GC holder's child born outside US

mksree2018

mksree2018

New Member
Hello,
We both couple and our elder son are GC holders, returned to India in Dec, 2021 with a re-entry permit and our re-entry permit expires in March 2024. We got our second child while in India in May 2022. We would like to return to US before our re-entry permit expires and wondering how to get our second child with us? He will be less than 2 years old by then and does he need any visa to enter US along with us? If so what visa do I need to get him?
Thank you.
 
So the mother is a green card holder?

A child born to a GC mother during a trip abroad, can be brought back to the US and enter the US as a GC holder without needing an immigrant visa, if the child is brought within 2 years of birth, along with either GC parent on that parent's first return to the US after the child's birth.

See 9 FAM 201.2-3.b(2):
(2) Child Born to an LPR: A child born of a Lawful Permanent Resident mother during a temporary visit abroad is not required to obtain an immigrant visa if

(a) seeking admission within 2 years of birth; and

(b) accompanied by either parent, who is applying for readmission upon first return after the birth of the child. The accompanying parent must be found admissible for the accompanying child to be eligible for admission without an immigrant visa.

(3) Requiring Reentry Document of Child’s Parent: The provisions of 9 FAM 201.2-3 paragraph b(1) and b(2) above apply only if the noncitizen parent is in possession of a valid Form I-551, a valid reentry permit, refugee travel document (lawful permanent resident only), an SB-1 visa, or other appropriate documentation consistent with 8 CFR 211.1(a). With respect to 22 CFR 42.1(d), it is irrelevant whether the visa issued to the accompanying parent is an initial visa or a replacement visa.

(4) Evidence of Parent-Child Relationship: Parents must present the child's birth certificate or other evidence of parentage for the child to qualify under the provisions of 9 FAM 201.2-3 paragraph b(1) and (b)(2) above.
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Airlines are allowed to board the child for travel to the US without a visa. See the CBP carrier information guide, page 2:
Exceptions
Child born abroad to lawful permanent resident may be boarded if the child was born during the temporary visit abroad of a mother who is a lawful permanent resident alien, or a national, of the United States. However, the child’s application for admission to the United States must be made within two years of birth and the child is accompanied by the parent who is applying for readmission as a permanent resident upon the first return of the parent to the United States after the birth of the child.
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However, many airlines will refuse to board the child without a visa. If that is the case, you would need to file I-131A with a US consulate to get carrier documentation which will explicitly tell the carrier that they can board the child for travel to the US. See the I-131A page, under Special Instructions:
If you have a child who was born outside the United States, you may need to request carrier documentation if:
  • You are an LPR or have an immigrant visa;
  • Your child is under 2 years old; and
  • Your child is traveling with you to come to the United States for the first time.
We recommend checking with your airline or transportation carrier first to ensure they will board your child in these circumstances without carrier documentation. If the airline or transportation carrier refuses to board your child without carrier documentation, you will need to pay for and submit a Form I-131A for your child.
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Hi mksree2018,
We entered with our baby born abroad and once neither of you have been travelled back to the US since their birth they will be issued an NA3 permanent residence visa by CBP at your port of entry. This will just be a stamp in their passport, in our case at least. Make sure to insist that you need their Alien 'A' number from CBP as not having it can slow applying for a social security number for them. Also it is great to have in case their is any delay in them receiving their Green Card. Ringing USCIS without an A number means they can track anything. Plus you can link your USCI account to their A number and see how their green card is progressing.
When flying to the US make sure you have US visa sized photographs when you are coming through CBP and have a real version of their birth certificate that you can give to CBP for the application which you will not received back so make sure to order a duplicate from your local birth registry office. After entry our baby's green card arrived about four months later.
All the best.
 
We are planning to go visit US in January 2024, before our son turn 2 years old in May. Does CBP provide any permanent residence document or do I have to apply for his green card again at USCIS?
We are actually visiting for only two weeks now in January 2024. We will permanently move again during the summer 2024, which may happen after my son turn 2 years. I hope that time there may not be an issue as he would have already got a stamp on his passport!!
Kindly provide if you have any feedback.
Thanks.
 
CBP should give an I-551 stamp as temporary proof of permanent residency, with the "NA3" class of admission. The I-551 stamp will allow them to re-enter the US after travel abroad. However, if you search old threads, there are reports of NA3 children not getting their green cards for months or even more than a year after entry, and difficulty inquiring about the status due to lack of an A number, and difficulty getting a Social Security Number for the same reason, etc.
 
Hello,
Sorry to hijack this forum.

Do you know if the same rules and recommendations discussed above apply to a child born through ART (surrogacy)?

We are an Indian LPR couple currently researching surrogacy options in Eastern Europe and want to do our due diligence from an immigration perspective.

The child will be an Indian citizen & passport holder. We can travel to India or travel back to the States directly from Georgia or Armenia.
 
mksree2018 said:
Hello,
We both couple and our elder son are GC holders, returned to India in Dec, 2021 with a re-entry permit and our re-entry permit expires in March 2024. We got our second child while in India in May 2022. We would like to return to US before our re-entry permit expires and wondering how to get our second child with us? He will be less than 2 years old by then and does he need any visa to enter US along with us? If so what visa do I need to get him?
Thank you.
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Hello,
We find ourselves in a similar situation to yours. We have been outside the U.S. for less than a year and are planning to return soon. I was hoping you could share your experience with us. Did you encounter any issues with the airline while boarding the flight? Additionally, did you have to obtain any special visa for your baby?

Your insights would be immensely helpful to us, and we would be extremely grateful for any information you can provide.

Thank you so much for your time and assistance.

Best regards,
Tom
 
offendj said:
Hello,
We find ourselves in a similar situation to yours. We have been outside the U.S. for less than a year and are planning to return soon. I was hoping you could share your experience with us. Did you encounter any issues with the airline while boarding the flight? Additionally, did you have to obtain any special visa for your baby?

Your insights would be immensely helpful to us, and we would be extremely grateful for any information you can provide.

Thank you so much for your time and assistance.

Best regards,
Tom
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Also interested by your feedback.
We're GC holders and we've been outside the US for more than a year. We have a valid reentry permit, our 1st son is American (born in the US). We will be travelling to the US soon with our baby who was born abroad (16mo).
Did your baby get a NA3 class of admission with a i-551 stamp as mentioned above? Did you encounter any issues/specific questions with CBP or airlines?
Thanks a lot for your answers!
 
TexasAggies said:
Hello,
Sorry to hijack this forum.

Do you know if the same rules and recommendations discussed above apply to a child born through ART (surrogacy)?

We are an Indian LPR couple currently researching surrogacy options in Eastern Europe and want to do our due diligence from an immigration perspective.

The child will be an Indian citizen & passport holder. We can travel to India or travel back to the States directly from Georgia or Armenia.
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Hello there! Were you able to bring your baby to the US? Did you have to apply for a visa for the baby or the procedure outlined above? I will appreciate your response
 
Hi there,
Coming here to tell you how it went for us.
We're GC holders and we've been outside the US for more than a year. We have a valid reentry permit, our 1st son is American (born in the US).
We had no issues. CBP asked us multiple questions (what's your job, who is your current employer, who was your employer in the US, why did you leave the US, how long are you staying in the US, where will you stay.. nothing tricky).
We probably made a mistake for our 1yo baby though (born abroad). CBP didn't add an i-551 stamp in his passport. I asked for it twice and CBP said he won't add it as we're staying only 3 weeks in the US so not needed. This is probably due to the fact that I applied for an esta for my baby, I was too afraid that they wouldn't let him board the airplane without it (which might have had happened though as they were already confused by our paperwork situation and I couldn't risk it).
 
Holo said:
Hi there,
Coming here to tell you how it went for us.
We're GC holders and we've been outside the US for more than a year. We have a valid reentry permit, our 1st son is American (born in the US).
We had no issues. CBP asked us multiple questions (what's your job, who is your current employer, who was your employer in the US, why did you leave the US, how long are you staying in the US, where will you stay.. nothing tricky).
We probably made a mistake for our 1yo baby though (born abroad). CBP didn't add an i-551 stamp in his passport. I asked for it twice and CBP said he won't add it as we're staying only 3 weeks in the US so not needed. This is probably due to the fact that I applied for an esta for my baby, I was too afraid that they wouldn't let him board the airplane without it (which might have had happened though as they were already confused by our paperwork situation and I couldn't risk it).
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So your baby was admitted as a visitor and not a LPR if you brought him in on an ESTA.
 
Sm1smom said:
So your baby was admitted as a visitor and not a LPR if you brought him in on an ESTA.
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This is a problem, right ? it has to be the GC parent’s first trip back to admit the child as lpr?

fpr others reading this - if you are worried about the airline boarding the baby, you can ask your nearest US consulate to issue what is known as a boarding foil for the baby which will show s/he can be admitted to the US. The procedure for this was described by newacct in the second post in the thread.
 
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Sm1smom said:
So your baby was admitted as a visitor and not a LPR if you brought him in on an ESTA.
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Thank you for your reply! So I just need to get a plain ticket for my baby and present his/her birth certificate to the immigration along with my green card?
 
Favour10 said:
Thank you for your reply! So I just need to get a plain ticket for my baby and present his/her birth certificate to the immigration along with my green card?
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Be sure to have an extra copy of the baby's b/c on hand because the submitted one will not be returned to you. I recommend you go through what both DV2022Ireland and newacct already wrote above for more guidance in terms of what yo need to do.
 
Sm1smom said:
So your baby was admitted as a visitor and not a LPR if you brought him in on an ESTA.
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That's correct. I wasn't sure if they could do something anyway but apparently not.
We didn't make the trip for that specific purpose so that's ok (at least we tried!) but I figured my feedback could help others!
 
Holo said:
That's correct. I wasn't sure if they could do something anyway but apparently not.
We didn't make the trip for that specific purpose so that's ok (at least we tried!) but I figured my feedback could help others!
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I guess that means you're aware you'll have to sponsor your child later on for their GC by filing an I-130 and attending a consular interview for a visa. Unless you do not plan on the child being a LPR.
 
Sm1smom said:
I guess that means you're aware you'll have to sponsor your child later on for their GC by filing an I-130 and attending a consular interview for a visa. Unless you do not plan on the child being a LPR.
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Currently a little over 3 years’ wait for this category to become current, which is beyond the expiry of the re-entry permit. I’m not convinced the poster has thought through all the ramifications of their decision.
 
I have a question regarding this topic as well,

we are LPR who live in Canada and have a newborn, however, after birth, I already crossed the border but without the baby.

will that be an issue or is the policy only for the mom and the baby?

for the birth certificate, can I make a certified copy of it and hand it to the officer along with his passport?

We are planning to apply for a re-entry permit on our trip back too, if the baby gets the i-551 stamp on his passport, should we use a re-entry for him as well?

PS:
- baby is born less than 5 months old,
- we have his b/c containing all our names in it
- waiting for his passport now as we plan to travel this Sept.
 
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