Dealing with the wife's ex-husband and immigrating her kids

[ElectricBlue30 0]

Hi All,

It's clear to me that I need to go through the CR-1 Visa process with my wife (I'm American, she's Australian).

And I understand that the first step is to turn in the I-130 form (am I correct?).

Questions:

1. At what stage do we need to provide something from the ex-husband that states he's okay with the kids moving to America? In your answer, please remind me what the stages are after the I-130 and where this stages lies as it's quite a lot to remember and I'm still getting it down.

2. Specifically what do we need to get from the ex-husband? Is it a specific form he needs to fill out?

3. Are there any extra forms to fill out for the kids, and if so, at what stages do we need to do that?

Thank you,

~E

[NikLR 13,234]

Each child immigrating needs their own petition, their own I-130 package. Children do not require the same documentation that a spouse does however so read the instructions carefully.

After thr USCIS stage comes the NVC stage. At that time each petition needs its own affidavit of support (AOS) package and immigrant visa (IV) package including the DS-260 (which is the visa application) and fees. You only have to pay the AOS fee once for everyone but the IV fee per person.

At the interviews (each person immigrating to the USA has an interview regardless of age) you would present a notarized letter from their biological father that states he is aware of and allows the children to move permanently to the USA. Get any changes done to their custody agreement as well if needed.

Hope that helps.

Also sometimes petitions are not approved together even though they are sent together. At the NVC stage i do not recommend paying any fees or sending any documents without all petitions being present and having a case number. This ensures they are joined and will have the same interview date.

[ElectricBlue30 0]

NLR - Thank you so much.

So the stage at which we need to provide evidence from the father is much further down the track?

What is a 'notarized letter' by the way? Does he need to handwrite a letter? Print a letter? Put it on any special paper or form? Just want to be sure we've got this down EXACTLY as needed.

For the I-130 package - am I correct that these are the instructions I should be following for it? http://screencast.com/t/DneVw4Oxgsa<-- I had saved that info to my evernote and need to be sure I'm following it correctly.

I'm not sure where all this information gives the instructions for exactly what I need to provide for the children either, so any advice there would be great.

Also NLR - if you can give an example of the statement we need the ex-husband to make, that'd be GREAT. He's the type whom we need to tell exactly what to do. So we should probably just provide him a template to re-write and sign himself.

Do we need any official documentation and forms from him that prove he's the biological father, place of residence, etc.?

[Ms Hogan 296]

NLR - Thank you so much.

So the stage at which we need to provide evidence from the father is much further down the track?

What is a 'notarized letter' by the way? Does he need to handwrite a letter? Print a letter? Put it on any special paper or form? Just want to be sure we've got this down EXACTLY as needed.

For the I-130 package - am I correct that these are the instructions I should be following for it? http://screencast.com/t/DneVw4Oxgsa<-- I had saved that info to my evernote and need to be sure I'm following it correctly.

I'm not sure where all this information gives the instructions for exactly what I need to provide for the children either, so any advice there would be great.

Also NLR - if you can give an example of the statement we need the ex-husband to make, that'd be GREAT. He's the type whom we need to tell exactly what to do. So we should probably just provide him a template to re-write and sign himself.

Do we need any official documentation and forms from him that prove he's the biological father, place of residence, etc.?

As far as the letter goes, mine only stated that he KNEW we were moving. He didn't say he approved it. Just that he was aware of it. I wrote it and sent in a Word Document to him. He went to a notary and signed it and gave it back to me. I worded it in a way that made it easy for him to sign. No details, other than that he knew that the children were moving with his ex-wife to live with her and her husband (with both names) to America. I left it at that. I never wound up being asked to present it (that I can remember and things are starting to get fuzzy I admit) but i had it with me at the time of my interview and POE.

You don't need documents that prove he's the father BUT you will be providing the long form birth certificate from Australia for the child which I assume lists his name.

The more important documents will be the details of their divorce. Does your wife have sole custody?

Are there barristers or others in Australia who are notaries? They are so common in the U.S. (I am a notary and there is not much required to become one) but in Canada I found notaries were all lawyers or those who worked in the legal offices only. In America they can only charge a couple dollars for their service. In Ontario Canada I had to pay my ex-husband the $70 the notary wanted to sign the document. The notary is only acknowledging that the person who is signing the letter is who they say they are. They aren't verifying the information in the letter or saying it is their advice or anything like that. They are simply stating that is the person they say they are.

I hope this helps a bit in addition to NLR's response.

[NikLR 13,234]

This may help you find a notary: http://www.notarylocator.com.au/notaries-explained.php

I would write up the letter yourselves and have him sign it at a notary. I always do the travel consent forms for my ex because he can't seem to be bothered.

As stated the long form birth certificate should list both parents names and is fine for these purposes. http://www.australia.gov.au/topics/law-and-justice/births-deaths-and-marriages-registries

Yes follow this guide for the SPOUSE: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1 Also make sure you're following the I-130 instructions... http://www.uscis.gov/i-130

We also have example forms here on VJ.

And there is this: http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/EZGuideSpouse

The children are a little different for documentation needs

.

Edited January 20, 2015 by NLR