Can a 19 year old foreigner visit his 15 year old american girlfriend ?

[anothermakaveli 0]

So i know someone i am concered about...

He is planning on visiting his girlfriend in MA... she is 15 and a half and he just turned 19...

Now i know the age of consent in MA is 16 and having any sort of sexual relationship with anywhone under 16 can get you arrested...

So would this peron get arrested right at the border ? or be sent back home ? or would he be allowed since he claims no sexual activity will happen ?

Both parents aprove the relationship by the way... and the whole family knows about the relationship..

I warned him and could not find any information about this so decided to post on here..

Thank you !!

[*Snowdrop* 603]

Why would he be arrested at the border? For something that hasn't actually happened. Or perhaps would never happen?

It is possible for teenagers to have a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship without having sex.

If he has a valid visitors visa - or VWP - and does not arouse any suspicion of immigration intent at the border then there is no reason why he would not be allowed to visit.

And if the girl's parents know about the visit and the relationship then it's really their business how much unsupervised or supervised time these two teenagers spend together.

Do you have any reason to be particularly suspicious about this guy? Did they meet online and you don't believe he really is only 19 or is a sexual predator?

[anothermakaveli 0]

Why would he be arrested at the border? For something that hasn't actually happened. Or perhaps would never happen?

It is possible for teenagers to have a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship without having sex.

If he has a valid visitors visa - or VWP - and does not arouse any suspicion of immigration intent at the border then there is no reason why he would not be allowed to visit.

And if the girl's parents know about the visit and the relationship then it's really their business how much unsupervised or supervised time these two teenagers spend together.

Do you have any reason to be particularly suspicious about this guy? Did they meet online and you don't believe he really is only 19 or is a sexual predator?

I read that if you say u are in a relationship they asume that they have sex...

He has a valid visitors visa

they meet online and they meet in real life a while ago.. and no i know its a real good relationship i am just worried about the law.

[Ontarkie 13,917]

He should be worried about the law too. It doesn't have to be the parents to file charges either.

[UnaMexicana 153]

I don't think this is advisable. Can they meet elsewhere or wait until she is actually well over 16 at least?

[mallafri76 1,012]

He's an adult and she's a child. In Europe, that relationship would be a non-issue given their ages, in the US, I'm not so sure. They have some weird laws when it comes to these things. My husband is in prison (for drugs) and he's told me about this 18 year old boy in there who had sex with his almost 16 year old girlfriend, and he's now serving six years in a federal prisoner and will be a registered sex offender when he's released.

I know you say that they have told you that they won't have sex but they're teenagers and things happen. And even if they were to keep that promise, I'm still not sure I would risk it if it was my son. She's 15 and a half, why don't they wait another six months or she comes to visit him in Holland instead?

[anothermakaveli 0]

I understand it... and her whole family knows about that person and the relationship he has with the 15 year old...

[Ontarkie 13,917]

All it takes is someone in her family to wake up on the wrong side of the bed and his whole life could be ruined!

It's not worth the risk!

[yuna628 9,530]

From a legal perspective in the US? The adult in this situation should not be coming anywhere near here until she is of legal age. And the parents in this situation should know better even if they give acknowledgement. She can't really be a 'girlfriend' she is a minor, and an adult having a 'romantic relationship' with a minor is off limits. There is a fine line between dating and sexual contact, of which the US enforces seriously. So advice here, from a logical standpoint it would be strongly advised to wait until the party is of legal age. I'm sure there are many young ladies that get involved in very strange grey areas with technical 'adults', and those persons involved should be smart in those situations and keep themselves safe.

If he travels and is asked the purpose of his visit, and that question leads to who she is and how old she is, I have every reason to believe that he would be turned around on the next flight out, regardless of any implied parental yes or no.

[Boiler 43,438]

From an immigration point of view not a problem.

[KierenHby 897]

What would make the CBP put him on the "..next flight out"?

There is no law against teenagers being in relationships; they don't always have to be sexual.

If asked at POE and he responds he's visiting his girlfriend and her family, I don't see anything wrong with that, as long as there are no other issues.

[mallafri76 1,012]

There is no law against teenagers being in relationships; they don't always have to be sexual.

Believe it or not but there actually is in the US. In the OP's case, the boy is over 18 and the girl is under 16, which, in the eyes of the law, makes him an adult and she a child. If people see them kissing, someone can actually call the police to say a man is molesting a child..... Massachusetts is a liberal state but honestly, why risk it when she'll turn 16 in less than six months?!?! The best that can happen with him travelling to the US to visit his girlfriend is that they have a wonderful time and then he goes home. The worst that can happen is that he ends up in prison and becomes a registered sex offender. Not worth it!

[KierenHby 897]

I meant no law against teenagers being in a relationship. Because it's not a legally binding term, akin to spouse.

Note that my statement does not conotate anything sexual, or predatory between an adult and a minor. The rest is up to OP's friend to decide how he intends to conduct himself, being the "adult".

But teenagers being teenagers, might be best to wait out till she's 18.

[lost_at_sea 995]

It's highly unlikely to be an issue at the border. The fact that her parents are aware of the visit suggests that they are being somewhat mature and he could carry their contact details and a letter giving permission for his visit or something if he was that paranoid, but I don't see that it'd be necessary.

I'd encourage your friend to maybe wait until she's a little older just from a common-sense perspective, but there's nothing illegal about this situation (State laws vary, as far as I can tell, Mass only has laws against actual sex with minors - dating isn't a crime and does not necessarily have to involve sexual acts).

http://www.mass.gov/courts/case-legal-res/law-lib/laws-by-subj/about/sex.html#ChildUnderSixteen

Edited May 18, 2015 by lost_at_sea

[Ryan H 3,790]

~~~Closed for review~~~

***Review complete, one post that was unnecessarily accusatory in nature towards the OP removed along with posts quoting or referencing. Additionally, the OP has been provided with enough proper answers to their question; therefore, this thread is closed to additional discussion. Do not restart this thread or reference it in future discussions.***

Edited May 18, 2015 by Ryan H