Immigration Corner | Help! I need a visa to go visit my child

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

I fathered a child while I was on a work programme in the USA, and returned to Jamaica after the programme ended.

Since then, I applied for a visiting visa several times in order to go and visit my child, but the visa was not granted. How can I go about getting a visiting visa so I can visit my child?

– A.W.

Dear A.W.,

Notwithstanding that you have an American citizen child, any application for a non-immigrant visa has to satisfy the requirement that the applicant intends to return to their home country. You clearly previously qualified for a non-immigrant visa – the Work Program. The question would then arise, why now does the US Embassy think that you may not return if they grant you another non-immigrant visa?

Did you break the work contract? That is, did you leave the job that petitioned for your work visa and not fulfil the contract? Have you ever stayed an extended period in America outside of the work visa? Sometimes persons are unaware that they are obligated to work for their work visa petitioner, and if the work environment is not satisfactory, that they should return home and not remain in the US and work for another employer. Those on some H visas can petition to transfer to another employer, but you cannot switch employers on your own.

The other potential barrier to you receiving a visa to visit your child is the existence of the American citizen child. The embassy may think that you are going to America to be with your child and the other parent and not return – the presumption to migrate. Coupled with those possible reasons for the denial of the non-immigrant visa is the question of, what are your current ties to Jamaica? Do you have a job to which you will return after a brief visit?

Analyse your personal situation and see what could be the potential reason for the denial. Keep in mind that no one is entitled to a visa, and no matter the reason for your desire to travel to America, the consular officer has to be convinced that you will return to your home. Your child is unable to petition for you for permanent resident until they are 21 years old. If you have a relationship with the other parent, you might be thinking about marriage and migrating.

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 diversity and inclusion consultant, mediator and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com