jacobincambodia

Hmm...seems like there are some differences in my case. I hope it's as simple as his passport app. I really don't want to go down the court route!

So, there are a couple options but unfortunately the ones I know of are long and a bit complicated. I only have knowledge about adult name changes, so maybe I'm off the mark here. You can have the name changed in the passport by getting him a new passport, it varies by country how that is done, but as you can see that is pretty slow and requires a lot of effort. The other option is a legal name change in the US...this totally depends on your State. Every State has its own procedure for that.

I think for children there must be a faster way to get the name changed. I could be wrong though. But I feel like in the case of an adoption this should be pretty common.

Found an old thread about it: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/401624-name-change-for-our-9-years-old-son/

That thread ended by saying that adoption would make it easier, it seems like once you apply for the citizenship the name change option will be offered for sure.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/474868-changing-my-daughters-surname-after-adoption/

Thank's for the speedy response! If his adoption decree wouldn't be sufficient enough, what other way would I be able to get his name changed? He's not getting a green card since his immigration visa status (IR2) automatically grants him citizenship and operates as an I-551 for one or two years. I can't remember for sure.

Congrats on the visa approval. His passport is going to be his official ID in terms of his name. I'm not sure if the adoption decree would be enough evidence to get it changed, but in the meantime he'll have to be under his old name.

When you go to apply for the US passport, there might be an option for a name update/name change. I hope someone else can comment to confirm that. But until the 'official' change, he'll have to keep using the old one....that goes for the GC as well.

Recently, my adopted son gained entry to the U.S. via an immigrant visa (IR2), which we were so excited about. Can't believe it's actually happened!

Ok, here's my question:

-His passport has his original name

-His immigrant visa has his original name

-His original birth certificate has his original name

-His adoption decree has his NEW name (my last name)

-I haven't received his social security card yet, but I believe they used the same name as his immigrant visa

I want to get a U.S. Passport for him with his new name (my last name, like the adoption decree).

I can't find clear direction on the best route for this. Would appreciate any help or advice! Thanks so much.

Thank you! Not having to go through the NVC expedited the process greatly. So thankful!

Congratulations!!

I'm so thrilled! Just got word that my son's immigrant visa was issued today. It's been a long time coming and I'm so glad it's over!

Question: is a social security card automatically issued? What evidence is sufficient enough for a U.S. Passport?

Thanks everyone!

Thanks so much!

That's good to know. I know that we basically have to create a case that convinced the officer that we will bring our son back to Cambodia. This forum is so vast, can you direct me to a couple of posts related to my situation? I've done a search for IR2, but can't seem to find anything related to the circumstances we are facing. Thanks and congrats on your citizenship!

It's about intent. There is obvious immigrant intent. It is presumed with every tourist visa applicant, anyway.
You can try, you'd only lose the application fee, it wouldn't negatively impact the future petition even if it's denied.

USCIS doesn't have it since it's not approvable. The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh has it on file. If the I-130 isn't approvable, it makes sense that we should be able to get a tourist visa since we haven't officially entered the immigration process. I hope so, anyways!

Would USCIS deny it? Wouldn't they just keep it pending till next year and approve it once it's been two years since the adoption?
If they deny it, you can re-file once it's been two years.

It's hard to ascertain when the legal custody began. I suppose it could be that while you were fostering "legal custody" still wasn't yours? It's hard to say and apparently theConsulate in Cambodia and USCIS in Thailand see it differently.

Hard to say what will happen, I'm assuming worst case scenario they'll have you wait until it's been two years since the adoption. At that point it will be no different from petitioning for a biological child.

Really appreciate your response. You are right. I guess what's frustrating is that the U.S. Embassy here in Phnom Penh has been doing it this way (based on foster care) for the last several years. It's like a few government folks were sitting around a table and decided to revisit the idea. Why so abrupt? If the USCIS comes back with an intent to deny, what recourse do we have? Also, what are your thoughts about getting a tourist visa in the meantime (possible, good idea)?

Hello, I stumbled on Visa Journey in my search for answers in this crazy quest of getting my adopted son immigrated. I can't find a specific forum related to the IR2 category, so any assistance would be great.

A little backstory:

My wife and I moved to Cambodia in 2010 and have been here since. We ended up completing a local adoption (full and final, granted by the court) in Cambodia and it was completed in October 2015. However, we secured local Foster Care in September 2014.

About a year ago, we submitted our I-130 at the U.S. Embassy here in Phnom Penh. They petitioned to the USCIS in Bangkok so that we could file here since this is where we currently reside. Once we began to prepare documents and evidence for the I-130 submission, we felt confident we had met all the criteria including the 2 year legal custody requirement. However, the documents we had didn't meet the mark. The U.S. Embassy offered to hold our I-130 and file it once we met the 2 year legal custody mark in September 2016 based on our approved foster care status in September 2014. Hope this makes sense so far.

Come September, 2016, we received a call from the U.S. Embassy and they received word from USCIS in Bangkok and there was some disagreement about whether or no foster care is considered "legal custody" from a Cambodian perspective. This came as a surprise to us, as we had been under the assumption that our I-130 was going to be filed/approved come September 2016 based on our Immigration Visa Interview had been scheduled for the end of this month. It's odd the embassy would schedule our interview before actually filing our I-130. I don't understand why it just came up as an issue. The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh seems to be on our side and it trying to persuade USCIS since they are the ones who have experience here. We have been working for the last several years to completed the adoption in Cambodia and we finally did it. It was a such a journey for my wife and I. We had been hoping to travel home next month and fully celebrate our son's immigration status. We just don't know if it's going to happen now. Worst case is that we have to wait another year as they will use our adoption decree which was finalized October 2015 as the two year requirement.

Steps we've taken so far:

-Continue to be in contact with the embassy asking for updates.

-Contacted my local congressman in Colorado. As of last week, they made an official inquiry on our behalf. Any experience with this? Has this been helpful for anyone?

Other Options:

-Tourist visa so we can travel home for the holidays. Thoughts on this? Since we've somewhat entered the immigration process, can we still get approved?

Thanks everyone -- VisaJourney seems to be a wonderful resource!