Children naturalization critical situation. Please clarify

K

kulla

Registered Users (C)
:confused: I am filing my citizenship application. I have a question about children status
Here are the details.
Before coming to USA ,I had was in love with a girl and we had an affair, But due to family problems we were not married. Then I came to USA and got married to a different girl (who is my wife now) and during our green card process my wife delivered a boy. Latter after getting the green card I went to India and found out that my lover gave birth to a girl and I am her father. I got this confirmed. My lover’s situation is very bad now. Now can I include the my daughter name in the Citizenship application (stating that she is living in India) and make her my legal daughter.
Is that possible, or is this going to delay my Naturalization? If I include her as my daughter ,how should I tell (because her mother is not my legal wife). Please clarify.
Eagerly waiting for your response.

Thanks
Kulla
 
Suggestion

Get your family's USC done first and once you have yours, you can adopt the girl. That is by far the fastest way you might be able to get that done unless someone else has other ideas. This would also involve your legal wife's agreement to adopt her!!!
 
kulla said:
:confused: I am filing my citizenship application. I have a question about children status
Here are the details.
Before coming to USA ,I had was in love with a girl and we had an affair, But due to family problems we were not married. Then I came to USA and got married to a different girl (who is my wife now) and during our green card process my wife delivered a boy. Latter after getting the green card I went to India and found out that my lover gave birth to a girl and I am her father. I got this confirmed. My lover’s situation is very bad now. Now can I include the my daughter name in the Citizenship application (stating that she is living in India) and make her my legal daughter.
Is that possible, or is this going to delay my Naturalization? If I include her as my daughter ,how should I tell (because her mother is not my legal wife). Please clarify.
Eagerly waiting for your response.

Thanks
Kulla
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You need legal advice. You HAVE to mention your daughter in India on the N-400 form. If you don't you are lying and that is a big no-no.

Do the following BEFORE you apply.
1. Schedule a 20-30 minute consultation with a good immigration lawyer and explain the whole situation.
2. 2bc's advice is WRONG. 2bc is suggesting lying on the N-400 form and please don't do that.
3. Apply only after you have good legal advice. This may delay in your filing the N-400 form but it is worth it.
4. Most likely the lawyer will ask you to be truthful on the N-400 form and mention your daughter in India. Having a child out-of-wedlock is NOT grounds for denial of US Citizenship. Some paperwork may be needed.
 
I'm not an expert or particularly experienced here, but if you have a child living abroad, shouldn't you be paying child support, and showing that you are doing so on the N-400.

Yes, do not lie. That's the worst thing you can do.
 
Just to be clear about this - irrespective of whether you mention your overseas daughter on your N-400 (which of course you should), it will not automatically make her a US citizen because she is neither in your custody nor a GC holder.
 
boatbod is right. I also read between the lines of the original poster that he was expecting the child to become a citizen by including the child in the N-400. This is not the case, and it is probably going to be of no benefit for the child that you include her in your N-400. You would still have to apply for a Green card for her, and then when you become a citizen and the child gets the GC then she will become a citizen. The N-400 has no bearing in this. You should do a search in this forum or the internet for the child citizenship act.

My 2 cents.
 
boatbod said:
The child doesn't necessarily have to have a GC, but in all cases, the USC parent must have custody of the child.

Its all described in the Child Citizenship Act of 2000
Click to expand...

It says:
"Be admitted as an immigrant for lawful permanent residence."

This is splitting hairs, you don't need a physical GC, but you need to have the child approved for permanent resident, at least a passport stamp should help to obtain a passport for the child.
 
I'm not splitting hairs, but it doesn't sound to me like the poster has custody of the child in india. Under those circumstances, it matters not whether they come to the US with or without a GC - they still don't qualify for derived citizenship until legal custody is sorted out.
 
I think the issue of child support will also come up at the interview.
My understanding is that if an N-400 applicant has children that are not living with him/her, the IO will want to see a proof that the applicant is providing adequate financial child support. I think this is related to establishing "good moral character".
 
REAL FACTS what are the adoption rules ,Is there a age limit for taking adoption.

:confused: Hello Everybody,
Thanks for the suggestions and responses. Here is the fact, I didn’t know that I have a daughter till 2005 ,and she is 12 years old and till now I didn’t give any financial support to the daughter because my daughter’s mother is financially good, (but I mentioned she is in bad situation now (i.e.) health wise ,She may not live longer ,she is diagnosed with cancer.
After I becoming US citizen can I adopt her .what are the adoption rules ,Is there a age limit for taking adoption.
Please clarify.

Thanks
Kulla
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Rules & Others

kulla said:
:confused: Hello Everybody,
Thanks for the suggestions and responses. Here is the fact, I didn’t know that I have a daughter till 2005 ,and she is 12 years old and till now I didn’t give any financial support to the daughter because my daughter’s mother is financially good, (but I mentioned she is in bad situation now (i.e.) health wise ,She may not live longer ,she is diagnosed with cancer.
After I becoming US citizen can I adopt her .what are the adoption rules ,Is there a age limit for taking adoption.
Please clarify.

Thanks
Kulla
Click to expand...


You might have to carefully go through this:

http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/country/country_398.html
 
boatbod said:
I'm not splitting hairs, but it doesn't sound to me like the poster has custody of the child in india. Under those circumstances, it matters not whether they come to the US with or without a GC - they still don't qualify for derived citizenship until legal custody is sorted out.
Click to expand...

You're right. Now I get what your point was. We can settle in that all the points mentioned to qualify for the child citizenship act have to be met, and that one of them is the custody of the child (legal and physical).
I have no idea about this kind of situation, but as the girl is the natural child of the poster what will he need to do? I don't think he needs to do an adoption, probably just recognize the girl and get his name included in the birth certificate or something like that. For the poster wife I don't know what the advantages or disadvantages, or whether she needs to file any adoption papers. From a citizenship and immigration point of view it is likely that she doesn't need to adopt the girl, as the parent getting citizenship is going to be enough to transfer citizenship to the girl when she meets all the points of the child citizenship act.
It is probably advisable to get a consultation with a lawyer to straighten out this. I don't think the poster's potential application for naturalization is complicated, but he might want to be aware of potential pitfalls, one of them being child support. However, as he didn't know about the child's existance and the mother being alright financially and not apparently needing child support I think plays in favor of the poster, but I have no experience on these kinds of things.

My 2 cents.
 
Huracan said:
You're right. Now I get what your point was.
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LOL - sometimes my brain thinks more clearly than the words my fingers are typing . :p

Huracan said:
... but I have no experience on these kinds of things.
Click to expand...
Same here.

What bothers me more, is whether the mother of this child even wants to give up her custody and have the child move to the US.
 
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