K4

[James]

I think I have mentioned this issue here before, but maybe not in full.

I need some help.

 

My wife has a 3-year-old daughter. Her ex-husband and his parents have the daughter six days a week, and my wife gets her on Sundays.

 

He will not sign permission to allow us to take the daughter to live in the U.S.

I have not filed an I-130 for her daughter yet.

 

My questions are:

 

-Does the ex-husband have to sign permission for her daughter to leave, in order for Guangzhou to issue the K4 visa?

-What does Chinese family law have to say about this?

-Should I file an I-130 for her daughter, in case the ex-husband changes his mind in the future?

-Any ideas on what I should do or where I should go for advice?

[keelec]

Patrick & Li had a similar situation.

 

Send them a PM or E-Mail and they might be able to shed some light on your situation. Also, ask them to stop by and say hello!!!

 

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....CODE=03&MID=576

 

I believe that Li had sole custody of the child, but the ex-husband wanted to play games with them.

 

In the end, I believe that they gave her Ex a "gift", and he finally consented to letting the child go.

 

I think the biggest issue is that the child is unable to get an international passport without the ex-husband's consent. And, despite what it says on the OF-169, the child IS REQUIRED TO HAVE A PASSPORT.

 

Of course, your case is different from any that I have seen discussed because the EX has primary custody of the child.

 

If you apply for both the K3 and K4 at the same time, there is something about children following their parents with the visa. But, I believe that there is a finite amount of time that this is valid for, perhaps a year. As long as your stepchild is young, there should not be an issue with her getting a visa in the future (somebody can verify this), going through a similar process to what your wife is going through now. The notable exception is that I don’t believe that “namechecks” are done on children younger than 16.

 

Another option that you should consider.

Once your wife gets settled in. Invite your stepdaughter to visit for a summer vacation, applying under a visitor's visa. Assuming the father would consent to such a visit, you could start building up some kind of history with the INS which may be helpful in the future.

 

(ummm, explore the INS idiosyncrasies before you get too vested in any single idea).

 

----- Clifford -----

[Patrick & Li]

Yes, The husband has to give permission before you can get a passport. The child has to have a passport to get the interview.

I hate to say it, But..... Money talks and BS walks. I offered my wifes ex-husband 10000 yuan to give up his rights and he relented. I made him sign the paperwork in front of a Notary in China to make it all legal. But of course, there is one little difference, My step child was a "SON". You might can get out for less with a Daughter.

K4 has to follow the K3 within 6 months if you file together. But you have till the child is 21 if you want to file at a later date.

 

Good luck, and feel free to send me a PM if ya need some help.

 

Patrick

[warpedbored]

From what I understand it is not uncommon for the father to get full custody of the child in China. From what I gather of your post he doesn't appear to be some greedy deadbeat dad who only cares about his child being his retirement. He has primary custody so one would assume that he is attached to the child. Putting myself in his position there is no way I would allow my child to leave the country unless it was in the child's best interests. Perhaps if you approached him with the arguement that there is more opportunity in the USA and the child would have a brighter future here you might get somewhere.

Good luck