Re: Please Helpppp!!!!
 

Eric S. wrote:

    >> Why does everyone alway assume they have to be in the US!
    > I think it's fair to assume, since this is a forum about immigrating
    > to the US, that people who post here want information about that.

Yes but when faced with the reality that she has broken the law and is
not eligible to remain, why is the option of moving to the other country
usually not mentioned.

--
All generalizations are false, including this one.

Re: Please Helpppp!!!!
 

Actually, although not impossible, it isn't easy for a foreigner who marries an Indonesian woman to actually get a visa enabling him to live and work in Indonesia. (I'm assuming here that the Original Poster doesn't have dual nationality and not of Indonesian extraction himself). He will either need to find sponsor or have his wife or her family set up their own business and employ him (so he needs to have a 'skill' eg. a chef). Otherwise he could set up his own company. Indonesia is riddled with corruption from the highest echelons of the govt. so bribes are part of everyday life there in this Third World chaotic country. If her family are muslim, he may be expected to convert before being allowed to live with his wife in Indonesia (unless the usual bribe gets him out of that situation!)

Also, the baby's father is not Indonesian so the child will be unable to have an Indonesian passport (women are definitely a second class race in Indo, they can't pass their nationality to their children unless they register the birth as illegitimate!)....and the mother will have to apply each year for a residency visa for the child...as well as for her husband.

There is an amazing array of excellent information here regarding mixed marriages between expats and Indonesians:

http://www.expat.or.id/info/mixmarriages.html (Read through to the bottom of the page and also spot the link for a support group for US/Indo couples).

The main website is: http://www.expat.or.id

I do find it odd that the Indonesian wife was apparently engaged to someone else, arrived in the States, didn't marry the fiancee then meets another guy, has his baby then gets married to him. I wonder if the original guy backed out of the marriage and she was so desperate to stay in the US she became pregnant and married to a USC?

Re: Please Helpppp!!!!
 

I can't help giving some "true-Indonesian" comments here...

Indonesia doesn't recognize dual nationality. You can only be Indonesian or foreigner. I can assume that the OP is NOT Indonesian.

Sad but true... To stay in Indonesia, he has to find a job (which is not very easy, there is high un-employment rate) which later will allow him to apply for temporary residency or set up his own company (which is even more difficult). Otherwise, he can only get a visitor visa goods for 1-2 months then he will have to leave,

I think he can still live with his wife in Indonesia at their own home without having to convert to any religions as long as he has the appropriate visa.

Indonesia is a bit "old-fashioned" in regards of family, they only consider the "father" as the head of family and that's why everything (including nationality of the children) depends on him. The child can become Indonesian if he/she abandons his/her US citizenship (make written statement, etc.)
Oh, and women are NOT a second class race at all in Indonesia, they just have "obsolete" laws there.

For the OP: Trying to move back and live together in Indonesia is as difficult as trying to get her legally in US. Consult to experienced immigration attorney ASAP ...

Re: Please Helpppp!!!!
 

Englishmum wrote:

    > Actually, although not impossible, it isn't easy for a foreigner who
    > marries an Indonesian woman to actually get a visa enabling him to
    > live and work in Indonesia. (I'm assuming here that the Original
    > Poster doesn't have dual nationality and not of Indonesian extraction
    > himself). He will either need to find sponsor or have his wife or her
    > family set up their own business and employ him (so he needs to have a
    > 'skill' eg. a chef). Otherwise he could set up his own company.
    > Indonesia is riddled with corruption from the highest echelons of the
    > govt. so bribes are part of everyday life there in this Third World
    > chaotic country. If her family are muslim, he may be expected to
    > convert before being allowed to live with his wife in Indonesia
    > (unless the usual bribe gets him out of that situation!)

My money'd still be on the "it'd be easier to immigrate there than here"
option especially considering the situation.

    > Also, the baby's father is not Indonesian so the child will be unable
    > to have an Indonesian passport (women are definitely a second class
    > race in Indo, they can't pass their nationality to their children
    > unless they register the birth as illegitimate!)....

Is there something bad about "registering their child as illegitimate?
I'm just curious...

    > and the mother will have to apply each year for a residency visa for
    > the child...as well as for her husband.

Hardly a hardship when you compare...

    > There is an amazing array of excellent information here regarding
    > mixed marriages between expats and Indonesians:
    > http://www.expat.or.id/info/mixmarriages.html (Read through to the
    > bottom of the page and also spot the link for a support group for
    > US/Indo couples).
    > The main website is: http://www.expat.or.id

That might be interesting info for the OP. I'm not interested in it though.

    > I do find it odd that the Indonesian wife was apparently engaged to
    > someone else, arrived in the States, didn't marry the fiancee then
    > meets another guy, has his baby then gets married to him. I wonder if
    > the original guy backed out of the marriage and she was so desperate
    > to stay in the US she became pregnant and married to a USC?

Yes I also wonder about that, and that would no doubt add to the
difficulty in remaining here. IOW this guy, if he's serious, will have a
very difficult, next to impossible time keeping her and her baby (and
let's not forget his baby too - unless he's leaving part of this story
untold) here in the US. Granted immigrating to Indonesia will not be a
piece of cake between the immigration difficulties you state and the
added difficulties, stresses and hardships of leaving the US, your
friends and family behind. However if I were to weight the two options I
would still say that immigrating there will probably be easier, even
though still hard, than staying here.

The OP is in an awful mess and his lack of interaction with this thread
tells me one of two things: 1) He's given up or is shocked with the
depth of doo doo he and his wife are in or 2) he's out searching on the
web for somebody to tell him it'll all be OK. I feel sorry for him
somewhat but then again 1) he got involved with a foreign woman without
thinking and 2) decided to produce a child with her as well as marry
her. Actually I feel the most for the child because it did not ask for
nor deserve the life that it has gotten so far!

Perhaps the best solution, as harsh as it sounds but really in the best
interests of the child, would be for him to get custody of his kid, ship
her back to Indonesia and then work on/wait for her to be able to come
back here. Somehow I don't think that that path will be chosen however...

--
ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI!

Re: Please Helpppp!!!!
 

To be honest, I have thought about leaving to live in my Fiance's country, but
I cannot live in a country that doesnt have a Taco Bell. Am I pathetic or
what? But it's true. Anyway, she is having her interview tomorrow!!! (Im
kidding kinda about Taco Bell. I love her and would go to be with her and
teach her how to make burritos and things.)

Re: Please Helpppp!!!!
 

Aside from the possible (even probable) stigma that might create unnecessarily, is it possible that registering their child as illegitimate could cause problems in registering the child as a US citizen born abroad? I would think it's a bit trickier if the parents aren't married.

Plus, we don't know when this couple married -- it's possible they married before the child was born, in which case it wouldn't be illegitimate anyway.

~ Jenney

Re: Please Helpppp!!!!
 

He should check back after he's seen the immigration attorney. If a long seperation -years- is required then, he should go with her to Indonesia. It would be a great opportunity to learn his spouse's language and customs and I'm sure her family would be delighted.

Of course the major issue is if he will be able to find work- if his profession is compatible for a career over there. Also, Indonesia is rife with anti-american terrorist groups there and he may find that the security risk is too high. However, one of their many official languages is English.

Here is a fact sheet on Indonesia, if interested:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/...k/geos/id.html
and of course, try finding their consulate website and see what the immigration laws are.

Renée

Re: Please Helpppp!!!!
 

MelodicBlue40 wrote:

    > To be honest, I have thought about leaving to live in my Fiance's
    > country, but I cannot live in a country that doesnt have a Taco Bell.

You could always be the person who starts the first Taco Bell franchise
in that country! :-)

--
Nebraska: At least the cows are sane.

Re: Please Helpppp!!!!
 

Jenney & Mark wrote:

    > Aside from the possible (even probable) stigma that might create
    > unnecessarily,

Given the enormity of the problems thus far, stigma would be very far
from my mind as a problem at all.

    > is it possible that registering their child as illegitimate could
    > cause problems in registering the child as a US citizen born abroad? I
    > would think it's a bit trickier if the parents aren't married.

If you're gonna live in Indonesia then why would you care or attempt to
register the child as a US citizen born abroad?!? Besides it's my
understanding that the kid was already born over here thus it is not a
US citizen born abroad rather it is just a USC.

    > Plus, we don't know when this couple married -- it's possible they
    > married before the child was born, in which case it wouldn't be
    > illegitimate anyway.

To me illegitimate is just a label or name that one uses that has little
to no real significance anymore. You talk about stigma - in order to
have a stigma others need to think negatively about it and the people
have to actually care about what others think. In the US this is largely
not a problem anymore.

--
My friend has a baby. I'm writing down all the noises he makes so later
I can ask him what he meant.

Re: Please Helpppp!!!!
 

And they do like spicy food in Indonesia!

They do have MacDonalds in Indonesia (have even been to the one in Kuta, Bali).....but you could just take a ferry or fly in to Singapore as they definitely have Taco Bell there! :)


PS> Jenney...even if the parents weren't married when they have a child, if they later get married then that child is no longer illegitimate.

Re: Please Helpppp!!!!
 

I am wondering has the original poster any good job skills? If he has, maybe he could move to a 3rd country of choice where both he and his wife could start a fresh life.
Personally I think I would find it tough to live in a country as described by some of the posters here (like I didn't know Indonesia was a Muslem country).

If they really love each other and the girl is not just looking for a life in the US then another country of residence would be my place to start looking.

Patrick

Re: Please Helpppp!!!!
 

In terms of population, more Muslims live in Indonesia than anywhere else in the world!

The problem is, factions of Al Queda are springing up; you probably heard about the Bali bombings at Kuta which killed and maimed many (mainly Western) young tourists, mainly Australians but also some British people.

Last week there was a huge bomb outside the Australian Embassy in the capital city Jakarta....over 100 people, mostly locals were killed.

However, many Western expats and their families still live and work in Indonesia - especially in the oil and banking industries.

Re: Please Helpppp!!!!
 

I agree. He should have gotten all of the information about what he was getting into before he married her and she got pregnant. If he wasn't willing to make sacrifices like this, then what the heck was he doing with her in the first place?! Maybe they thought that getting married and having a baby would somehow waive all of the immigration laws that apply to everyone else. It is a very sad situation, but mostly because it was all preventable.

-Marnee

Re: Please Helpppp!!!!
 

USA & Pakistan wrote:

    > I agree. He should have gotten all of the information about what he
    > was getting into before he married her and she got pregnant. If he
    > wasn't willing to make sacrifices like this, then what the heck was he
    > doing with her in the first place?! Maybe they thought that getting
    > married and having a baby would somehow waive all of the immigration
    > laws that apply to everyone else. It is a very sad situation, but
    > mostly because it was all preventable.

They probably had that perception because they watched that new show
LAX! ;-)

(See other thread regarding the LAX show...)
--
I used up all my sick days, so now I'm calling in dead.

Re: Please Helpppp!!!!
 

Andy, the keywords in your last sentence is "in the US". If Indo is really as 'old-fashioned' as some of the other posters have stated, who knows what kind of problems they or the child could face, if they register him/her as illegitimate. For all we know, being a 'bastard' could be a very bad thing in Indo.

Considering the OP's situation & the Indonesian laws, then I'd have to agree with another poster - their best bet might be to find a 3rd country that one or both of them could immigrate to. There's always the UK, Canada, Australia and several other European countries that they could go to, if one or both of them have a decent skill and work experience. Heck, I know if I gain one more year's worth of experience in my profession, I could immgrate to the UK based on my experience and skills - wouldn't need my hubby's UK citizenship at all. ;)

I wonder why the OP hasn't replied back with answers to some of our questions, though...