US because they're under 21 and their mom is here. the twist though is when you filed for a k1 visa, you only mentioned about your 2 kids... so now the USCIS knows that your 2 kids are with you right now, and will ask who are these another two? so its a big Question mark to them... or im hoping for a miracle and miracle do happens! so i know in the end, it'll be alright! good luck!

you are very right.. Myla has a very VALID point.. which really are my concerns ever since... i guess i really need to talk to an immigration lawyer..this case is very complicated... thanks for all the advises i do appreciate it.

i feel like crying this very moment... thanks guys for all the thoughts.... like what you said... miracles do happen... i do wish that things will get better.

We will be praying for you . Be strong and this too shall pass.

I was being sarcastic with my warehouse comment but I doubt their database keeps a record of every actual fields on the I-129F forms.

And I though one could file for a citizenship after 3 years.

I'll have to disagree with you on the highly advance system of the US Immigration process.



I agree




I didnt notice the "date of marriage" but you're right. I stand corrected.



I agree again.

But here a suggestion to the OP. Dont despair. Hire a good competent attorney and I have no doubt you'll be reunited with your kids here in the states. I'm sure there's some sort of waiver your attorney could file for you.

I know of a pinoy who came here under a false name. He falsified everything starting from a false birth certificates from real goverment offices in the Philippines. Anyway, to make a long story short, his parents filed I-130 for him under his real name. The lawyer mentioned what he did (false name etc) on the I-130 and filed a waiver with it. It got approved.

So dont despair. USCIS has a higly advance system. If they approves people with false everything, they'll approve your kids.

If your husband will declare an adoption for both kids? possible?

I believe number 1 is your best option right now. Godbless

First you disagreed with me about the advance system of the USCIS but your statement contradicts it , anyhow, hopefully the OP finds the best way to deal with this issue. It is indeed complicated. Godbless

he he. nobody gets my sarcasm. I still disagree with you on the advance system. There's thousands of thousand of illegals and undocumented people that comes to the US everyday and yet the legal ones like the OPs children, or our spouses, wait months and sometimes years to get through.

I gave an example of an "admitted" illegal who falsified everything to highlite the point, then I made a sarcastic remark towards the advance immigration system we have for actually approving the guy.

Throughout this proces at USCIS, Ive seen people get approve in two months and others in a year. I know of someone here in California who filed her I-130 a week before me and yet got approved 5 months ahead of me. You call their service line and they couldnt tell you anything more than whats in their online portal. highly advance system? I doubt it.

I hope you dont think these remark are pointed at you. Im just making a point that our immigration is not highly advance. It is actually, very very manual and it is very possible they wouldnt even look at the original I-129 petition the OPs husband had filed for her. I mean, I dont think they look at the I-130 application my dad filed for me 20 years ago when I submitted my wife's petition last year.

Anyway back to the OP, they are your legal kids. I "think" the fact that you did not include them in your K1 application before has no bearing. You could have been just "confused" when you were filing out the application. You could have just thought that they were asking for kids that will go with you. We're all humans and we make mistakes especially with the language barrier and all. I've seen a lot of much worse cases get approve. Just get a good lawyer. Dont hide anything from the lawyer and you'll be fine.

We're not supposed to advertise here in the forum so I'll PM you a link to a very good attorney. If your case is hopeless, he'll tell you and wont accept your case. But this guy is good. His main office is in LA but he also has an office in Makati. Good Luck!

Darn, I never know sarcasm when I read or hear one, lol. Just not used to it. I have to talk to you more then, hahaha. Anyhow, lets pray for the OP. .dont forget to pm her the name of the good lawyer, she needs it.

guys.....thank you all so much!!!!!!! i appreciate everything.... i hear you left and right...got them good points.... it's very flattering that in the middle of this troublesome world of mine i find so many ANGELS around me.... love you all