Visas for Children Explained Through Illustrative Examples<\/p>\t\n\t
Because the laws and procedures in obtaining permanent residency for your children are so complex, I think it may be very helpful to you if I illustrate the process by way examples.\u00a0 Please note that these\u00a0are only a few examples of a variety of different ways on how a child can immigrate to the USA.Disclaimer. The following is intended only to give you a general idea of the topic. It is NOT intended to be legal advice. Everyone’s goals and situations are unique. Please consult an attorney to determine which method is best for your specific goals.<\/em><\/p>\t\n\t Marites, a naturalized U.S. citizen, has a 12-year-old son, Paulo living in Cebu City, Philippines with his lola and lolo.\u00a0 Now that Marites has fully established herself in the USA, she is ready to have her son join her.\u00a0Marites contacted Attorney Avelino for guidance on how to bring her Filipinos son to the USA.\u00a0 Attorney Avelino explained that obtaining permanent residency for Paulo could be described as a three-step process.<\/p>\n Step 1: Marites must file the Petition for Foreign Relative with USCIS<\/strong><\/p>\n The first step is to prepare and file Marites’ petition on behalf of her son Paulo to USCIS.\u00a0 In the petition, Marites must prove she is a US citizen and that she is the mother of Paulo.<\/p>\n Step 2: Marites must submit the immigrant visa application to NVC<\/strong><\/p>\n Once the petition is approved, it is forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC).\u00a0 Once the NVC receives the case, Marites will need to pay the immigrant and affidavit of support fees.\u00a0 Once those fees are paid, we can prepare and file Paulo’s immigrant visa application as well as Marites’ Affidavit of Support documentation.\u00a0 The affidavit of support is used to prove Marites has the financial ability to support her son.<\/p>\n Step 3: Paulo must prepare and attend his immigrant visa interview at the US Embassy, Manila<\/strong><\/p>\n Once the NVC has received the application and all necessary supporting documents, they will the schedule Paulo for his immigrant visa appointment at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines.\u00a0 Because he is a minor, Marites or a legal guardian must accompany Paulo to the interview appointment.<\/p>\n Once his appointment is scheduled, Paulo must obtain a medical exam at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Ermita, Manila, Philippines. He should obtain his medical exam at least 2 weeks prior to his appointment to help ensure it is completed.\u00a0 For applicants that live farther away from Manila in places like Mindanao or the Visayas, this is something to consider when planning for your appointments.\u00a0 Many applicants will remain in Manila until their visa appointment after obtaining their medical exams.\u00a0 Again, because he is a minor, Marites or a legal guardian must accompany Paulo to the medical exam.<\/p>\n On the day of his appointment, Paulo and Marites had to wait a couple of hours in the waiting room before he was seen by an officer.\u00a0 The actual interview only took about 15 minutes.\u00a0 After reviewing their file and documents, Marites and Paulo were asked simple and basic questions about their identity and relationship.<\/p>\n The officer then congratulated Marites and Paulo and told them that they should receive his visa within a couple of weeks.\u00a0 Once Paulo enters the USA with his immigrant visa, he is already a permanent resident and his green card will be mailed to him in a couple of months.\u00a0 While waiting for the green card, Paulo can use the stamp in his passport as proof he is a lawful permanent resident.<\/p>\n However, before a child can leave the Philippines on his\/her immigrant visa, there are at least two things they must do.<\/p>\n They must register with the Commission on Filipino Overseas’ (CFO) and attend its guidance and counseling seminar.\u00a0 The seminar aims to prepare them for the adjustments they will have to take by moving to the United States.\u00a0 Emigrants aged 12 and below are exempted from attending the seminar but are still required to register with the CFO.<\/p>\n The parent must also check with the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development if the child will be needing a Travel Clearance Form for minors.\u00a0 Generally, a travel clearance is necessary when a minor is traveling alone to a foreign country or traveling to a foreign country accompanied by a person other than his or her parents.<\/p>\n Once all the departure requirements are completed, the children are ready to depart the Philippines to be reunited with their family in the United States.<\/p>\n Maria obtained her permanent residency through an Immediate Relative petition filed by her eldest child who is a U.S. citizen.\u00a0 Unfortunately, immigration laws did not permit Maria’s other children still living in the Philippines to be included in her petition.\u00a0 The law does not permit dependents to be included in Immediate Relative petitions.\u00a0 This means that Maria had to leave her other children behind while she immigrated to the United States.<\/p>\n Attorney Avelino explained to Maria that as a permanent resident she can file a petition for her unmarried children whether they are minors or adults.\u00a0 However, her minor children will be issued their visas much faster than her children over 21 years of age.<\/p>\n Maria has three unmarried children.\u00a0 Christian is 22, Justin is 20 and Grace is 15.<\/p>\n The children currently fall in the following categories:<\/p>\n Justin and Grace = Family Second Preference (F2A) Spouses or Children (Under 21 years of age) of Permanent Residents.<\/p>\n Christian = Family Second Preference (F2B) Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents.<\/p>\n Being in the F2A category, it might take Grace a couple of years to get her immigrant visa. Please keep in mind this is only a rough estimate for illustrative purposes only.<\/p>\n However, Justin’s case poses a problem because he will be over 21 years of age soon.\u00a0 Therefore, he will most likely be transferred to the F2B category with his older brother Christian.<\/p>\n Being in the F2B category, it might take Justin and Christian around 11-12 years to get their immigrant visas. Please keep in mind this is only a rough estimate for illustrative purposes only.<\/p>\n Attorney Avelino warns Maria that if any of their children marry before immigrating, their petitions will be automatically revoked.<\/p>\n He also explains the sooner she petitions them, the sooner a priority date will be established for each of her children.\u00a0 The priority date is basically their number in line to get a green card.\u00a0 The priority date is established on the date that an immigrant petition is filed.<\/p>\n Once the petitions are approved, they are forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC).\u00a0 Once each of their priority dates becomes current (their number in line to get a green card is up), NVC will contact Maria for further processing, paying of fees and document submission related to the visa application of the child whose priority date has become current.\u00a0 Once NVC completes its processing of each child, it will schedule that child for an interview at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines.<\/p>\n Each child, in turn, will need to prepare all the documents required for the interview.\u00a0 Each child must have their visa application fees paid and medical examinations completed at St. Luke’s Medical Center Extension Clinic (SLMCEC) prior to their interview.\u00a0 Upon approval of his\/her visa at the interview, his\/her passport with the immigrant visa stamp is delivered to him\/her by courier.<\/p>\n However, before each child can leave the Philippines on his\/her immigrant visa, there are at least two things they must do.<\/p>\n They must register with the Commission on Filipino Overseas’ (CFO) and attend its guidance and counseling seminar.\u00a0 The seminar aims to prepare them for the adjustments they will have to take by moving to the United States.\u00a0 Emigrants aged 12 and below are exempted from attending the seminar but are still required to register with the CFO.<\/p>\n Maria must also check with the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development if Grace will be needing a Travel Clearance Form for minors.\u00a0 Generally, a travel clearance is necessary when a minor is traveling alone to a foreign country or traveling to a foreign country accompanied by a person other than his or her parents.<\/p>\n Once all the departure requirements are completed, the children are ready to depart the Philippines to be reunited with their family in the United States.<\/p>\n Sarah recently became a U.S. citizen.\u00a0 However, before she became a U.S. citizen, when she was still a permanent resident, she filed petitions for her two unmarried children.\u00a0 Kevin who is presently 26 years old and Susan who is 19 years old.<\/p>\n Attorney Avelino explains to Sarah that when she naturalized (became a U.S. citizen), her F2A petition (spouse or minor child under 21 years of age of a permanent resident) for Susan automatically converted to an Immediate Relative petition.\u00a0 Since this visa category is not subject to the visa quota system, a visa is now automatically available to her daughter Susan.\u00a0 With the help of Attorney Avelino, the National Visa Center (NVC) is notified and Susan is scheduled for her Immigrant Visa Interview.<\/p>\n For Kevin, however, Attorney Avelino explains that for F2B applicants (unmarried son\/daughter 21 years of age or over of a permanent resident), his F2B petition was automatically converted to the F1 category (adult sons or daughters of U.S. citizens) retaining the original priority date.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Child Visa to the United States Visas for Children Explained Through Illustrative Examples Child Visa Process – Illustrative Examples Because the laws and procedures in obtaining permanent residency for your children are so complex, I think it may be very helpful to you if I illustrate the process by way examples.\u00a0 Please note that these\u00a0are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"\nHow to obtain a child visa to the U.S.<\/h2>\n
Example 1: U.S. Citizen Parent Petitions Child Living in the Philippines<\/h3>\n
Example 2: Permanent Resident Parent Petitions Children Living in the Philippines<\/h3>\n
Example 3: Permanent Resident Petitioner Children as a Permanent Resident But is Now a U.S. Citizen<\/h3>\n