snowbunny

Depends on the jurisdiction and the offence, though.

You can be tried as an adult as young as 14 here in Texas.

scrubbedexpat099

You can be tried as an adult here under 18 as well, but usually we are talking about unusual circumstances, just thinking back to a kid who was always in trouble and seemed to have not a lot done, hit 18 and carried on and next thing he knows he is down in Canyon City having his bottom inspected for a couple of years.

snowbunny

Given all the wailing on this forum over lenient sentencing in the UK, maybe the OP's daughter would be better off there, then.

OP: don't give your daughter money or access to your vehicle. You ARE partially responsible while she is under 18 for her actions regardless of whether or not you've given her money or a car, but she can do more damage with those. When does her 10 year GC expire? Again, how does she expect to support herself? If she's nasty enough to exploit her step-father's AOS for her, then I'd consult an attorney. Don't EVER let your kid extort money from you.

scrubbedexpat099

1. Not sure about wailing, commentating.

2 I get stung on a regularish basis by a 4 and 6 year olds, they know that McDonalds will not usually work, but an ice cream when its a nice day, as it is today, may well be on.

TouristTrap

If she wants to go down the emancipation route, don't know how long it will take, but then she's basically on her own.

snowbunny

The first is a point-of-view thing.... the Aussies-to-be seem to be .... upset.

The second -- world of difference between the kids manoeuvering for an ice cream vs a stroppy 18-year-old who knows that her stepdad has to financially support her for, well, forever. If the 18-year-old tries to play that card, then as a parent, I'd be horrified.

User Name

Is "Our Liam (now 20)" your kid Matt?

scrubbedexpat099

I have no idie about the Aussie connection, I have certainly heard enough from the English perspective, but thats what listening to the BBC does to you.

franc11s

Don't forget to keep showing your daugter love and affection. We probably all went/go off the rails but you know what, show foregiveness and compassion and love and more love (did I mention love)...

It's hard, I have teenage boys but despite everything, they DO come back if you keep the love, through everything. In fact, they love you, even when they are showing MEAN !!

God bless

meauxna

You might want to check out your understanding of "sponsor". You aren't required to return her to the UK.

The rest is an interesting topic; I'd like to think about it further.

scrubbedexpat099

My wife had 6 years of hell, her daughter is 23 on Sunday and everything is fine now.

I jested that she could provide a months worth of scripts for Eastenders, except they would be considered too improbable to be real.

mozoo

Thank you so much, everybody, for your wonderful replies. We, as parents, have done many of the suggestions put forward. When those have been implemented, things are good for probably a week ... and then there are more antics. She doesn't have a DL (which is a blessing), earns a pittance from her part time job, and we don't fund her at all. She is constantly reassured that we love her and care about her well being but it seems to fall on deaf ears most of the time.

The magic age seems to be 18 - methinks we will have to call Immigration and find out if hubby is still responsible for sponsoring her after that age and, if so, how long he has to keep that up for.

We had good giggles at some of the outright honest responses - y'all made our day which is extremely appreciated.

AdobePinon

Age is irrelevent. Ten years, 40 credits. See the following link:
http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/affsupp.htm

You might find it cheaper to do follow Bob's lead and make her a citizen.

BTW, your husband should have been very aware of what he was agreeing to when he signed that Affidavit of Support. It is not known to be frequently enforced, but it has very far reaching consequences and cannot be given up voluntarily. The document itself states in very cleaar terms what is expected, so if you have any doubts download a copy from the link above.

mozoo

YAY -

Thanks for providing that link - we have some SERIOUS reading to do now. Must admit that the USCIS site is very bewildering for us now - when we moved here 7 yrs ago, everything seemed so uncomplicated on the INS site.

Yeh - so much stuff necessitates in change ... I wasn't being lazy and hoping that someone would just give me information. Probably, I was looking to see if anybody else had been in the same kayak as us and how they managed to cope with it all. It makes it seem less lonely for us "disfunctionals"!!!

mozoo

Now - hindsight at that time would have been brilliant eh? Upon emigrating to the US from the UK, daughter was an extremely wonderful 10 yr old - absolutely not a problem child. Seven years later is another story. We make our beds and we have to lie in them comes to mind. Hubby and I are extremely aware of our responsibilities and we will not shirk them - we just want to do what is right - and I will follow the laws of the country that has graciously accepted my child and me via my marriage to a USC.

Does it all boil down to "consequences" at the end? That could really suck for hubby and me.