Having a daughter after receiving immigrant visa but before entering the US

Ahmed123

New Member
Hello guys,

I have a very critical case. My wife is American and I attended the immigration visa interview and waiting to receive it. My wife is pregnant. The law states that she has to enter the US before or at least concurrently with me. She will not be able to travel before giving birth. What is the case of my daughter when she is born? What type of visa will she need so that we all travel together? What documentations will be needed?
 
If your wife is a US citizen, then most likely the child will automatically be a US citizen at birth. You haven't given enough information to tell; but for a child born abroad, in wedlock, to one US-citizen parent and one alien parent, as long as the US-citizen parent has been physically present in the US in any status any time in her life before the child's birth for a total of at least 5 years, including 2 years after she turned 14, then the child is automatically a US citizen at birth. If the daughter is a US citizen at birth, then she should get a CRBA and a US passport to travel to the US.
 
Thank you very much for your reply. My wife hasn't lived enough in the US to pass the citizenship directly to my daughter. She only visited for very short intervals.
 
Normally, your wife would petition the daughter to immigrate with I-130, and go through consular processing to receive an immigrant visa, the same as was done for you. However, if your daughter is born after you are issued your immigrant visa, it may be possible to avoid that process, because there is a rule that a child born after a parent receives an immigrant visa and before they use it to enter the US, can go along with that parent (you) to the US, and immigrate (as if they had an immigrant visa) without needing a visa. See 9 FAM 42.1 N1.1. Although no entry document is needed (other than the child's birth certificate) from the perspective of the US, you may need to get a transportation letter from the US consulate for the purpose of satisfying the airline and/or the origin country's exit controls. The US consulate may require you to apply for a CRBA and be denied in order to make sure that the child is not a US citizen.
 
Wow! I cannot thank you enough for your reply. Yes, this is exactly our case. And more thanks for the supporting evidence.
 
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