Immigration Corner | How can a son join his father in the US?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

My husband’s dad filed for him. When his papers came through, he added our six-year-old son to his papers, but he didn’t take him along with him when he was leaving. The child and our other sons are here with me. What steps are we to take?

We’re desperate for some answers, please.

SB

Dear SB,

When you say the child’s father “added him” to the papers, I am not sure what you mean. All United States immigration documents require a person to add the names of their children. Depending at what stage the names are included, and who is the petitioner, the US can automatically create a file for the minor child. This is not always the case.

If a parent files for their son/daughter and there is a grandchild, that grandchild is considered a derivative beneficiary and is eligible to migrate with the parent. This is the case if the grandchild is under 21 years of age. If the grandchild was born after the initial filing, the National Visa Center (NVC) must be advised of the existence of this newly acquired child with their birth certificate and passport. A request should also be made to the NVC for the child to be added as a derivative.

Once the grandchild is added by the NVC as a derivative, a file will be generated, and visa fees must be paid for the child, etc. Additionally, the child would need to complete a medical and be scheduled for an interview. If this was done for your child and the father did not take the child to America, the child needs to make an entry as soon as possible – if the visa stamped in the child’s passport is still valid. If this was not done for your child, and his father has been in America for under a year, then a ‘Follow To Join’ request should be made for the child to join his father in America.

If none of this is possible at this stage, your son’s father can file a petition for his minor child as soon as possible. The child’s father is also now eligible to marry you and file for you and the entire family to join him 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 diversity and inclusion consultant, mediator, and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com