Do I need approval from bio father if I have sole custody?

[AuroraBorealis 0]

I've been reading around on here and it seems like everyone needs this approval. What if my daughter's father lives in another country and has only seen her once, for two weeks her entire life (she's 10 years old). How do I go about proving that? Or is it enough that I can prove that I have 100% custody, plus she has my last name and not his?

I'm starting to be a little worried about this because I don't think I'll be able to get his consent.

Sorry, forgot to say that my husband will be filing the I-130 (IR1/CR1 and IR2/CR2) for me and my daughter soon and we're gathering all paperwork these days.

[Sweetcheeksss 91]

My ex hasn't seen my son since the day he was born, 15 (almost 16) years ago.

The CO at my interview wanted to see one of two things -

1) My custody papers that HAD to say Sole custody, no access to other parent and that he was allowed to travel outside Canada with me

OR

2) I had to have a notorized letter from my ex saying he did/would not contest my son going to the US to live.

There was no budging on this, the CO straight up told me that without one or the other, our visas would NOT be approved.

Good luck!

Edited August 21, 2010 by Sweetcheeksss

[Be83 0]

I've been reading around on here and it seems like everyone needs this approval. What if my daughter's father lives in another country and has only seen her once, for two weeks her entire life (she's 10 years old). How do I go about proving that? Or is it enough that I can prove that I have 100% custody, plus she has my last name and not his?

I'm starting to be a little worried about this because I don't think I'll be able to get his consent.

Sorry, forgot to say that my husband will be filing the I-130 (IR1/CR1 and IR2/CR2) for me and my daughter soon and we're gathering all paperwork these days.

Your daughters biological father has to agree that she leaves the country (unless you move to the country he lives in maybe?!?!). I don't know what form or sort of prove you have to provide for that though, sorry

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

This is one of those issues that varies from country to country.

Please complete your profile and indicate what country you are in then you can get useful answers.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

The US takes a strong stance on parental abductions. It has vowed to assure people are not allowed to bring children here to live in violation of this policy. Even if you have sole custody there may visitation on the other side if not from the other parent then grandparents. These ties are important to a child's sense of culture and history. To deny a child these things if there is a wish on the other side to create these things is something a single parent should not be allowed to do.

That being said there is a lot of opportunities in the US that don't exist in other parts of the world and many parents would love for their child to have the chance to grow up here , even it is cuts the ties to that parent.

The US will not take your word that the other parent is out of the picture. Yes it is a hassle but a necessary one.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Not sure where you're from but here's my experience from Canada to US.

My ex had only seen my daughter twice in 15.5 yrs (and not since she was 3). I had sole custody papers drawn up and approved in court (around when she was 4) which indicated that I could obtain a passport and travel with her outside Canada and move at any time without his consent.

At the time we were filing our K1 - I went back to a lawyer and we drew up an addendum which indicated that since the first custody filing the ex had never again seen her or been involved in her life for the past 10 yrs and that I continued to have sole custody etc etc....

The US consulate was perfectly satisfied with this and they never asked me anything further. Fairly similar to Sweetcheeks....I'd say be over prepared, it won't hurt.

[belinda63 2,981]

I would agree the easiest thing would be go back to the court rather than trying to find the father. The US wants to make sure the absent biological parent is not having the child stolen from them. Even if they have chosen to have no contact with the child in the past that is not to say they will not in the future. If you file a motion with the court (or however you do it in your country) with notice to the biological parent at his last known address and you explain to the court the situation I am almost certain there will be no problems obtaining permission to move the child to the US. Also provide to the court a permanent address where, if the biological parent chooses in the future to contact the child, he will be able to do so.

While I understand your side of it very well we can always hope for the sake of the child that the absent parent will at some point try to make themselves available. No matter how horrible the parent is they are the child's mother/father and it should be up to the child to determine (when they reach the appropriate age) what, if any, relationship they want with the parent.

[Ning 619]

I've been reading around on here and it seems like everyone needs this approval. What if my daughter's father lives in another country and has only seen her once, for two weeks her entire life (she's 10 years old). How do I go about proving that? Or is it enough that I can prove that I have 100% custody, plus she has my last name and not his?

I'm starting to be a little worried about this because I don't think I'll be able to get his consent.

Sorry, forgot to say that my husband will be filing the I-130 (IR1/CR1 and IR2/CR2) for me and my daughter soon and we're gathering all paperwork these days.

The answer to this must come from the specific country or embassy. Beware of any other info.

In Thailand for example. My case involved my then 9 year old daughter. I was not ever married to her father. I applied for a recieved a passport for her. We submitted the proper docs & she was give the visa. There were no questions or documents required about her biological father.

A year later a friend tried to do the same & was denied. It took her a long time to find the father & the embassy would not accept a letter from him to release her. He had to go inside the embassy to speak to the officer himself.

Make sure you do the research that is needed or you may find you have a seriouse problem at the last minute.

Edited August 21, 2010 by Ning

[AuroraBorealis 0]

Thank you very much for this information. I guess it's better not to take any chances. I'm going to try to get a hold of him, otherwise I will have to go through a judge I guess.

Oh - and about the timeline thing... I will put all that information up as soon as we start the process. Promise

[Ning 619]

Thank you very much for this information. I guess it's better not to take any chances. I'm going to try to get a hold of him, otherwise I will have to go through a judge I guess.

Oh - and about the timeline thing... I will put all that information up as soon as we start the process. Promise

It would be best to get direct info from the embassy about this. A judge may not be the final word in the embassies opinion. Keep in mind the recent situation in Hati as well as Elean Gonzalas from Cuba. These events may have changed what these embassies do.

If you identify the country you are involved with other members may respond with more concise info.

[Canadiandggal 49]

I am waiting for my cr1 and cr2 interview but I have a court order saying I have sole custody and that said child can have a passport and travel without bio dads permission however I was told I would also need a letter from the father or a court order stating we coukd move For the interview stage. So I went back to court spent 5000 on my damn lawyer and now I have two court orders one with sole custody and one sayin my son can move wherever I want including the united states without bio permission. So please call the embassy and ask them what they require better safe then sorry. Good luck

[Sweetcheeksss 91]

I am waiting for my cr1 and cr2 interview but I have a court order saying I have sole custody and that said child can have a passport and travel without bio dads permission however I was told I would also need a letter from the father or a court order stating we coukd move For the interview stage. So I went back to court spent 5000 on my damn lawyer and now I have two court orders one with sole custody and one sayin my son can move wherever I want including the united states without bio permission. So please call the embassy and ask them what they require better safe then sorry. Good luck

Just as an FYI (my experience in MTL). When we had our interview, the CO specifically told me that my custody papers just had to have the words "sole custody", "no access for other parent" and that I could legally take my son out of Canada. But I did not have to put that he was allowed to move.

And we had a hardass interviewer (in my opinion).

[Advanced Aardvark 82]

I've been reading around on here and it seems like everyone needs this approval. What if my daughter's father lives in another country and has only seen her once, for two weeks her entire life (she's 10 years old). How do I go about proving that? Or is it enough that I can prove that I have 100% custody, plus she has my last name and not his?

I'm starting to be a little worried about this because I don't think I'll be able to get his consent.

Sorry, forgot to say that my husband will be filing the I-130 (IR1/CR1 and IR2/CR2) for me and my daughter soon and we're gathering all paperwork these days.

We recently completed a K1 / K2 process in Moscow. My fiancee had sole custody of her son (age 9). We secured a notarized letter from the biological father, stating his permission for the son to move to the US, about 10 months before the interview. The son also had a new Russian passport issued at about the same time. Olga brought the notarized letter, a photocopy and a certified translation to the interview in Moscow. No questions about the permission were asked at the interview. The only questions were: is the father alive; and, where does the father live.

Interestingly, when registering the son for school in the US, the school system registrar asked for proof of custody or a letter from the father. So, even if you are not required to produce proof of custody, or a notarized consent form, at the interview, it may be required at a later time.

My maternal grandfather was fond of saying, "If you go into the woods loaded for bear, and meet a rabbit, you will likely be better off than if it goes the other way." This advice seems to be appropriate to documentation required for your application.

Good luck.

[bowgirl 8]

This is one of those issues that varies from country to country.

Please complete your profile and indicate what country you are in then you can get useful answers.

i was also wondering about that..i don't have any documents from the court saying i have the sole custody of my daughter but on her birth certificate, all the information about her father were written as UNKNOWN. would this be enough? i tried to search on us embassy manila site but i couldn't find any specific answer. thanks.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

i was also wondering about that..i don't have any documents from the court saying i have the sole custody of my daughter but on her birth certificate, all the information about her father were written as UNKNOWN. would this be enough? i tried to search on us embassy manila site but i couldn't find any specific answer. thanks.

You will be fine. My Stepson's BC has his father listed but in the Philippines if a child is born out of wedlock then the father has NO LEGAL PARENTAL RIGHTS.

Just follow the links in my signature for the documentation that you should provide if requested. We provided it to the NVC.