Adopting my niece--ADVICE NEEDED

[ButterFinger 14]

On 4/22/2019 at 5:28 PM, mcdull said:

First of all, I am not trying to sound negative.

 

Is this a cultural thing or what? I've seen quite a few people from the Philippines asking to adopt the niece of nephew.

 

What is the reason for adoption though? I'd strongly advise against it if it is solely for immigration purposes. I don't know how old is your niece, but   just think about the amount of emotional impact it'll have on the child.

 

 

 

Probably? I feel like it's more somebody from a "poor" situation was able to migrate to the US, live a better life and would like to bring their niece/nephew to offer the same life. I have seen same questions from a latin country (I forgot which one).

 

My niece is a victim of child abuse by her own mother and her partner (case is ongoing). I feel she can finally have stability in her life if my husband and I adopted her, and if she lives with us here. Every decision we make, we prioritize my niece's well-being. So yeah, I'm not just taking her away simply to migrate here. 

[ButterFinger 14]

On 4/22/2019 at 7:39 PM, Daisy.Chain said:

Even if parents give up parental rights it's unlikely you could adopt your niece and that she would qualify for immigration benefits with both parents living. (Speaking of which, is her dad alive?)

I probably should say, terminated is a better term to refer to her parental rights, due to a child abuse case.

 

Father is not listed on the birth certificate, they separated way before my sister gave birth.

[ButterFinger 14]

On 4/22/2019 at 10:38 AM, EmilyW said:

The good thing, VJ members are pretty awesome and always happy to help.

 

I hope you find your way. That little girl is darned lucky to have an aunt that loves her that much.  ❤️

Oh yeah. People here are amazing. I never make any immigration decision without referring to this forum.

 

Thanks, I appreciate that. I took care of her since she was a baby, no father, but me, my parents and siblings took over and showed her unconditional love. I would do anything for her.  

[Daisy.Chain 317]

3 hours ago, ButterFinger said:

I probably should say, terminated is a better term to refer to her parental rights, due to a child abuse case.

 

Father is not listed on the birth certificate, they separated way before my sister gave birth.

You can try, and can probably legally adopt her. However, you are unlikely to be able to use it as an immigration benefit. Absent biological parents are not the same as no biological parents. There are too many cases of people who have adopted nieces and nephews to try to being them to the US. I can't think of a single one with parents who are alive that have had it happen. You MIGHT have a chance, but I think the father being alive (listed on the bc or not, he's still her father) doesn't help. I wish you luck, but I think your chances are zero. At the very minimum, you would have to move to the child's cluntry for two years (as custodial parent) to even qualify to adopt. If bringing a niece or nephew over were feasible, I at least would have done it long ago!

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

Playing devil's advocate here.. what if the abuse claims are made up for a (future) immigration benefit, we see it occasionally on the forum. Not accusing the OP of such an intention, but we see VJ posts along vawa lines. Absent dead parents, adopting a niece/nephew to get them to the US is a long shot. 

[geowrian 22,336]

29 minutes ago, WeGuyGal said:

what if the abuse claims are made up for a (future) immigration benefit

The burden is on the petitioner and applicant to establish eligibility for any benefit being sought. So the burden would be on the OP to show that the adoption qualifies for immigration benefits.

Mistakes happen, but I would presume they would very closely look at any such claim of biological parents being unable to care for the child. This isn't somethign they take lightly.

[ButterFinger 14]

1 hour ago, geowrian said:

The burden is on the petitioner and applicant to establish eligibility for any benefit being sought. So the burden would be on the OP to show that the adoption qualifies for immigration benefits.

Mistakes happen, but I would presume they would very closely look at any such claim of biological parents being unable to care for the child. This isn't somethign they take lightly.

Exactly. 

 

This whole court case is much more complex than I am willing to say publicly. It’s not simply an abuse “claim”, everything has been formally filed in the court and it’s moving along. I honestly see no loopholes in the court case.

 

Adopting and migrating options are what we are looking at since filing the case. Not the other way around. 

[Boiler 43,754]

4 minutes ago, ButterFinger said:

Exactly. 

 

This whole court case is much more complex than I am willing to say publicly. It’s not simply an abuse “claim”, everything has been formally filed in the court and it’s moving along. I honestly see no loopholes in the court case.

 

Adopting and migrating options are what we are looking at since filing the case. Not the other way around. 

I do not know about the PI laws on adoption but assuming that is possible are you intending to move back to PI for the 2 years?

[ButterFinger 14]

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

I do not know about the PI laws on adoption but assuming that is possible are you intending to move back to PI for the 2 years?

Honestly that’s one of the many huge walls in my situation. As I answer your question right now, I cannot. 

[Boiler 43,754]

So we can out the immigration aspect aside for now, maybe some time in the future, and who knows how the rules will change.

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

2 hours ago, ButterFinger said:

Honestly that’s one of the many huge walls in my situation. As I answer your question right now, I cannot. 

It's been posted above that one factor to immigrate requires living with the adopted individual for minimum 2 years after adoption is legally complete. 

 

That would mean yes to adopt.. and no to the US.