Eligible to apply for citizenship, but don't have address of my child

V

victorymonkey

Registered Users (C)
Dear all,

I can now apply for citizenship since I've been married to the same woman for three years. The problem is that I have a child from a previous marriage and I was not in touch with my ex-wife at all since divorce.

One problem is that I do not know where she lives and on the form it is required to use the address.

The second problem is: she did not ask me for any child support since she married a rich person soon after we divorced. So on one hand I was not avoiding paying alimonies. On the other hand I do not have any court decisions with regard to alimonies as there was no court trial about this issue. I read in naturalization guide that I am required to provide evidence that I am providing child support (p. 52 of guide M-476). And I don't have any. Any tips?

(Unfortunately, since we did not end up in good terms I doubt that contacting the ex-wife would work).

Thanks a lot for in advance.
 
What does your divorce document say about child custody and support? I would guess that should be your starting point.
 
Were you ever ordered by a court of law to provide child support? If not, you would not have any evidence of child support payments.
 
1) The divorce document does not mention the child support issue at all. It just states that these two people (me and my ex-wife) are now divorced.

2) To Bobsmyth: I was never ordered by court to provide child support. My ex-wife never wanted this from me and never went to court about this.
And so in this you are right: I do not have any evidence of child support payment.
 
In that case it may best to get a letter from either from the court or state agency stating you don't owe any alimony payments.
 
I wanted to get an update and ask people's advice. I can get in touch now with my wife through our common friends (didn't do that yet) and

What would be the best thing to ask from her:

1) to write a letter stating that she does not want any financial support from me?

2) to write a letter stating that I was providing financial support without a court order? So that this way this whole subtle issue won't even show up.

And two more questions: should the letter from her be notarized and should I have any other documents (other than divorce certificate) with regards to this issue?

Thanks in advance.
 
Was the divorce in the US or outside US? If outside US, then a letter from your wife should be sufficient as proof. If in US, the divorce court should be able to provide letter stating there is no court ordered alimony.
 
Thank you for the answers! The divorce was outside of the US and both the ex and the child are outside as well.

Should the letter be notarized?
 
If possible yes, a notarized letter would be better, but not necessarily a requirement.
The IO may not even ask for proof at interview, but it's always a good idea to have documents ready.
 
child from a prvious marriage

Bobsmyth said:
If possible yes, a notarized letter would be better, but not necessarily a requirement.
The IO may not even ask for proof at interview, but it's always a good idea to have documents ready.
Click to expand...

i have a similar scenario. i have a child outside the usa and two here in the states who live with me. when i went for the interview, the IO asked me why the third child is outside the usa. i told her that child's mother is different from the other two and the child is living with the mother out of the country. she did not ask me for any other document. all she wrote on the form by the child's name is different mother. she did not ask me for any other document.
bob like you said, it is good to have a document just in case.
 
Your answers are making me feel so much better! Thanks so much! Looks like it might be doable after all.

1) Let me clarify one thing. It seems like both Bobsmyth and funky brother suggest that I need to have the letter but I don't even have to send it with my package. I just need to bring it for the interview. Is that correct?

2) funky brother: your situation does seem similar. So with regard to the third child who is outside the USA. Did you send any documents with regard to the financial support, or if not did you have them? I guess what I'm really asking is did you actually have proof of financial support for the third child and so if IO would ask it wouldn't be any issue anyway?
 
victorymonkey said:
Your answers are making me feel so much better! Thanks so much! Looks like it might be doable after all.

1) Let me clarify one thing. It seems like both Bobsmyth and funky brother suggest that I need to have the letter but I don't even have to send it with my package. I just need to bring it for the interview. Is that correct?

2) funky brother: your situation does seem similar. So with regard to the third child who is outside the USA. Did you send any documents with regard to the financial support, or if not did you have them? I guess what I'm really asking is did you actually have proof of financial support for the third child and so if IO would ask it wouldn't be any issue anyway?
Click to expand...

answers to your concern.

1) correct. do not send the documents with the package. do not add anything they have not asked for. keep them and send them with you to the interview, in case the IO ask. He/she may not even ask you.

2) i did not have any proof of any financial support with me since the child was outside the country, and there is no court order asking me to pay any support. But all the same, you do not have to take chances. Have the documents and keep them safely with you in case an IO asks you.
 
funky brother said:
answers to your concern.

1) correct. do not send the documents with the package. do not add anything they have not asked for. keep them and send them with you to the interview, in case the IO ask. He/she may not even ask you.

2) i did not have any proof of any financial support with me since the child was outside the country, and there is no court order asking me to pay any support. But all the same, you do not have to take chances. Have the documents and keep them safely with you in case an IO asks you.
Click to expand...

3) i have just read page 52 of the Guide to Nat. M -476. that statements says that if you have a dependent SPOUSE and CHILDREN who do not live with you ANDa) there is a government order or court order for you to provide support add that document and

b) add a document showing that you provide that support in the form of the ff: cabcelled checks, letter from the dependent etc.

since you do not have any order issued against you, you need not worry your head much. like bobsymth sugessted, just get them handy just in case.
 
My 2 cents...
Having had some experience with such issues, the whole situation may very well be a ticking bomb for the OP. Not in immigration sense, but in terms of family court.
Most (if not all) states consider father's financial obligation being a child's right, with no regard to the mother. As a result, any agreement between father and mother regarding child support, that was not finalized by the court, is considered invalid.
This leaves you open to a situation, when your child comes to the US years later, and files a motion with the court to collect back payments from you for the whole 18 years, which can amount to hundreds of thousands of $$. And the child will most certainly win, because in the eyes of law in most (all?) states you were evading child support.
Especially since you mentioned you parted not on good terms.
 
bebble said:
This leaves you open to a situation, when your child comes to the US years later, and files a motion with the court to collect back payments from you for the whole 18 years, which can amount to hundreds of thousands of $$. And the child will most certainly win, because in the eyes of law in most (all?) states you were evading child support.
Especially since you mentioned you parted not on good terms.
Click to expand...
If the child was born and raised outside the US, I don't think any US court would have the authority to rule on such a claim for retroactive child support.
 
Jackolantern said:
If the child was born and raised outside the US, I don't think any US court would have the authority to rule on such a claim for retroactive child support.
Click to expand...

They can potentially settle in the US and become a resident of some state. Since deadbeat fathers is a large domestic problem inside the US, pretty much no laws make any specifics about the cases where the child lives/was born abroad. But in unclear situations, their wording usually benefits plaintiffs, since those laws primarily target native US individuals avoiding payments.

And Family Court is the women's world...
 
bebble said:
They can potentially settle in the US and become a resident of some state. Since deadbeat fathers is a large domestic problem inside the US, pretty much no laws make any specifics about the cases where the child lives/was born abroad. But in unclear situations, their wording usually benefits plaintiffs, since those laws primarily target native US individuals avoiding payments.

And Family Court is the women's world...
Click to expand...


bebble,

i agree with you. the family court is the women's world, but the question at stake has not been answered. the question by the op is not about whether he pays child support or not but what he do should at this instance.
 
bebble said:
They can potentially settle in the US and become a resident of some state.
Click to expand...
If they do that after already living the first 18 years of their life outside the US, I don't think any US court can do anything about the child support money. That is a matter for the country(ies) where the child was living.
 
bebble said:
My 2 cents...
Having had some experience with such issues, the whole situation may very well be a ticking bomb for the OP. Not in immigration sense, but in terms of family court.
Click to expand...

As far as I understand I have this ticking bomb regardless what I do in my N-400 which I guess means that I shouldn't worry about it too much.
 
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