Choosing to relocate your family to a new country is a big decision. The complicated procedure of bringing your child from another country to the United States may seem overwhelming. Don’t worry; many families complete this process each year!
According to US Citizenship and Immigration Services, about 300,000 children were brought into the country by parents in 2021. Before starting this trip, you must become familiar with the necessary processes and immigration laws.
However, you can get through the process if you prepare well and have patience. This article will break down all it entails to relocate your child to the United States without stress!
Understanding the US Immigration Law on Who Qualifies as a Child
A child, as defined by US immigration law, is an unmarried person under 21. After turning 21, an individual has “aged out” of being eligible for certain family-based immigrant visas. At that point, they are no longer regarded as children for immigration purposes.
For older immigrant children and their families, “aging out” poses a serious risk because it necessitates that the children resubmit their applications under new conditions and possibly wait a lot longer to receive green card status.
The Child Status Protection Act was passed by the US government to stop this from happening as frequently and to prevent children from aging out due to long processing backlogs by immigration agencies.
Required Documents to Petition My Child to Come to the United States
As the petitioner, you must present specific documentation to bring your child into the country. Form I-130, or the Petition for Alien Relative. Evidence of your US citizenship, which may include the following:
- A copy of your US passport or
- A copy of your US birth certificate
- A copy of the Consular Report of Birth Abroad or
- A copy of your certificate of citizenship
- A copy of your naturalization certificate
If you are a lawful permanent resident, you should show your immigration status:
- A copy of the green card (Form I-551)
- A copy of your foreign passport showing temporary proof of your permanent residency
Please document any name changes your child may have had. Presenting a divorce decree, adoption decree, marriage license, court order modifying one’s name, etc., may fall under this category.
What Proof of Parent-Child Relationship Do I Have to Submit?
The following are the documents that you have to submit depending on your relationship with the child:
- Biological mother or a non-genetic legal gestation mother: The child’s birth certificate issued by civil authorities
- Biological father: A copy of the child’s birth certificate issued by civil authorities
- A copy of the marriage certificate if married to the child’s biological or legal gestational mother.
- Proof of marriage’s annulment or legal dissolution if no longer married to the child’s mother
But suppose you, as the father, were never married to the child’s biological mother before the child turned 18. In that case, the documents you need to present may differ.
If local laws of your child’s place of residence acknowledge that the child was legitimized, you do not need to produce more information. However, if your child was not legitimized under the law, you should submit evidence that you had a genuine father-child relationship before the child turned 21 or entered into marriage.
These documents should show proof of your emotional or financial support in your child’s life.
- Stepparent: A copy of the stepchild’s birth certificate issued by civil authorities
- A copy of your marriage certificate to the parent of the stepchild
- Proof of legal termination of all other previous marriages for you and the biological or gestational parent
- Adoptive parent: A copy of the original birth certificate of the adopted child
- A copy of the adoption decree of the child
- Proof that you had two years of legal custody of the child
- Evidence that you had two years of physical custody of the child
Can my Child Relocate to the US While the Immigrant Visa Petition is Pending?
Yes. After filing Form I-130, if you are a citizen of the United States, your child may apply for a nonimmigrant K-4 visa. As long as the application for permanent resident status is underway, your child will be allowed to enter the country.
Your child can live, work, and attend school in the US with a K-4 visa. Form I-129F can be submitted to apply for this benefit. Recall that your child does not need to possess a K-4 visa.
This is the sole choice for parents who want to be with their kids while the petition is being processed. Your child may remain in their country of origin while the Alien Relative Petition (Form I-130) is being processed abroad.
Steps to Petition for Your Child’s US Visa
To petition your child to live in the United States, you need to take the following steps:
- Fill out the petition: Complete the Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130)
- Submit the petition: After completing the form, please submit it to the USCIS Lock Box facility or the US Consular office. You should submit this form along with other supporting documents.
- Pay the filing fee: The USCIS gives detailed instructions on how to file an immigrant fee.
- Wait for the acknowledgment receipt: After you submit the petition and pay the filing fee, the USCIS will send a notice of receipt. Sometimes, the USCIS may ask for more documents, such as further evidence or documentation.
- Receipt of USCIS approval notice: Once the USCIS approves your petition, it will get forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC). After that, you will receive an approval notice (Form I-797). This notice will have the “priority date,” which is vital in tracking your child’s availability of the US immigrant visa.
- Watch the US Visa Bulletin: It is crucial to check the visa bulletin regularly, published monthly by the US Department of State. Here, you can check the visa availability of your child’s preference category.
- Undergo a medical examination: Your child should undergo a medical exam from an approved physician. The USCIS website has a directory of approved civil surgeons.
- Attend the visa interview: Your child must attend the scheduled visa interview with the USCIS office, the US consulate, or the embassy. The child must participate in this interview and bring all the required documents. Preparing the child to answer questions related to their background is also essential.
- Final decision and immigrant visa issuance: Once the USCIS approves the visa petition, the next step will depend on whether the child is inside or outside the United States. If the child is inside the United States, you may apply for adjustment of status by filing Form I-485. This will allow your child to change their status from nonimmigrants to lawful permanent residents. However, the approved visa petition will be forwarded to the NVC for processing if the child is outside the US. The NVC will then coordinate the case with the US consulate in the child’s home country for consular processing.
- Traveling to the United States: Once the child has a US visa, they can travel there. They must bring all the immigrant documents provided by the US embassy, US consulate, or the NVC, along with their passport and travel documents.
I-130 Processing Time
USCIS handles I-130 petitions according to priority order in each category. Setting a priority date to get on this wait-list as soon as possible is crucial. In addition, the petitioner is required to provide a well-formatted, error-free Form I-130 packet.
The approval process for Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, can take several years for family preference categories and ranges from 10 to 14 months for immediate relatives after it is filed.
This is a rough estimate. For some people, it can be shorter and longer for others. Remember that you can use your receipt number to monitor the status of your case online.
The typical processing periods for an I-130 petition are also listed on the USCIS website. You can make a case inquiry if you believe your case is outside the average I-130 processing time.
