Adoption age limit

[Tourseasia 5]

In the Philippines as a US citizen, if I married my filipina spouse when her son is 14 1/2 yrs old, to get my spouse and him to the states we would have to leave before hes 18yrs old, or 21 yrs old?

Now to adopt he must be under 16yrs old? And if never adopted the only way he can go to the states after 21yrs old is by his mother AFTER she gets a green card in the USA, or never?

Thanks

[Ryan H 3,795]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to Bringing Family Members of US Citizens to America forum.

[calibob 73]

Complicated subject. And heart breaking for us. If the child is her offspring, then you can petition both I believe with a I 130 when you marry. Then they have 6 months to use their visas to go to the US. BUT, if you adopt, you MUST HAVE 2 YEARS LEGAL custody outside of the US of the child PRIOR TO 18 yrs old and the adoption completed by then also before you can petition as your own child. It's really messed up how they jerk these children around with unrealistic rules.

Tried to adopt my wife's niece and bring her since the wife had raised the girl since age 5 to 15. But since she didn't attempt adopting the girl til after we married, we learned she doesn't have any immigration rights or wouldn't be eligible unless I moved to the Phils and adopted, then after 2 years we could petition, but only if she was less than 16 then. We're still sending her to college and getting her an education, but had hoped to bring her her as part of our immediate family. INTER COUNTRY ADOPTION BOARD You can adopt, but in some cases it won't give the child full immigration rights!!

Bob

Edited July 19, 2012 by calibob

[calibob 73]

US EMBASSY INFO ON ADOPTIONS Also might want to call the USCIS.

Bob

[velrich 50]

In the Philippines as a US citizen, if I married my filipina spouse when her son is 14 1/2 yrs old, to get my spouse and him to the states we would have to leave before hes 18yrs old, or 21 yrs old?

Now to adopt he must be under 16yrs old? And if never adopted the only way he can go to the states after 21yrs old is by his mother AFTER she gets a green card in the USA, or never?

Thanks

[/quote)

If you get married to his mom before he is 18 years old then you become his stepfather. You do not need to adopt him. As a USC you you can then submit an I-130 for her and also an I-130 for him. They would both be immediate relatives so you would not have a long wait and should be able to leave before he is 21 years old and would fall in another category. You are in the Philipines so you may be required to provide a lot of proof to show a bona fide marriage and also have to show how you plan to establish domicile in the USA. Hope you have been filing your tax returns.

good luck.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Velrich is correct. As long as you marry before the child is 18 then you will have a petitionable relationship with the child as a step-parent.

If USCIS receives your petition before the child is 21 years old then the visa category will be "immediate relative of a US citizen", IR2 (CR2 if you've been married less than two years). Since there's no wait for a visa number to become available, the only delays involved are bureaucratic processing. It would take a year or less, from petition to visa.

If USCIS receives your petition after the child is 21 years old then the visa category will be "family preference - adult unmarried son or daughter of a US citizen", FB1. You'd have to wait for a visa number to become available. Unfortunately, the wait for an FB1 visa number in the Philippines is currently about 18 years. In that case, it would be about 8 years quicker if your wife petitioned for her after she got her green card. The visa category for an adult unmarried son or daughter of a permanent resident is FB2B. If your wife becomes a US citizen in the meantime then she'll want to ask NVC to retain the original visa category, and NOT upgrade to FB1 or it will add years to the waiting time. This all has to do with the fact that there are a limited number of visas issued in each family preference category, and no single country can receive more than 7% of the total. The Philippines is heavily oversubscribed.

Is there a reason why you would want to wait until the child is over 21?

[Tourseasia 5]

Thanks all, and special thanks to JimVaPhuong

Wow, very good info, I needed to know in case I did stay in the Philippines longer what options would be left on the table. The only reason for staying longer was college for him, but hes going to have to try to work in the USA on his Philippine HS diploma!

18yr wait after 21, that's a long time ouch!

Can anyone tell me options on sending household goods to the USA from the Philippines? Seems its easy to send into the country but much harder when leaving.

Thanks

[Tourseasia 5]

How would all or any of these circumstances change if I adopted my stepson before he turns 16 or even 18yrs of age?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

How would all or any of these circumstances change if I adopted my stepson before he turns 16 or even 18yrs of age?

If you marry your fiancee before the child is 18 then nothing would change by adoption. You establish a petitionable relationship with the child by marrying his mother before he's 18. Adoption doesn't change that relationship, nor does it make the immigrant visa process any different for a step-child. The only thing it would do is potentially add another basis on which you could submit a petition, but it would be foolish to use adoption as the basis for an immigrant visa petition for a step-child. Visas based on adoption are much more complicated to obtain. If the child is from a Hague Convention country (which includes the Philippines) then the Hague Convention rules apply. Those rules are complicated, and you actually have to go through the US government to prove you are qualified to adopt BEFORE you adopt. You can read about the rules here:

http://adoption.state.gov/index.php

Adopt the child if you like, but don't do it because you think it will make the immigration process easier. It won't. If you're going to marry the child's mother then all you need to do is prove that she's your wife, and he's her biological son. That makes him your step-son, and eligible to be petitioned by you.

If USCIS receives the petition from you before the child is 21 then his age will be locked on that date for the purpose of immigration, he won't have to wait for a visa number to become available, and he'll get an IR2 or CR2 visa. If he's over 21 when USCIS receives the petition then he'll have to wait for a visa number to become available. Everything hinges on when USCIS receives the petition.

[Tourseasia 5]

@JimVaPhuong fantastic post, that pretty much is just what I needed to know, I will marry and her son will be 14 1/2, and will petition the I-130 when he is 16 1/2 so there won't be any problems.

I just can't see staying in the Philippines when her son can start work, when the minimum wage salary here is like $7 usd a day, vice $7 usd an hour in the USA.

Thanks!

[Tourseasia 5]

Thanks for the replies

Okay, not doing the adoption route but the immigration 1-130/CR-1/IR-1 instead, which I'm assuming can be done on a tourist visa here in the Philippines.

I was checking around here and heard the petition I-130 for stepchild must be filed before he is 16

Then someone mentioned that they go by the date he enters the USA which must be before 16!

Where does it state specifically the age limit and that it is locked by the I-130 petition, and if that's true could he actually leave at 21 yrs old if that petition was done when he was under 16?

Edited July 27, 2012 by Tourseasia