Moving Back... will somebody think about the children...

[casey the medic 0]

I love visajourney and appreciate any input you guys can offer on my situation. I am a US citizen and I live in California with my wife and minor stepdaughter. My wife came to US on a K1 and daughter on a K2 from Cambodia, and now they both have conditional green cards. We have lived together here for 1.5 years and now have a 1 month old baby. We are all happy together, but things are a bit rough for us, and we want to move back to Cambodia. In Cambodia, my wife and I had high-paying jobs, and a support system of my wife's family members. We also own a large plot of land in a nice area of Siem Reap. Here, we are in debt up to our noses and on a downward spiral working minimum wage jobs. My parents and siblings don't get along with my wife. My stepdaughter attends a gritty LA public school.

We worked hard getting the visas and green cards. However, my wife's home country is calling us back and the urge to get up and go is strong. Our main concern is my stepdaughter. We want her to have US citizenship like her new sister. We don't want her to blame us when she is older if she is stuck in Cambodia. We fear that leaving with her will bar her from future re-entry to the US.

Thanks for reading! Thoughts?

[Sayha or bust. 71]

I say go for it. Are you fluent in Khmer? You might have an opportunity to teach English in Siem Riep. I have friends in Vietnam that teach English in HCM and make good money. As far as your step daughter I don't know the law. Best of luck with whatever you choose.

[NoneYa 73]

Very interesting thoughts. I can't offer any comments about your sistuation but citizenship for your stepdaughter she be thought through carefully as you don't want to deny her something that you might regret later.

I too have been thinking of my future in the U.S. and although I doubt I will leave soon, it is an option. People here are chasing stuff mostly. They hop in their cars and drive back and forth for 500 hours a year just to get to work. That transportation bill alone with maintenance, insurance and monthly payment means they work for a month or two just for that. Let alone every other bill housing food. I grew up on three acres but there is no way I could afford that lifestyle for my children in the city by todays dollars.

If you can't make considerably more money here then why stay in the U.S. ? My fiancee is from the Philippines. Maybe one day, we might move to Panama or Costa Rica but there are lots of places to move to have a better quality of life than here. Thanks for posting this thought as it seems to be something I have been thinking about more and more myself.

[StraightShooter 62]

You can always adopt your stepdaughter to give her US citizenship.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I love visajourney and appreciate any input you guys can offer on my situation. I am a US citizen and I live in California with my wife and minor stepdaughter. My wife came to US on a K1 and daughter on a K2 from Cambodia, and now they both have conditional green cards. We have lived together here for 1.5 years and now have a 1 month old baby. We are all happy together, but things are a bit rough for us, and we want to move back to Cambodia. In Cambodia, my wife and I had high-paying jobs, and a support system of my wife's family members. We also own a large plot of land in a nice area of Siem Reap. Here, we are in debt up to our noses and on a downward spiral working minimum wage jobs. My parents and siblings don't get along with my wife. My stepdaughter attends a gritty LA public school.

We worked hard getting the visas and green cards. However, my wife's home country is calling us back and the urge to get up and go is strong. Our main concern is my stepdaughter. We want her to have US citizenship like her new sister. We don't want her to blame us when she is older if she is stuck in Cambodia. We fear that leaving with her will bar her from future re-entry to the US.

Thanks for reading! Thoughts?

No thoughts other than the law. Moving back will abandon her residency and she will lose the green card. At any point in the future, up until she is AGE 21 you could petition her again as an IR-2 and she could live here the required 5 years and become a citizen. (the three year rule only applies to spouses and children under age 18 when the souse gets her citizenship)

So YES you could return but not just with a snap of the fingers.

And her citizenship path is protected until age 21. AFTER age 21 her mother could petition her IF her mother is a citizen but the waiting period for the visa is MUCH longer.

If you are thining about this for her (and you should) then make a decision before she is age 21 and allow 2 years for processing everything to be safe, so by the time she is 19, decide.

You can always adopt your stepdaughter to give her US citizenship.

Also a good suggestion if it is possible. Check the adoption laws. Adoption s not an immigration issue per se.

[Penguin_ie 5,999]

Gary has explained the law well.

My thought is this: can you tough it out another 2-ish years? Maybe move to another part of Cali/ another state? I know it is a long time, but that way your wife and step daughter could get US citizenship, and then they can live whereever they want and not worry about losing it.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Gary has explained the law well.

My thought is this: can you tough it out another 2-ish years? Maybe move to another part of Cali/ another state? I know it is a long time, but that way your wife and step daughter could get US citizenship, and then they can live whereever they want and not worry about losing it.

Good suggestion if they care to stay that long. We are basically doing the same. Alla wold love to teach English overseas but she will not go that route until her and the boys have their citizenship (2012 is the year!)

Once you have that, you can live anywhere as long as you like and come back at any time.

[NoneYa 73]

There are a few areas of the country like Texas that unemployment is low. Your best bet might find another job out of that state and have your family follow you later. I would fear living in California on my income but in Florida I live well.

Edited January 1, 2012 by NoneYa

[StraightShooter 62]

...Our main concern is my stepdaughter. We want her to have US citizenship like her new sister. We don't want her to blame us when she is older if she is stuck in Cambodia. We fear that leaving with her will bar her from future re-entry to the US.

Thanks for reading! Thoughts?

I researched a little more and the law that could give your stepdaugher automatic US citzenship is the Child Citizenship Act of 2000. Here's one link that explains it a bit. It might be worthwhile for you to check out this option.

http://www.immigrationnavigator.com/can-step-children-of-a-us-citizen-qualify-for-automatic-citizenship/

[casey the medic 0]

Thank you for your responses. We will probably wait it out here. Straightshooter I appreciate your hard-work in finding the best answer. I don't think the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 applies to my situation because I would have to adopt my stepdaughter first. I reads: "a stepchild admitted for permanent resident cannot derive automatic United States citizenship from a non-adoptive United States citizen step-parent."

@Noneya, thanks for the Texas suggestion, I'll check it out. @Sayha, I do speak Khmer @Gary and Alla, I am going to research this IR-2 thing, thanks!

[StraightShooter 62]

...Straightshooter I appreciate your hard-work in finding the best answer. I don't think the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 applies to my situation because I would have to adopt my stepdaughter first. I reads: "a stepchild admitted for permanent resident cannot derive automatic United States citizenship from a non-adoptive United States citizen step-parent."

Correct if she remains only your stepdaughter, but as I said in post #4 above, I was suggesting that you might want to take a look at adoption. Since she's already been with you for 1.5 years, you're basically 6 months away from meeting the time requirement (as I understand it.)

Either way you go, best of luck to you and your family!

[Darnell 8,479]

If'n yer gonna stick it out stateside, strongly suggest you get the @#$@ out of California . Property costs way too much, Californians have different tax base on everything - come to Texas, buddy.

[casey the medic 0]

I believe the US has banned adoption of Cambodian children since 2001 due to trafficking problems

[StraightShooter 62]

I believe the US has banned adoption of Cambodian children since 2001 due to trafficking problems

Yow! I looked that up right after I read your post and there indeed seems to be a suspension of intercountry adoption... but maybe it's only for orphans? Perhaps a stepchild is still okay?

[casey the medic 0]

yeah... if it is legal, the adoption process would be tougher and more expensive than waiting for naturalization with Mommy.

It's just hard for us to struggle here when over there we had respectable positions and good money by Cambodian standards. I had friends from all over the world. We thought we could come here and improve everyone's English and save money to start a restaurant in Cambodia, but only the first part of that plan seems realistic. An English BA and Khmer language skills aren't big money makers in the states. My wife has learned that the streets of America aren't actually paved with gold.