Usaph

On 11/1/2022 at 7:08 PM, Dimpna said:

Hello everyone! Who among you here from Pittsburgh, PA attended their oath taking before at US Courthouse?! Can you take any family members with you during the oath or not? Thank you!

On 11/1/2022 at 8:56 PM, D-R-J said:

My wife’s oath ceremony is coming up and we were wondering the same thing. I hope someone will chime in with some useful information for you.

What was your experience, did they allow any family members as guests?

8 minutes ago, Chancy said:

*** Moved from Bringing Family of USC forum to the Philippines regional forum, for country-specific input ***

 

 

Easiest to change the child's name after US immigration.  Your spouse is planning to adopt your child anyway, right?  You can do a name change for the child as part of the stepparent adoption process.  Minor child name change petition (without adoption) through state court is also an option.  Either option is a much more straightforward process in the US than in the Philippines.

 

To change the child's surname in the Philippines would require a PSA birth certificate correction or a name change through the court system.  PSA BC correction would not be an option for changing to your spouse's surname as your spouse is not the biological parent.  Surname change through PH court order would only be an option after the child turns 18 years old.

 

 

Thanks! Yes spouse will adopt but we know that will take some time. We really want our child to have the same last name as soon as possible in the US. We'll look into the name change process to see if it can be done quicker in the US while we figure out the adoption paperwork.

I immigrated to the US on a fiance visa and married a few years ago. We're working on bringing my minor child from the Philippines to the US through the IR2 process petition by stepparent.

We're still waiting on the child's visa, but can we somehow change my child's last name to my married last name?

Or do we need to wait until immigration is complete?

Not sure what is easiest but we want to have all the same last name.

18 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

Your plan to reschedule your oath ceremony after you return to the US from your trip is good 👍  Are you a Philippine citizen?  If so, remember that legally, your PH passport is voided the moment you take your US oath.

 

Thanks for the affirmation. Yes that is correct.

2 hours ago, iwannaplay54 said:

FYI our oath ceremony last year was about a month after the interview.  Based on what you’re saying it would have fallen in the middle of your planned trip.

At the interview it would be good to carefully explain your situation and ask for your ceremony appointment to be scheduled a few weeks out.  

Good to know. Yes it seems likely it would fall when I'm away, so I plan to provide reasoning and evidence that this is just a one time trip to visit family and will take the oath at the next available time upon return.

How long after your interview/exam did you find the oath ceremony time? Is it mailed within a few days of passing the interview? Or do I need to be concerned about missing the letter in the mail while out of the country?

11 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Traveling between interview and oath wobble a problem unless you violate physical presence requirements.  

Understood. Very far from it. This is the only major trip except a couple days north of the border.

Thanks for your help! It seems like it might be best to delay the oath ceremony until after the trip, although on N-445 the answer is yes to travel outside the US. I think I have good arguments and evidence it was just to visit family since it's been many years. I just didn't expect this fast of a turnaround. From what I've read it looks like several month trips or multiple trips looks like you don't have allegiance which is why they ask that question.

I'll continue researching but appreciate any other insight into this. Particularly with the N445 travel question.

And also regarding flexibility with oath scheduling. Basically I will provide a letter saying that I cannot attend due to visiting my parents on trip scheduled in advance with a return ticket, and I will be available after return date which I will not miss for any reason.

Sound like a good plan?

8 minutes ago, Lil bear said:

  If you are offered a same day oath ceremony you can get your passport in time if you can work the logistics 

 

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast.html
 

you can get a passport for emergency travel. It requires an in person visit to a passport office .. my closest one was 5 hrs drive each way.. and some careful timing in booking an appt .. appt xan only be made via phone no more than 10 business days prior to the travel date 

 

10 business days before your travel, call the number on the link above and get an appt at the passport office. Have your booking details in hand as you will be asked for the record locator 

 

Attend the oath ceremony and receive your certificate. 
 

Fill out and print the passport application. Consider applying for a passport card also. Get your photos printed. Gather any other documents required .. birth certificate, marriage certificate etc  .. and photocopy your naturalization certificate.  ( several good quality copies)!

 

Attend the passport office appt.. hang around for 2-5 hrs .. return to the office and pick up your passport and naturalization  certificate 

 

return home

 

breathe 

 

pack 

 

enjoy !!! 

Wow that sounds intense but maybe possible. Nearest for me is 4 hours so not too bad. I'll try calling them on Monday. Thanks!

9 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Attend the appointment. Decline same day oath.  Inform ISO of your travel plans. Don’t miss the second oath appointment. You only get two chances.

Thanks. Any idea when the second oath is after the first? As this will be a month long trip.

As excited as we are to have a naturalization appointment scheduled in April, we are leaving on a trip to the Philippines very shortly after. We weren't expecting the turnaround to be so quick so we thought it would be after. Now it puts us in a dilemma.

From what it looks like, as a US citizen they will not accept a foreign passport when entering and leaving the US, correct?

Turnaround time for a US passport in that short of a timeframe seems impossible.

Can we ask for a delay of the naturalization appointment due to this?

Otherwise it's going to cost thousands of dollars to reschedule this trip.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Has anyone let their spouse fill their N400 on your account? My account has a pending I-130 and we'd like to use my account with my name on it rather than create another account. Is this okay or frowned upon?

4 hours ago, jskibo said:

Not Pennsylvania, but to give you an idea of costs, I hired an attorney in Kentucky and start to finish was $1000 and 7 months. Most of the waiting was background checks on me as they missed that I lived in three states in the past 10 years. 

 

My employer has a benefit that covers adoption fees up to $5000 so it was an easy choice to go the lawyer route. New birth certificate issued about 6 weeks after the final hearing. 

Good to know, thanks for that.

22 hours ago, Family said:

Your own Family Law Courts have a Legal Aide clinic and will also be able to refer you to any non profits or Family Attorneys that offer pro bono ( free) limited scope help. 
So I recommend, you start by making some calls and even take a trip there to get local referrals. As you said, it is a legal process through the Courts that you are trying to DIY . Challenging but possible and I am sure many will help you. 
Good Luck 

I'll check into that, thanks.

30 minutes ago, Family said:

Here you go , a complete guide. Read it slowly and see adopting a foreign born child . Good luck 

https://www.montcopa.org/3654/Adoption-Packet

Thanks that's about the only good resource I could find so far.

20 minutes ago, Family said:

Think through your reasons for adoption, the one you just provided is not a good one as ALL immigrants can function just fine w a foreign birth certificate all the way from LPR to USC status. 
If you choose to adopt as a stepfather, it should be because of your own moral conviction that you want to make a life time legal commitment as parent to this child …no matter what may happen to marriage w the child’s mother .

 

 

Oh yeah that part is already determined. We're just trying to do all the legal stuff too.

3 minutes ago, Boiler said:

The child has a birth certificate and you can only be born once. 

 

Names can be changed so depends on the etc.

 

Adoption seems to be unusual and I can see why, and of course the procedure unlike Immigration varies by State.

The state issues a birth certificate which will certainly make things easier in life in the US. Much easier to show and explain a US birth certificate compared to international.

My wife's young child still lives in the Philippines with grandparents and we're in the process of I-130. Next step once they are here I believe is the adoption process so we all have the same last name, US birth certificate, etc. We reside in PA and I cannot find any good resources online for what paperwork to file, and calling the local court is no help.

Seems straightforward, as wife has full custody, but we cannot figure out what we need to do as far as paperwork goes.

Does anyone have experience on this for Pennsylvania? We've done all the immigration paperwork on our own thanks to this website and we hate to pay for a lawyer as immigration in itself is so expensive, but if we need to go that route we will. Any idea what that would even cost?

Thanks as always!

12 hours ago, RO_AH said:

They would only tell you to go to the consulate that handles your jurisdiction.

Got it, thanks. Another NYC trip it is.

15 minutes ago, RO_AH said:

If you live in Pennsylvania your Consulate is NY. It's more about Jurisdiction than location.

http://www.philippineshonolulu.org/index.php?page=consulate-finder-main

So the DC consulate basically wouldn't help someone from PA?

For report of marriage in US we had to go to the New York City consulate due to us being married and living in Pennsylvania. Washington DC would've been closer and easier but somewhere we were instructed we had to go to NYC.

Now we need to go again for an affidavit of support and consent and special power of attorney for a minor child getting a new Philippines passport. Can we go to any Philippines consulate or embassy for that, or is it based on state like the record of marriage?

Thanks!

24 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

Based on your other thread, you're referring to your stepchild, not your biological child, right?  If so, the I-130 requirement you quoted above is not the one that applies to you.  For a USC parent petitioning a stepchild, the family relationship evidence you must submit are: your marriage certificate with your wife (the child's biological mom), the child's birth certificate, and marriage termination documents of your prior marriages (if any).  That's all.  Refer to item H on page 8 of the I-130 instructions -- https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-130instr.pdf

 

Thank you for the clarification! This terminology confuses me sometimes but you really helped by pointing out the right category for our situation.

I'm e-filing I-130 and my wife's child was born out of wedlock. Birth father is not listed on the child's birth certificate.

On the I-130 instuctions, it says:

Quote

A child born out of wedlock and you are the father: Submit evidence that you and the mother were married 
while the child was under 18 years of age, or submit evidence that the child was legitimated under the law of the 
child’s residence or domicile, or under the law of your residence or domicile, before the child reached 18 years of 
age. If your child was not legitimated before reaching 18 years of age, you must file your petition with copies of 
evidence that a bona fide parent-child relationship existed between you and the child before the child reached 21 
years of age. This may include evidence that you lived with the child, supported him or her, or otherwise showed 
continuing parental interest in the child’s welfare.

We can easily document the first part in bold (marriage certificate + child's birth certificate). The 2nd part of that sentence after the "or" doesn't apply. Then it goes into the underlined part - do we need to provide that evidence too? I'm not entirely sure what that means. Thanks in advance for any help.

1 hour ago, aaron2020 said:

You as the USC stepparent should file an I-130 for your stepchild.  The immigration process will take 1-2 years.

 

Do the adoption AFTER the child immigrates to the US.  Stepparent adopting a spouse's child is fairly easy to do in state court in the US.  

Ok thanks for the feedback. We will start on the I-130 immediately and contact our court so we know what information they will need.

My wife came out K1 visa in 2019, and at the time we did not apply for her child (under 10) to come with. Now we are ready for that process but have some questions.

Do we follow the I-130 with me as the petitioner since she is not yet a citizen?

The child is in Philippines with my wife's parents. My wife has full custody. We live in Pennsylvania. Does anyone know what the adoption process is like? Do we do that before or after the child arrives in the US?

Anything else we need to consider now? About how long does this process take?

On 7/11/2020 at 4:50 AM, Hank_ said:

 

Use this>>>>>   https://philippineembassy-usa.org/report-of-marriage-application-by-mail/

 

 

Passport:   Personally I would only send certified/notarized copies, but that is me.  (sending my original passport would make me nervous for sure, sometimes the Philippine government goes off the cliff with their requirements)

 

Green Card:  I would only send certified copies of the Green Card.  The card itself is required to be carried by the LPR at all times.        PSA birth certificate is listed 

 

Section 264(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (I.N.A.) requires all lawful permanent residents (LPRs) to have “at all times” official evidence of LPR status. ... In the time before receiving the green card in the mail, the LPR would have to carry his or her passport “at all times” or risk breaking the law.

Philippineembassy-usa.org lists birth certificate, but newyorkpcg.org does not. We're going to NYC. Should we include it just to be safe?

Since she didn't have green card at time of marriage, then we'd send certified passport copy showing the K1 visa stamp, correct?

Thanks so much!

3 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Only thing notarized was the multiple copies of the ROM application.   What do you mean by packet 1?

Gotcha, thanks. I meant "set" 1.

1. First Set – Original Report of Marriage (ROM) application and certified true copy of documents.
2. Second Set – Original ROM application and copy of documents.
3. Third Set – same as second set.
4. Fourth Set - same as second set.
5. Fifth Set - same as second set. (If applying for a Philippine passport after the Civil Registry application)