Fathers Permission - For Fiancee's Child

[kennym 275]

All

Another major question came up as I was reading through some of the other posts on VJ..

My Colombian Fiancee has a 7 yo Daughter who has an father actively involved in her life.. My impression is from reading through the posts is, in order for the daughter to receive the K2 VISA, the father must effectively allow permanent custody to the mother..

As I stated in a prior post, It is our hope to have the daughter follow at a later time when my fiancee is settled in the USA and the father is comfortable that all is stable here...

I am concerned that if we attempt to ask the father to allow permanent custody, he would become threatened that he would never see his daughter again.. This is not our intent nor the mothers or daughters desire.. So, is this the case? Will he need to provide a letter saying he is allowing his daughter to permanently enter the US with his mother?

We had hoped that we could get the K1 Visa for my Fiancee then have the K2 Visa available then have the daughter come to the USA later, maybe 1 year later.. But our intent is to allow the father to still maintain a good relationship with his daughter.. We certainly don't want to scare him by making him feel he is relinquishing all rights to his daughter.. I don't know of any descent father that would ever do that..

Do we have other options? For example, could we seek the K2 Visa without such a scary request to the father? On the basis that he would still be a part of his daughter's life and his daughter would spend time in both the US and Colombia.. Summer Vacations, Holidays etc..

Is there a diferent VISA the daughter that we can seek? Based on the daughter of a k1 Recipient that is in the custody of the other parent?

Can we also possibly seek a visitor VISA for the Father to come to the US based on the Relationship he has with a K2 Recipient...

I am looking for ideas...

Thanks...

[az110965 252]

The dad would have to sign a letter stating that he gives his authorization for his daughter to PERMANENTLY immigrate to the USA. You'd also need a copy of his cedula included with the letter of permission.

Typically, a tourist visa is extremely difficult to obtain unless the dad can provide significant ties to his home country (real estate deeds, financial portfolio, automobile loans, dependents still in country, a letter from the employer stating the dad's return date, etc). Unfortunately, the fact that his daughter is in the USA under a K-2 visa will not sway the Consulate in granting a tourist visa.

I do respect the relationship you have with the bio dad, but you're going to have to convince him that you're not "taking his daughter from him" to obtain his permission.

As an aside, I wouldn't promise him a certain timeframe when his daughter could come back and visit after her immigration to the USA as she won't be able to leave the USA and return until her mom's AOS is complete.

Good luck,

Alan

[Audy_Rob 26]

I think the father we need to turn over sole custody to your fiancee and also write a legally binding document granting your fiancee permission to take her daughter out of the country to the USA permanently in order for the Embassy to grant a K-2 Visa.

Next, the K-2 visa if granted is only valid for 6 months, so you would not have the option of getting the derivative K-2 visa and having the daughter follow you as much as a year later.

You would need to go through with just your fiancee's K-1 visa and abandon the idea of the K-2 unless you think the daughter's father will provide the necessary legal paperwork.

If you do not follow thorugh getting the K-2 Visa for your fiancee's daughter together with the K-1, you would need to wait for your fiancee to become a Permanent Resident which would then allow her to file for a different visa for her daughter to come live permanently in the USA once you and your fiancee are adequately settled.

[kennym 275]

If you do not follow thorugh getting the K-2 Visa for your fiancee's daughter together with the K-1, you would need to wait for your fiancee to become a Permanent Resident which would then allow her to file for a different visa for her daughter to come live permanently in the USA once you and your fiancee are adequately settled.

Thanks Audy_Rob and Thanks again all, everyone is extremely helpful here (VJ)...

I feel there would be no way for us to seek permanent custody in anyway as there is no basis for us to win that battle..

So, What if we go a diferent route.. how could we get a VISA for the Daughter once the mother has Permanent Residence that would not require getting the father's permission for permantly moving to the US.. What I mean is, I am certain we could get his permission for his daughter to travel to the US, but not if he feels he'll never see her again..

Any thoughts on what we can do?

For example a Visitors Visa for the daughter?

I am completely unfamiliar with Immigration and what options are available to us...

The mother is ok if we don't have the daughter with us permanently, but would certainly like for the daughter to come for her holidays and other various occasions then return to Colombia...

[VanessaTony 3,567]

My suggestion is this: perhaps if you discuss going to a solicitor to write our new custody arrangements he might feel a bit better?

For instance, she can live with the mother permanently in the US but that there are other arrangements for visitation? Perhaps something like 4 visits per year minimum. Alternating Christmas' and birthdays.. stuff like that (also perhaps who pays for the flights, in the beginning it'll be easier for her to go back to her home country until he is able (if he's able) to obtain a US visa)? I'm sure the solicitor can discuss proper wording and a proper arrangement. Perhaps you can also have a solicitor in the US draw up the same document so that there's a doc with his rights there as well (I remember someone referencing the Hague something and how some countries don't recognise other countries custody docs). I don't know enough about whether he has rights being a non-US citizen (if he were to sign a document in the US that is) but maybe if he knows he has an enforcable document in the US as well, even if the US doesn't recognise the Columbian doc he's covered, and vice-versa for your wife.

Perhaps on a similar vein, you can sign a "contract" that says he isn't giving up his parental rights that the document is for immigration purposes so she can live in the US.. or something like that.

The letter to the US doesn't say that he can't visit her, or that she can't visit him. It's simply saying that their custody arrangement allows her to get a US visa/greencard etc. It doesn't sign away his parental rights.

Hope that gives you some ideas

Edited February 20, 2010 by Vanessa&Tony

[Gary and Alla 3,696]

All

Another major question came up as I was reading through some of the other posts on VJ..

My Colombian Fiancee has a 7 yo Daughter who has an father actively involved in her life.. My impression is from reading through the posts is, in order for the daughter to receive the K2 VISA, the father must effectively allow permanent custody to the mother..

As I stated in a prior post, It is our hope to have the daughter follow at a later time when my fiancee is settled in the USA and the father is comfortable that all is stable here...

I am concerned that if we attempt to ask the father to allow permanent custody, he would become threatened that he would never see his daughter again.. This is not our intent nor the mothers or daughters desire.. So, is this the case? Will he need to provide a letter saying he is allowing his daughter to permanently enter the US with his mother?

We had hoped that we could get the K1 Visa for my Fiancee then have the K2 Visa available then have the daughter come to the USA later, maybe 1 year later.. But our intent is to allow the father to still maintain a good relationship with his daughter.. We certainly don't want to scare him by making him feel he is relinquishing all rights to his daughter.. I don't know of any descent father that would ever do that..

Do we have other options? For example, could we seek the K2 Visa without such a scary request to the father? On the basis that he would still be a part of his daughter's life and his daughter would spend time in both the US and Colombia.. Summer Vacations, Holidays etc..

Is there a diferent VISA the daughter that we can seek? Based on the daughter of a k1 Recipient that is in the custody of the other parent?

Can we also possibly seek a visitor VISA for the Father to come to the US based on the Relationship he has with a K2 Recipient...

I am looking for ideas...

Thanks...

YES, he needs to sign a letter allowing the daughter to permanently relocate to the USA. You have no other options for her permanent relocation to the USA. She could remain there and seek a visitor visa, she may or may not require his permission for that.

I would do this BEFORE you file your petition, that is what we did. You do not want to give the guy additional leverage by arriving at a crucial moment and then needing the document. You would not be dealing from a position of strength. If there will be a problem in this regard...a very important issue, then you need to know now. Clear ALL hurdles before filing the petition, IMHO and that is what we did.

many fathers do this, that is not a comment on whether they are decent or not, but they just do.

YOU cannot seek a visa for him. He can seek his own visa. You are not eligible to petition a visa for him.

[Gary and Alla 3,696]

Thanks Audy_Rob and Thanks again all, everyone is extremely helpful here (VJ)...

I feel there would be no way for us to seek permanent custody in anyway as there is no basis for us to win that battle..

So, What if we go a diferent route.. how could we get a VISA for the Daughter once the mother has Permanent Residence that would not require getting the father's permission for permantly moving to the US.. What I mean is, I am certain we could get his permission for his daughter to travel to the US, but not if he feels he'll never see her again..

Any thoughts on what we can do?

For example a Visitors Visa for the daughter?

I am completely unfamiliar with Immigration and what options are available to us...

The mother is ok if we don't have the daughter with us permanently, but would certainly like for the daughter to come for her holidays and other various occasions then return to Colombia...

Visitor visa may require his permission also. Why would he object to a visitor visa? It seems you are going out of your way for him but he won't give permission for a visitor visa? Strange. Her daughter would have to qualify for a visitor visa and it is in no way guaranteed or even likely she would receive it.

I would suggest you discuss this with the father and explain that you will allow the dauhter to visit HIM on certain occasions and you will pay for her travel there provided he signs the letter. Obviously this involves some trust but that is what being a PARENT is all about. It isn't a one way street.

I can assure you if my wife's children were unable to leave we would not have moved to the USA, simple. Children were not optional. That is why we cleared that up first.

[sachinky 465]

The child will require her biological father's permission in a strongly worded letter that he is allowing her to permanently locate to the U.S. with her mother.

As for tourist visas, the daughter would have to qualify for that on her own and would most likely need permission from her father to leave the country, if she is quite young. Tourist visas are granted when the applicant can demonstrate significant and overwhelming ties to the homeland that would compel him/her to return.

As Gary said, figure this out before moving any further.

Edited February 20, 2010 by sachinky

[pgbeau1 2]

Ok, I am in the early process myself, one child involved, father is on birth certificate, never married. What i have learned so far:

Need signed affidavit of permission by father giving permission, with lawyer signing as witness,for child to leave country to live with her mother for permanent residence in [uS].

Then that has to be taken to court in her country and approved by court, told it takes 2 or 3 weeks. And need copy of father's cedula/passport if he has one, and be sure that that ID has his signature visible on your copy.

Also have been warned on the back end: you are talking about child going back and forth for visits, but I have been warned/informed that the minor child (until age of 18) who re-enters her native country will need a signed affidavit of permission from the father to leave the country EVERY time. (This is for the DR that I have info, don't know if that varies country to country.)

I feel same way about being cool with maintaining their father/child bond--but because of the stupid law that requires a permission every single time to re-exit the native country, well, sad but true BUT I will not want to risk losing the child at some future point if the father suddenly becomes antagonistic and won't allow the child to leave on some nice visit we set up for him at our expense no less. So if I have my choice, once my fiancee and her child are here the child won't be going back, too risky.

I also have same fears you have. Getting a "permission to leave country for permanent residence in USA" signature from the father is one thing, and he has expressed no problem with doing that, but if in fact I need him to sign away all custody rights, that is totally different wording and I don't want to antagonize him and word it that way if not needed.

I myself still don't have a 100% certain straight answer to this latter: will a signed/notarized/court approved statement that: "I, the father of X, give permission to leave country for permanent residence in USA to live with her mother" document suffice; or does the document have to actually say in some form or wording as well, "and I relinquish all custody rights by signing this document." Does the "give up all custody rights to the child[ren]" have to be part of the permission statement or not.

In my case, the father is on the birth certificate but they were never married and have no legal custody arrangement. As far as I know, most countries consider the MOTHER the legal custodian by default if there was no actual marriage between the parents of the child.

[NArocks 13]

Visitor visa may require his permission also. Why would he object to a visitor visa? It seems you are going out of your way for him but he won't give permission for a visitor visa? Strange. Her daughter would have to qualify for a visitor visa and it is in no way guaranteed or even likely she would receive it.

I would suggest you discuss this with the father and explain that you will allow the dauhter to visit HIM on certain occasions and you will pay for her travel there provided he signs the letter. Obviously this involves some trust but that is what being a PARENT is all about. It isn't a one way street.

I can assure you if my wife's children were unable to leave we would not have moved to the USA, simple. Children were not optional . That is why we cleared that up first.

For a child to leave Colombia with only one parent or neither one the child MUST have a letter from the absent parents in order to get out of any Colombian airport. And as stated you must have the letter from the father in order for the child to receive the visa Period.

Here is some info on permissions for a minor for Specificaly Colombia it is in Spanish

Colombian Embassy NY

Good Luck on your Journey....