Immigration Corner | Can my children be added to the filing?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

I read your articles often in The Gleaner. I have a concern that I would like your advice on. I am currently living with my spouse, her daughter (not my biological child), and my two children, son and daughter, which our relationship produced.

My fiancée’s mother, who is living in America, filed for her long ago. The process has now come through. She and her first child got a date to do their medical and also an appointment at the US Embassy. My two children, ages six and five, are not included on the filing as it was done before they were born.

I am curious to find out if they can be added to the filing process or if they will have to be filed for separately by her. We are in a relationship but not married yet as we had set a date and it had to be postponed because on this new development.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

DC

Dear DC,

Thank you for being a loyal reader of this column.

I noticed that you make reference to your spouse and to your fiancée and I caution you and the readers to use words carefully. In Jamaica, we refer to our unmarried partners as our spouse, but in the American context it refers to a husband or wife – legally married. Too often, my Jamaican clients have got into trouble with the US authorities over the definition of spouse.

Your fiancée should immediately contact the US Embassy and advise them of the existence of her two younger children. The moment they were born and secured a passport, the National Visa Center should have been advised of their birth. It is not too late, but everyone needs to move quickly. Once the embassy has been notified, they should be added to the petition, and this means, among other things, that the grandmother will have to prepare additional affidavits of support. The grandmother must demonstrate that she earns enough to support everyone who will be migrating, and if not, secure a joint sponsor.

Visa fees will also need to be paid for the two younger children, and they must be prepared to do visa applications. Once your fiancée migrates – that is, actually arrives in America - she can return to marry you and file a petition for you to join your family. Please ensure that she lands in America as a single daughter and that you do not marry until after she makes her initial landing as a permanent resident. Doing otherwise will invalidate her residency and that of the children. You can also marry in America if you have a visa and can travel to visit your family.

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