+1-888-966-5288
·
inquiry@ctvattys.com
·
Mon - Fri 9:00 am-5:00 pm
For Consultation
+1-888-966-5288
·
inquiry@ctvattys.com
·
Mon - Fri 9:00 am-5:00 pm
For Consultation

The Fiancée’s Child

Ernie, a U.S. citizen is engaged to Liwayway, a widow he met while he was on vacation in the Philippines. Liwayway has a 19 year old daughter, Daria. She told Ernie that she could not bear to be separated from her only daughter and would be devastated if she would be left behind. Ernie would like to bring both of them at the same time to the United States. However, he knew that by the time he marries Liwayway, Daria no longer will qualify as his stepdaughter because she is already 19 years old. Ernie is now in a quandary as to how he could fulfill the wishes of his dear fiancée.

Ernie is correct, if he marries Liwayway whether in the Philippines or when she arrives in the United States, he will not be able to  file an immigrant relative petition for Daria. To qualify as a stepchild, the marriage establishing the stepparent-stepchild relationship must occur prior to the 18th birthday of the stepchild.

But all is not lost, what Ernie needs to do is to immediately file a fiancée petition for Liwayway. Once approved, Liwayway will be issued a K-1 nonimmigrant fiancée visa. Daria, provided, she is below 21 years old will be issued a K-2 nonimmigrant visa as the minor child of Liwayway.

Section 101(a)(15)(K)(iii) of the INA provides for issuance of a nonimmigrant visa to the “minor child” who is accompanying or following to join the fiancé(e) parent.   In Matter of Le, 25 I&N Dec. 541 (BIA 2011), the Court in defining “minor child” adopted the definition of “child” in Section 101(b)(1) of the Act which is an unmarried person under 21 years of age. Thus, Liwayway enters the United States on a K-1 nonimmigrant visa and Daria will enter and seek admission to the United States not as the stepchild of Ernie, but as Liwayway’s derivative minor child.

Upon arrival in the United States, Liwayway and Ernie are required to marry within ninety (90) days in order for Liwayway and Daria to be eligible to file adjustment of status  applications.

8 CFR 214.2(k)(6)(ii) provides:

Upon contracting a valid marriage to the petitioner within 90 days of his or her admission as a nonimmigrant pursuant to a valid K-1 visa issued on or after November 10, 1986, the K-1 beneficiary and his or her minor children may apply for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident under section 245 of the Act.

Pursuant to this provision, Daria as a minor child of a K-1 beneficiary will be eligible to adjust to that of a permanent resident. Pursuant to the holding in Matter of Le, her eligibility to adjust status is determined at the time of her admission to the United States. In short, provided Daria enters and is admitted to the United States prior to her turning 21, she will be able to adjust status as the derivative minor child of a K-1 fiancée parent.

Jean S. Tinsay is a partner in The Law Firm of Chua Tinsay and Vega (CTV) – a full service law firm with offices in San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento and Manila. The information presented in this article is for general information only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney-client relationship.   Call or e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone consultation to discuss your particular situation and/or how their services may be retained at (415) 495-8088; (619) 955-6277; jtinsay@ctvattys.com.

Related Posts

202 Responses
  1. foot salve

    […]that could be the end of this write-up. Here you’ll come across some web pages that we assume you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[…]

  2. Click Here

    […]although internet sites we backlink to beneath are considerably not associated to ours, we feel they may be truly really worth a go as a result of, so possess a look[…]

  3. Click Here

    […]although web-sites we backlink to below are considerably not associated to ours, we really feel they are in fact really worth a go as a result of, so have a look[…]

  4. Click Here

    […]although web-sites we backlink to below are considerably not associated to ours, we really feel they’re essentially really worth a go by means of, so possess a look[…]

  5. Click Here

    […]we like to honor lots of other online web sites around the net, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Underneath are some webpages really worth checking out[…]

  6. Click Here

    […]we like to honor lots of other world wide web web-sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Below are some webpages really worth checking out[…]

  7. Click Here

    […]we prefer to honor many other online web pages around the web, even though they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Below are some webpages really worth checking out[…]

  8. Click Here

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine some unrelated data, nevertheless genuinely really worth taking a look, whoa did a single find out about Mid East has got extra problerms as well […]

  9. Click Here

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a handful of unrelated information, nevertheless definitely really worth taking a look, whoa did one find out about Mid East has got a lot more problerms at the same time […]

  10. Click Here

    […]we prefer to honor several other net web sites on the internet, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Below are some webpages really worth checking out[…]

  11. Click Here

    […]very few internet sites that transpire to become comprehensive below, from our point of view are undoubtedly very well really worth checking out[…]

  12. Click Here

    […]we like to honor lots of other world wide web web-sites on the web, even when they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Beneath are some webpages worth checking out[…]

  13. Click Here

    […]we like to honor numerous other world wide web web pages on the internet, even though they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Below are some webpages really worth checking out[…]

  14. domain-name

    […]although web sites we backlink to beneath are considerably not connected to ours, we really feel they may be truly really worth a go through, so possess a look[…]

  15. Google reviews

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine some unrelated information, nonetheless definitely worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got much more problerms too […]

  16. Become a camgirl in Australia

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a number of unrelated data, nevertheless definitely worth taking a look, whoa did a single understand about Mid East has got much more problerms at the same time […]

  17. fue

    […]that may be the finish of this write-up. Here you’ll come across some internet sites that we assume you’ll appreciate, just click the hyperlinks over[…]

  18. Microbiology and Immunology

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated information, nonetheless truly worth taking a search, whoa did a single study about Mid East has got extra problerms at the same time […]

  19. FCIT Programs

    […]that would be the finish of this post. Right here you will discover some web-sites that we assume you’ll value, just click the links over[…]

  20. Maillot de football

    […]we prefer to honor lots of other online web pages on the net, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[…]

  21. Maillot de football

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine some unrelated data, nevertheless really really worth taking a look, whoa did one particular learn about Mid East has got extra problerms at the same time […]

  22. Luce lineare LED

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a handful of unrelated information, nonetheless genuinely worth taking a look, whoa did one particular discover about Mid East has got much more problerms also […]

  23. parcours ninja warrior extérieur

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a couple of unrelated information, nevertheless truly really worth taking a search, whoa did one particular discover about Mid East has got much more problerms at the same time […]