fiancee's child

[dale7570]

hello to everyone. i am in the early stages of the k-1 process. my fiancee lives in china and her daughter turned 17 on feb. 10th. my fiancee's ex has custody and will not give permission for the daughter to come to the usa. in addition, my fiancee wishes for her daughter to attend college in china and then bring her to america. her daughter will be 22 at this time. can someone please advise me on my options on how to do this? we will get married before the child turns 18.

Edited March 12, 2008 by dale7570 (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Over 21, Daughter of an American citizen gets priority (since you married before she turned 18) - you file an I-130 for her.

 

Search for 'visa bulletin' and go to the DOS site - it will tell you how long the wait is.

[TootTaLu]

hello to everyone. i am in the early stages of the k-1 process. my fiancee lives in china and her daughter turned 17 on feb. 10th. my fiancee's ex has custody and will not give permission for the daughter to come to the usa. in addition, my fiancee wishes for her daughter to attend college in china and then bring her to america. her daughter will be 22 at this time. can someone please advise me on my options on how to do this? we will get married before the child turns 18.

Thats so far in the future.

 

Its the Ex in China (child's natural father) refusing to give permission for the child to travel to USA.

 

Well,thats all there it to it then.

 

I think once the Chinese lady relocates to America,or demonstrates that she is REALLY going to America,the child's father will have a change of heart and realize the opportunities available to his daughter if he allows her to travel to America.

 

I would not push it,rather,let the Ex observe from a distance and he will probably figure it out for himself.

 

Its not as if the daughter is an infant,she's almost an adult.

[Randy W]

The daughter gets to make her own decision once she is 18.

[jim_julian]

Dale, at the risk of boring those who have heard it before, our family has some experience here that might offer some insight to your family to be.

 

First, the birth father is no problem. Your daughter will be 18 by the time the real decision comes and at 18 it's her decision, as Randy mentions.

 

Second, you may be overlooking an opportunity. We had the same birth father problem with our daughter so she took the K-2 follow to join route. She finished high school in China and then came to us in California about 11 months after her mother. Not sure what your exact time line is, perhaps the daughter will finish high school prior to her mom getting a K-1.

 

I'm also not sure why your intended wants her daughter to do college in China when she could easily go to college in the US. Getting into a good college in China is very very tough. Unless you have political pull you must score very well on a difficult and comprehensive examination.

 

Our daughter was in a two year community college here in California about 40 days after she entered the US. As long as you're a high school grad you get in ... it's how you perform once you're there that counts. Our daughter is now in her second full time semester carrying a 3.88 GPA and loving it. She takes a mix of American College English (ACE) courses and "regular" college courses. It will take her 2.5-3 years to complete the combined curriculum at which point she'll have an AA degree and will have completed the first two years of a four year degree in any University of California or California State University program. In California they "save spots" for two year college transferees and if she maintains a high GPA she is sure to get a spot.

 

I would urge you and your new family to strongly consider such a plan. It keeps the family together, is much easier from a visa perspective, and winds up with a US college degree which would be valuable even if your daughter returns to China as a young adult.

 

If your ladies are a little apprehensive about the idea of the daughter going to college in the US, PM or e-mail me and we can get them talking to my wife/daughter.

 

Good luck!

[hopelives]

Dale, at the risk of boring those who have heard it before, our family has some experience here that might offer some insight to your family to be.

 

First, the birth father is no problem. Your daughter will be 18 by the time the real decision comes and at 18 it's her decision, as Randy mentions.

 

Second, you may be overlooking an opportunity. We had the same birth father problem with our daughter so she took the K-2 follow to join route. She finished high school in China and then came to us in California about 11 months after her mother. Not sure what your exact time line is, perhaps the daughter will finish high school prior to her mom getting a K-1.

 

I'm also not sure why your intended wants her daughter to do college in China when she could easily go to college in the US. Getting into a good college in China is very very tough. Unless you have political pull you must score very well on a difficult and comprehensive examination.

 

Our daughter was in a two year community college here in California about 40 days after she entered the US. As long as you're a high school grad you get in ... it's how you perform once you're there that counts. Our daughter is now in her second full time semester carrying a 3.88 GPA and loving it. She takes a mix of American College English (ACE) courses and "regular" college courses. It will take her 2.5-3 years to complete the combined curriculum at which point she'll have an AA degree and will have completed the first two years of a four year degree in any University of California or California State University program. In California they "save spots" for two year college transferees and if she maintains a high GPA she is sure to get a spot.

 

I would urge you and your new family to strongly consider such a plan. It keeps the family together, is much easier from a visa perspective, and winds up with a US college degree which would be valuable even if your daughter returns to China as a young adult.

 

If your ladies are a little apprehensive about the idea of the daughter going to college in the US, PM or e-mail me and we can get them talking to my wife/daughter.

 

Good luck!

 

Wow this is why this site is so great, and insightful post and an unsolicited offer of help-jim

[TootTaLu]

Dale, at the risk of boring those who have heard it before, our family has some experience here that might offer some insight to your family to be.

 

First, the birth father is no problem. Your daughter will be 18 by the time the real decision comes and at 18 it's her decision, as Randy mentions.

 

Second, you may be overlooking an opportunity. We had the same birth father problem with our daughter so she took the K-2 follow to join route. She finished high school in China and then came to us in California about 11 months after her mother. Not sure what your exact time line is, perhaps the daughter will finish high school prior to her mom getting a K-1.

 

I'm also not sure why your intended wants her daughter to do college in China when she could easily go to college in the US. Getting into a good college in China is very very tough. Unless you have political pull you must score very well on a difficult and comprehensive examination.

 

Our daughter was in a two year community college here in California about 40 days after she entered the US. As long as you're a high school grad you get in ... it's how you perform once you're there that counts. Our daughter is now in her second full time semester carrying a 3.88 GPA and loving it. She takes a mix of American College English (ACE) courses and "regular" college courses. It will take her 2.5-3 years to complete the combined curriculum at which point she'll have an AA degree and will have completed the first two years of a four year degree in any University of California or California State University program. In California they "save spots" for two year college transferees and if she maintains a high GPA she is sure to get a spot.

 

I would urge you and your new family to strongly consider such a plan. It keeps the family together, is much easier from a visa perspective, and winds up with a US college degree which would be valuable even if your daughter returns to China as a young adult.

 

If your ladies are a little apprehensive about the idea of the daughter going to college in the US, PM or e-mail me and we can get them talking to my wife/daughter.

 

Good luck!

 

Wow this is why this site is so great, and insightful post and an unsolicited offer of help-jim

Exactly.

Were not supposed to be political here,but...Jim J. for President 2008.