Jane

I will be moving to the States in July to be with my husband, but my 16 year old is going to finish her education in the UK. She will move to be with me when she's 18. Do we need to start her visa application before she moves or can she come to America legally and do it from here. Any advice would be fantastic

Sue

Hi Jane,

I've moved your post to the US immigration forums. It may help if you give a little background as to what visa you've moved on etc.

Sue

Rete

Are you doing the immediate relative visa through the US Consulate in London? If so, this is the same process your daughter should do before she turns 18.

That visa makes her a permanent resident the moment she enters the US at the port of entry. She can immediately apply for a re-entry permit by filing the I-131 in the US, wait in here in the US until biometrics is done, usually a month after filing, and then can go back to the UK to complete her education without abandoning her residency status.

Jane

Thanks Sue....My husband is a US citizen, so I am coming over on a spouse visa. My immigration visa was grantred last week and I plan to come over in July (can't wait, it's taken such a long time) So I shall be a green card holder.
It is my daughters choice, to finish her College education here in England, but wants to join me when completed.....she will then be 18. What steps should we take to do her visa when in the States......if indeed we can.
Thank you so much once again
Jane

Jane

Yes, I had my interveiw last week at the embassy......Thank you so much for the advise.....(I'm bit new on here and it's taking me a while to find my-self around.) She wont be 18 until 2013, so I guess we have a bit of time.
Jane

Sue

Jane,

Quick question, what plans does your daughter have educational wise once she's done her A-levels? Is she planning on studying in the US at university/college?

ian-mstm

Why didn't your husband file an I-130 for your daughter (his stepdaughter) at the same time as you? If he had, this would all now be moot - as she could have entered the US with you (over the summer), received a re-entry permit, and then returned to the UK to finish her education.


Perhaps things weren't thought through as carefully as they might have! Once she turns 18, your husband can no longer petition for her, and it's something you must do. Because you'll only be a PR and not a USC, there will be a quota applied to any visa she might get... so it could take a year or more before she gets a visa.

If you want to avoid that problem, your husband should file an I-130 for her (which he is allowed to do since his marriage to you took place before your daughter turned 18) about a year prior to when she finishes her studies.

Ian

Jane

Yes, she will want to go to College, probably part-time (as she will have, hopefully, all of her qualifications)...and would also like to work.
J

Sue

Ok, you might want to give some thought to tuition costs, because in order to obtain in-state tuition one has to have been resident for the 12 months prior to enrolling. Just thought I'd mention it in case you didn't know.

Jane

He did...both of us were meant to be moving at the same time, then after Christmas, she announced that she wants to stay here and go to College with her friends! and move when she's 18.....A bit of a blow really. So my case worker took her off the petition.

Jane

Thank you...Very good advice

Noorah101

Oh dear. What is a "case worker"? Did you have an Immigration Lawyer working with you? That was a bad move. Your daughter's I-130 filed by your husband should have continued on with processing, your daughter would have received her visa when you did, come to the USA for the summer, become a PR, obtained a Re-Entry Permit, then would have been fine going back to study for 2 more years in the UK.

Water under the bridge now. You have a visa and she does not. Your husband should file another I-130 for your daughter, and follow the procedure in the paragraph above.

Rene

S Folinsky

Ian: I have bolded the typo in your post. You put in "18" rather than "21."

I know that for "step-children" there is confusion due to the fact that the marriage creating the step-child relationship must before the kid's 18th birthday. But once the step-child relationship is created, the kid remains a "child" until age 21 and then turns into a "son or daughter." [I am not accounting for the CSPA computations which may be applicable.]

Jane

I feel so stupid. I paid alot of money for ...... (I guess I shouldn't say the name of the company) to help me with the immigration visa. When my daughter decided to stay on in the UK, I was told to contact the NVC and let them know she wouldn't be joining me. I guess they thought they would get another £1,700 when I did hers. I now know that I can do this with out help from a 3rd party. bummer. Thanks for the reply..... A very Jane

Bob

Unless they were an immigration lawyer, they are a scam.

All hindsight now though.

One thing to consider on the tuition front, if she does decide to study in the US and then goes back to the UK to study, she would need to have resided for 3 years prior to enrolling to get UK tuition rates, international rates can and are quite expensive depending on the type of course.

Out of state tuition in the US can also be very expensive.