question regarding who qualifies as a child on N400 application

[laci1806 15]

Many years ago in Ukraine, my husband had a girlfriend who became pregnant.  Paternity wasn't established and when the baby was about 6 months old the girlfriend left my husband and took the baby with her. shortly after that she ended up in jail and the baby was put in an orphanage and adopted. Since my husband wasn't the legal father, he had no idea what was happening. He'd tried to find his daughter but couldn't get any information since he wasn't the legal father. When he came to the US on a K1, he put that he had no children because he took the question to mean legal children and at the time had not had  contact or any info regarding his daughter for many years.  Well, this year, after hiring a private detective, he's found his daughter and the adoptive mom allows them to talk on the phone. Now we're filing the N400 and are wondering what to put when it asks about children. Obviously she's not his legal child but she is his bio child and if anything happened to her adoptive mom who's quite older and also lives in a city in Ukraine that is being bombed, he would definitely want to get custody of his daughter somehow, either through paternity being established or adoption.  Or even when she's over 18 if possible it would be nice to have an opportunity to bring her to the states. 

any suggestions on how to handle this on the N400? Should he still mark that he has no children but write a statement just in case later on it comes up and he doesn't want to look like he was being dishonest on his N400 application?

[Dashinka 26,107]

Since paternity has not been definitively established, putting them on the N400 doesn't really seem right.  He can always file for an I130 later for her once paternity has been established, and she is either 18, or her adoptive parents allow her to go.  Just make sure he keeps a good record of the date when the paternity is established.

 

Good Luck!

[Boiler 47,890]

Adoption cuts a route fir a child to sponsor a parent I assumed it works both ways

 

But I agree him being the father seems to be speculation 

[OldUser 10,377]

In ideal world he'd investigate and establish whether the child is his  biologically or not before applying for N-400.

 

And of course, any biological child has to be listed on the form.

 

The idea he doesn't list biological child (if truly his) on N-400 and later sponsors the child for immigrant visa is wild. It would be a good reason for denaturalization.

 

And if he lists the child now, he may have severe issue not listing it on prior forms. I'd establish real biological relationship and consult with a lawyer before proceeding with filing N-400.

Edited August 21 by OldUser

[Dashinka 26,107]

8 minutes ago, OldUser said:

It would be a good reason for denaturalization.

 

 

I disagree if he has solid date evidence establishing when paternity was definitively established relative to the N400 submission.  I am sure he won't be the first person that naturalized and then found out about a child, or definitively established paternity of a child from a past relationship after the N400 process.  Denaturalization would be more about knowing about a definite biological child and not listing them.  If the OP's spouse does wait, and the paternity is established fine, but personally I would not let it hold me up.

[OldUser 10,377]

7 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

I disagree if he has solid date evidence establishing when paternity was definitively established relative to the N400 submission.  I am sure he won't be the first person that naturalized and then found out about a child, or definitively established paternity of a child from a past relationship after the N400 process.  Denaturalization would be more about knowing about a definite biological child and not listing them.  If the OP's spouse does wait, and the paternity is established fine, but personally I would not let it hold me up.

In my view it will take a very kind officer to believe the applicant who maintains relationship, but doesn't acknowledge the child on forms:

 

7 hours ago, laci1806 said:

 and the adoptive mom allows them to talk on the phone.

 

Things are getting stricter and tougher by the day. Just because you're speeding, doesn't mean you can use excuse "I looked at the road, not the speedometer, officer". Sure, many speeders don't get caught. But if caught the consequences are severe. Same here in my opinion.

Edited August 21 by OldUser

[Dashinka 26,107]

25 minutes ago, OldUser said:

In my view it will take a very kind officer to believe the applicant who maintains relationship, but doesn't acknowledge the child on forms:

 

 

Things are getting stricter and tougher by the day. Just because you're speeding, doesn't mean you can use excuse "I looked at the road, not the speedometer, officer". Sure, many speeders don't get caught. But if caught the consequences are severe. Same here in my opinion.

A lot of people have relationships with non-biological children, should they be listed?  Like I mentioned, sure if he can establish paternity before filing the N400 do it, might be hard in a war zone, but what if he lists her and it turns out she is not her biological child?  As long as the OP maintains good records he should be fine.

[Boiler 47,890]

The only fact I see is that ex GF had a baby

 

He is not on Birth Certificate 

No Court has declared him the Father

Child was adopted, would not a Father have a say in this process?

[MMRF 56]

Formal adoption severs the legal relationship and the daughter is no more than a friend in the eyes of immigration. 

Whether or not this adoption was legal is a separate question that would need to be sorted out first.

[OldUser 10,377]

14 minutes ago, MMRF said:

Formal adoption severs the legal relationship and the daughter is no more than a friend in the eyes of immigration. 

 

Not when the child is biological child of applicant. OP says the child is biological child of her husband. A biological child cannot be just a friend.

Edited August 21 by OldUser

[Dashinka 26,107]

13 minutes ago, OldUser said:

Not when the child is biological child of applicant. OP says the child is biological child of her husband. A biological child cannot be just a friend.

I would qualify this to be the "suspected" biological child of the OP's spouse.  Until this is established, the relationship is just a friend.  How would the OP's spouse prove a biological relationship at this point?  The only option I see is a DNA test since the father is not listed on the BC.

[OldUser 10,377]

2 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

I would qualify this to be the "suspected" biological child of the OP's spouse.  Until this is established, the relationship is just a friend.  How would the OP's spouse prove a biological relationship at this point?  The only option I see is a DNA test since the father is not listed on the BC.

If the plan to file immigrant petition for the child in the future, IMHO it's best to determine whether it's a biological child or not now and avoid issues with misrep 

[laci1806 15]

4 hours ago, OldUser said:

In ideal world he'd investigate and establish whether the child is his  biologically or not before applying for N-400.

 

And of course, any biological child has to be listed on the form.

 

The idea he doesn't list biological child (if truly his) on N-400 and later sponsors the child for immigrant visa is wild. It would be a good reason for denaturalization.

 

And if he lists the child now, he may have severe issue not listing it on prior forms. I'd establish real biological relationship and consult with a lawyer before proceeding with filing N-400.

He isn't able to establish paternity because they live in Ukraine and he can't enter Ukraine with the war going on. She looks exactly like him so its a bit more than speculation, but yeah there's just no way to establish paternity right now. That's why I'm wondering if he should at least include a statement so later on it's clear he wasn't trying to lie.  On his prior forms, at that point he hadn't seen his daughter since she was a baby and there was some doubt if she was his child. But now seeing pictures of her its very clear she's his. 

[Dashinka 26,107]

4 minutes ago, laci1806 said:

He isn't able to establish paternity because they live in Ukraine and he can't enter Ukraine with the war going on. She looks exactly like him so it’s a bit more than speculation, but yeah there's just no way to establish paternity right now. That's why I'm wondering if he should at least include a statement so later on it's clear he wasn't trying to lie.  On his prior forms, at that point he hadn't seen his daughter since she was a baby and there was some doubt if she was his child. But now seeing pictures of her its very clear she's his. 

If it were me, I would create a statement, and take it with him to the interview unless there is a way to establish paternity prior.  He can explain the situation to the IO as they are reviewing his N400, and they can decide if the child should be added to the form.  He might also want to get a consult from a good immigration attorney as this is not a common situation.

 

Good Luck!

Edited August 21 by Dashinka

[Ontarkie 15,010]

Consult an immigration lawyer. It has been said on here so many times that adoption severs the parent child relationship. Legally once she was adopted she is no longer his child. Just because a child now looks like him does not mean it is his. Until dna test are established it is just an assumption. 

 

Not to mention if he lists her as his child they will want proof of child support For all those years.  That will stop his naturalization cold turkey.