Beneficiary and Child

[Csh1970 1]

Hello fellow VJers. Here is our situation. I'm a UCS and my three stepchildren have been DQ at NVC since May 2020. Our embassy is Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Hopefully we may be getting close to an interview. 

 

During the waiting process, my then 17 year old stepdaughter became pregnant and had a baby. She is now 18. The baby is 2 months old. The father (a Dominican national) is in the picture and a good provider. She is still unmarried.  We know that she is still eligible for the IR-2 child of a UCS category.  

 

I'm thinking that my stepdaughter should tell the Consular Officer at the interview about the baby? We always want to be as transparent as possible. We are also thinking she should have the baby's birth certificate on hand at the interview? 

 

The father will approve of the baby traveling but we are also thinking that we would be unable to petition for the baby since she is a grandchild to my wife (a Permanent Resident) and a step grandchild to me (a UCS). 

 

What are her options regarding the baby? We are thinking that she can wait up to 6 months to travel after visa in hand to give her more time with the baby. We are thinking there is absolutely no way that the baby will be able to travel with her after she has her visa?

 

If she comes, of course she will be separated from the baby and would have to file her own petition for the baby as a Permanent Resident. Would we be able to count the father's income on the affidavit being in another country? We know that this complicated everything for her case but she was with her grandmother and all of this happened during the process. There are a lot of factors at play here and we just need some guidance in order to know what our options actually are. 

 

Any information would be helpful. Thank you for your time. 

Edited April 19, 2021 by Csh1970

[aaron2020 11,651]

Unfortunately, the baby can not immigrate with her.  In the IR2 category, derivative beneficiaries are not allowed.  Once she is an LPR, she can file an I-130 for her child in the F2a category.

 

She may want to apply for a Re-Entry Permit so she can go live with her child in the DR without losing her green card status.

 

The father's income can not be used for the I-864 since he is neither a USC or LPR.  

[Crazy Cat 39,183]

9 minutes ago, Csh1970 said:

Would we be able to count the father's income on the affidavit being in another country?

No.  Only income earned from a US source after arriving can be used for sponsorship.  

Edited April 19, 2021 by Lucky Cat

[aaron2020 11,651]

4 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

No.  Only income earned from a US source after arriving can be used for sponsorship.  

Incorrect.

 

Income earned from a foreign source can be used if it would continue after immigrating IF the person is a US citizen or LPR.

 

Here, the problem is that the father is neither a USC or LPR which means he is not qualified to file an I-864.

[Crazy Cat 39,183]

2 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

Incorrect.

 

Income earned from a foreign source can be used if it would continue after immigrating IF the person is a US citizen or LPR.

 

Here, the problem is that the father is neither a USC or LPR which means he is not qualified to file an I-864.

That's what I meant.  I worded it poorly.  Thanks.....

[Aris & Kismet 14]

I thought I read that if your beneficiary has a child during the process, the baby is allowed to travel to the US if the beneficiary is approved. 

 

 

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/your-relative-had-children-after-i-130-approved-can-they-immigrate-too.html

 

Edited May 3, 2021 by Aris & Kismet

[Chancy 6,233]

6 hours ago, Aris & Kismet said:

I thought I read that if your beneficiary has a child during the process, the baby is allowed to travel to the US if the beneficiary is approved.

 

The article you linked states repeatedly that it only applies to "family-preference" visas.  The OP's step-daughter's case is IR2, which is under "immediate relative", not "family-preference".  As others already mentioned, "immediate relative" visas are not allowed to have derivative beneficiaries.  To start the baby's immigration process, OP's step-daughter needs to file a separate petition for her baby after she becomes an LPR.

 

[Aris & Kismet 14]

2 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

The article you linked states repeatedly that it only applies to "family-preference" visas.  The OP's step-daughter's case is IR2, which is under "immediate relative", not "family-preference".  As others already mentioned, "immediate relative" visas are not allowed to have derivative beneficiaries.  To start the baby's immigration process, OP's step-daughter needs to file a separate petition for her baby after she becomes an LPR.

 

So, I am asking because I am in a similar situation and thought that my step-daughter who had a baby after her visa was approved and DQ in July, 2020.  I am a U.S. citizen and  petitioned my step-daughter who is under 21.  She had a baby recently.  Does this mean, that in order for her to come to the U.S., she has to leave her baby behind????

[aaron2020 11,651]

6 minutes ago, Aris & Kismet said:

So, I am asking because I am in a similar situation and thought that my step-daughter who had a baby after her visa was approved and DQ in July, 2020.  I am a U.S. citizen and  petitioned my step-daughter who is under 21.  She had a baby recently.  Does this mean, that in order for her to come to the U.S., she has to leave her baby behind????

Yes, she will have to leave her baby behind if she wants to immigrate to the US as an Immediate Relative.  The baby can not immigrate with her.  Derivative beneficiaries are not allowed when a US citizen petitions an Immediate Relative.  

Her I-130 was approved.  Her visa has not been approved.  She hasn't had her interview yet, so she can't have a visa approved.  

Edited May 3, 2021 by aaron2020

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

29 minutes ago, Aris & Kismet said:

So, I am asking because I am in a similar situation and thought that my step-daughter who had a baby after her visa was approved and DQ in July, 2020.  I am a U.S. citizen and  petitioned my step-daughter who is under 21.  She had a baby recently.  Does this mean, that in order for her to come to the U.S., she has to leave her baby behind????

Yes, at least initially. As previously mentioned she can file her own petition for the baby once she has a green card and get a re-entry permit to stay with the baby in the meanwhile. In these cases it would have been preferable for the spouse with a green card to petition via F2A child of LPR rather than the USC stepparent doing IR2, as the F2A category allows derivatives. I guess, you didn’t know when you filed she was going to get pregnant though.

[Aris & Kismet 14]

17 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Yes, at least initially. As previously mentioned she can file her own petition for the baby once she has a green card and get a re-entry permit to stay with the baby in the meanwhile. In these cases it would have been preferable for the spouse with a green card to petition via F2A child of LPR rather than the USC stepparent doing IR2, as the F2A category allows derivatives. I guess, you didn’t know when you filed she was going to get pregnant though.

She's an unmarried, under 21 (20) year old step-child.  No, she was not pregnant when I initially filed.  The father, however is a U.S. citizen but has yet to declare the child as such because they say that the embassy in Santo Domingo isn't available.  Feel like my hands are tied.

[Chancy 6,233]

20 minutes ago, Aris & Kismet said:

The father, however is a U.S. citizen but has yet to declare the child as such because they say that the embassy in Santo Domingo isn't available.

 

If the baby has a claim to US citizenship at birth, he/she will not be eligible for any US visa.  The baby must enter the US with a US passport.  Your step-daughter should not file any petition for her (probably) US citizen child.

 

Edited May 3, 2021 by Chancy
typo

[Aris & Kismet 14]

1 minute ago, Chancy said:

 

If the baby has a claim to US citizenship at birth, he/she will not be eligible for any US visa.  The baby must enter the US with a US passport.  You step-daughter should not file any petition for her (probably) US citizen child.

 

Yes.  Agreed.  Trying to get what seems to be a dead-beat dad to do what needs to be done to declare his child.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

26 minutes ago, Aris & Kismet said:

Yes.  Agreed.  Trying to get what seems to be a dead-beat dad to do what needs to be done to declare his child.

The website says online appointments are available for CRBA https://do.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/

 

Unfortunately your/her hands are kind of tied on this. If he is not prepared to acknowledge paternity or sign an affidavit to support the child via this form https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds5507.PDF then they will not accept the application. 
 

By the way the mere fact of the father being a citizen does not mean he can automatically pass on citizenship anyway. There are physical presence requirements to meet too.
 

 

Edited May 3, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[Aris & Kismet 14]

2 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

The website says online appointments are available for CRBA https://do.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/

 

Unfortunately your/her hands are kind of tied on this. If he is not prepared to acknowledge paternity or sign an affidavit to support the child via this form https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds5507.PDF then they will not accept the application. 
 

By the way the mere fact of the father being a citizen does not mean he can automatically pass on citizenship anyway. There are physical presence requirements to meet too.
 

 

Can you clarify when you say physical presence requirements, do you mean physical requirements to be present in the Dominican Republic or the U.S. ?   If he completes the affidavit, does that allow him the privilege ro being the son the the United States?

Thank you for responding to my questions and for providing the links.