Immigration Corner | Will my past history prevent me from getting a visa?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

I need some advice on my case with the United States (US) Embassy. My father tried to file for me between 2007 and 2008. At the time I was seven or eight years old. While going through the process, my father and I were asked to do a DNA test. The result confirmed that my father was not my biological father. As a result, the filing process was rejected.

I went to the embassy a second time for the immigrant visa and was denied once again. I am now 19 years old and am currently attending the University of the West Indies full time in my first year and I want to apply for the J-1 visa.

My question is, would my past history affect me in getting that visa? If yes, what measures can I take to get on the right path to getting the J-1 visa?

JL

Dear JL,

Unfortunately there are many cases of persons who discover that their father is not their biological parent during the process of applying for US residency. The US laws provide for biological parents and adopted parents to be able to petition for their children. When parents are not married at the time of birth of a child, the US Embassy or the Department of Homeland Security can request a paternity test to determine if the purported father is in fact the biological father of the child.

If the paternity test reveals that the supposed father is not in fact the father, the petition is denied because there is no legal relationship between the man who thought he was the father and the child. Depending on the particular situation, there are times when the father can adopt the child and then refile a petition as an adoptive parent.

In your situation, I am not sure how or why you went for a second interview, unless it was as a follow up to the initial petition.

In applying for any subsequent visas, the only way that the non-paternity of your alleged father would impact you is if there was any fraud that was being perpetrated against the US Government. That is, if you knew that the man you claimed was your father was not your father. The fact that you were a child would mean that even if there was fraud, it should not be held against you.

You will have to qualify for the J-1 visa on your own, i.e., convince the Consular Officer that you will return to Jamaica after your period of stay in America.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq. is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States; and family, criminal and international law in Florida. She is a mediator and special magistrate in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com