Couple of Questions on I-130 form

[Tmc225usc 1]

Hello all.

Im in the process of trying to get my wife's daughter over to live with us in America. She is currently staying in Thailand with her Grandparents and is currently 3 years old.

I have a couple of questions Im really hoping I can get answers for.

I know the process will go faster if I file for the petition vs having my wife who now has a green card go about doing it.

My questions are as follows:

I married her mother in May 2008 while my wife was over in America on a K-1 Visa. Since that time she has done all the paperwork in order to get her green card. My wife's daughter is only related to me because of the marriage. I have never actually went through any adoption proceedings, and I dont think I will actually need to do so in order to get her over here.

Question 2 asks 'Are you related by Adoption?'

My initial answer is no since I actually haven't filled out any adoption forms.

But does being married to my wife make this a yes?

I read this in the instructions of the I-130 form:

Stepparent/Stepchild: If your petition is based on a stepparent-stepchild relationship, you must file your petition with a copy of the marriage certificate of the stepparent to the child's natural parent showing that the marriage occurred before the child's 18th birthday, copies of documents showing that any prior marriages were legally terminated and a copy of the stepchild's birth certificate.

So my wife's daughter is actually my stepchild now. I still dont know if that means she is adopted by me or not.

Im thinking I should put 'NO' for Question 2 but I wanted to make sure before submitting.

And then my other question is found under Section D, Question 2:

'Have you ever before filed a petition for this or any other alien? If yes, give name, place and date of filing and result.'

What would I put for the location and date of filing? My initial thought was to put the USCIS in Missouri with the date my wife received her Green Card and her A#, but I wasnt sure which filing they were looking for? Or do they want the original place I originally sent her I-129F form way back in the day when we filed for her K-1 Visa? If so, should I put the date that I originally signed and sent in the K-1 request on the I-129F and just put the result as 'Received Permanant Residents Card?' It is confusing because I did file for a K-1 Visa back in the day, but Ive also filed an AOS I-485 and Im not sure which they are looking for here.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Ning 619]

Hello all.

Im in the process of trying to get my wife's daughter over to live with us in America. She is currently staying in Thailand with her Grandparents and is currently 3 years old.

I have a couple of questions Im really hoping I can get answers for.

I know the process will go faster if I file for the petition vs having my wife who now has a green card go about doing it.

My questions are as follows:

I married her mother in May 2008 while my wife was over in America on a K-1 Visa. Since that time she has done all the paperwork in order to get her green card. My wife's daughter is only related to me because of the marriage. I have never actually went through any adoption proceedings, and I dont think I will actually need to do so in order to get her over here.

Question 2 asks 'Are you related by Adoption?'

My initial answer is no since I actually haven't filled out any adoption forms.

But does being married to my wife make this a yes?

I read this in the instructions of the I-130 form:

Stepparent/Stepchild: If your petition is based on a stepparent-stepchild relationship, you must file your petition with a copy of the marriage certificate of the stepparent to the child's natural parent showing that the marriage occurred before the child's 18th birthday, copies of documents showing that any prior marriages were legally terminated and a copy of the stepchild's birth certificate.

So my wife's daughter is actually my stepchild now. I still dont know if that means she is adopted by me or not.

Im thinking I should put 'NO' for Question 2 but I wanted to make sure before submitting.

And then my other question is found under Section D, Question 2:

'Have you ever before filed a petition for this or any other alien? If yes, give name, place and date of filing and result.'

What would I put for the location and date of filing? My initial thought was to put the USCIS in Missouri with the date my wife received her Green Card and her A#, but I wasnt sure which filing they were looking for? Or do they want the original place I originally sent her I-129F form way back in the day when we filed for her K-1 Visa? If so, should I put the date that I originally signed and sent in the K-1 request on the I-129F and just put the result as 'Received Permanant Residents Card?' It is confusing because I did file for a K-1 Visa back in the day, but Ive also filed an AOS I-485 and Im not sure which they are looking for here.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

No you are not the legal adoptive parent. Follow the step parent instructions you copied to file the 130 petition for the child.

The answer is yes. Use the info pertaining to the 129 you filed for your wife to get the K 1. The 129 was the petition.

The child will need a Birth certificate & legal release documents signed by the father to obtain the visa in the future.

[daboyz 36]

Hello all.

Im in the process of trying to get my wife's daughter over to live with us in America. She is currently staying in Thailand with her Grandparents and is currently 3 years old.

I have a couple of questions Im really hoping I can get answers for.

I know the process will go faster if I file for the petition vs having my wife who now has a green card go about doing it.

My questions are as follows:

I married her mother in May 2008 while my wife was over in America on a K-1 Visa. Since that time she has done all the paperwork in order to get her green card. My wife's daughter is only related to me because of the marriage. I have never actually went through any adoption proceedings, and I dont think I will actually need to do so in order to get her over here.

Question 2 asks 'Are you related by Adoption?'

My initial answer is no since I actually haven't filled out any adoption forms.

But does being married to my wife make this a yes?

I read this in the instructions of the I-130 form:

Stepparent/Stepchild: If your petition is based on a stepparent-stepchild relationship, you must file your petition with a copy of the marriage certificate of the stepparent to the child's natural parent showing that the marriage occurred before the child's 18th birthday, copies of documents showing that any prior marriages were legally terminated and a copy of the stepchild's birth certificate.

So my wife's daughter is actually my stepchild now. I still dont know if that means she is adopted by me or not.

Im thinking I should put 'NO' for Question 2 but I wanted to make sure before submitting.

And then my other question is found under Section D, Question 2:

'Have you ever before filed a petition for this or any other alien? If yes, give name, place and date of filing and result.'

What would I put for the location and date of filing? My initial thought was to put the USCIS in Missouri with the date my wife received her Green Card and her A#, but I wasnt sure which filing they were looking for? Or do they want the original place I originally sent her I-129F form way back in the day when we filed for her K-1 Visa? If so, should I put the date that I originally signed and sent in the K-1 request on the I-129F and just put the result as 'Received Permanant Residents Card?' It is confusing because I did file for a K-1 Visa back in the day, but Ive also filed an AOS I-485 and Im not sure which they are looking for here.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

You seem to be on the right track. You will be filing for an IR-2 visa for the child. Answer No for adoption. I am thinking as far as the previous filing it would be CSC since you are in Colorado. You might check in the AOS forum concerning this, as I am taking a guess. There should be alot of info there.

[Tmc225usc 1]

No you are not the legal adoptive parent. Follow the step parent instructions you copied to file the 130 petition for the child.

The answer is yes. Use the info pertaining to the 129 you filed for your wife to get the K 1. The 129 was the petition.

The child will need a Birth certificate & legal release documents signed by the father to obtain the visa in the future.

There sadly isnt a way to get a legal release from the father as he is MIA pretty much since time of birth. He was nice enough to be on the birth certificate before skipping town though which makes this mess that much more messy.

The last time in Thailand I was able to get a couple of letters from the government that basically said that the child has never had contact with the father, he has never provided financial support ,and that full custody of the child belongs to my wife.

I'm really hoping that is enough and that there isnt more problems.

I cant imagine the headache trying to track down the original father wherever he is.

Also thanks for the suggestion daboyz. I will also ask in the AOS forum.

I hate the way that question is worded. It can be taken so many different ways. My wife has had several petitions between her K1 and her AOS.

[rin and john 71]

No you are not the legal adoptive parent. Follow the step parent instructions you copied to file the 130 petition for the child.

The answer is yes. Use the info pertaining to the 129 you filed for your wife to get the K 1. The 129 was the petition.

The child will need a Birth certificate & legal release documents signed by the father to obtain the visa in the future.

There sadly isnt a way to get a legal release from the father as he is MIA pretty much since time of birth. He was nice enough to be on the birth certificate before skipping town though which makes this mess that much more messy.

The last time in Thailand I was able to get a couple of letters from the government that basically said that the child has never had contact with the father, he has never provided financial support ,and that full custody of the child belongs to my wife.

I'm really hoping that is enough and that there isnt more problems.

I cant imagine the headache trying to track down the original father wherever he is.

Also thanks for the suggestion daboyz. I will also ask in the AOS forum.

I hate the way that question is worded. It can be taken so many different ways. My wife has had several petitions between her K1 and her AOS.

Rin couldn't get anything from her children's father either. She went to the local amphur with two witnesses that attested (signed an affidavit?) that she had been the sole provider/caretaker of the children. Without that paper, she could not get passports issued for the children. She did not have to show the paper from the amphur at the embassy.

[Tmc225usc 1]

Rin couldn't get anything from her children's father either. She went to the local amphur with two witnesses that attested (signed an affidavit?) that she had been the sole provider/caretaker of the children. Without that paper, she could not get passports issued for the children. She did not have to show the paper from the amphur at the embassy.

Its good to hear what we did worked for you both as well.

We ended up taking the village head and a couple of witnesses up to the Amphur. They let the people know everything, and something like 5 hours and many revisions later, I ended up with a paper that said my wife was the sole provider and that the father has never been around. With this paper, we were able to get the little one a passport which was a big plus!

Im thinking for the question I asked earlier about the previous petition filed....

I might just put a 'see additional info page' note on there. And then attach a page giving a run down of when I petitioned for the K1 and the results. Then when we petitioned for the AOS and the results. That way EVERYTHING is covered and the Gov cant go "we didnt mean that one" on the example.

The one part Im now worried about is the interview with our little one only being 3 yrs old(probably 4 by time of interview)

I dont know exactly how that is going to go since she is so young. They really drilled my wife at the embassy and our little one will probably just sit there and not talk since she is really shy. Im worried that might not go so well. Any stories of how the interviews/process goes for someone so young?

[rin and john 71]

Rin couldn't get anything from her children's father either. She went to the local amphur with two witnesses that attested (signed an affidavit?) that she had been the sole provider/caretaker of the children. Without that paper, she could not get passports issued for the children. She did not have to show the paper from the amphur at the embassy.

Its good to hear what we did worked for you both as well.

We ended up taking the village head and a couple of witnesses up to the Amphur. They let the people know everything, and something like 5 hours and many revisions later, I ended up with a paper that said my wife was the sole provider and that the father has never been around. With this paper, we were able to get the little one a passport which was a big plus!

Im thinking for the question I asked earlier about the previous petition filed....

I might just put a 'see additional info page' note on there. And then attach a page giving a run down of when I petitioned for the K1 and the results. Then when we petitioned for the AOS and the results. That way EVERYTHING is covered and the Gov cant go "we didnt mean that one" on the example.

The one part Im now worried about is the interview with our little one only being 3 yrs old(probably 4 by time of interview)

I dont know exactly how that is going to go since she is so young. They really drilled my wife at the embassy and our little one will probably just sit there and not talk since she is really shy. Im worried that might not go so well. Any stories of how the interviews/process goes for someone so young?

They drilled your wife to make sure she wasn't misrepresenting her intentions to enter the USA. Doubt they are going to suspect a 3-4 yo of misrepresentation.

Rin received her visa in April 2007. Her children did follow to join in September 2007. We all went to the embassy and sat for about two hours. When they called them to the window, they asked the children if Rin was their mother. That was the extent of the "interview" portion. Visas granted.

Edited August 8, 2009 by rin and john