Texas_Dave

OK, before I'm torn a new one for being lazy, I admit I'm asking here as
I don't want to spend time finding this info out.


I am a conditional permanent resident, my wife a USC. I was granted AOS
from H1B to CR6 this year.
I have a 14 year old daughter who is a UK citizen, living with her mum
in the UK.
My daughter visits me here in the US, and on a recent trip we talked
about her going to College and University here when she finishes high
school in the UK.
I plan to become a USC when I qualify.

Can my wife file a petition based on my daughter being her step-
daughter? Is it better to wait until I am a USC instead?
My daughter needs to finish high school (16) before moving here,
but I'd like a smooth transition from her finishing school one
academic year to starting school here the next.
When should I apply for her to join me here? I am presuming this
is better than her applying for a VISA to study here.
Please reply with what you see as pitfalls and any advice you
have to offer.

AdobePinon

> OK, before I'm torn a new one for being lazy, I admit I'm asking here
> as I don't want to spend time finding this info out.
>
>
> I am a conditional permanent resident, my wife a USC. I was granted
> AOS from H1B to CR6 this year.
> I have a 14 year old daughter who is a UK citizen, living with her mum
> in the UK.
> My daughter visits me here in the US, and on a recent trip we talked
> about her going to College and University here when she finishes high
> school in the UK.
> I plan to become a USC when I qualify.
>
> Can my wife file a petition based on my daughter being her step-
> daughter? Is it better to wait until I am a USC instead?
> My daughter needs to finish high school (16) before moving here, but
> I'd like a smooth transition from her finishing school one academic
> year to starting school here the next.
> When should I apply for her to join me here? I am presuming this is
> better than her applying for a VISA to study here.
> Please reply with what you see as pitfalls and any advice you have
> to offer.

Not sure about the step-daughter thing. I have a FEELING that it won't
work, but I don't KNOW that. YOU can petition for her either in your
current status as LPR, or as a USC when you get that far (which would
then eliminate the visa number wait).

She can also come out as a student in F-1 status, which would be very
straightforward to get once she is accepted by a college. You could then
petition for her green card once she's out here. NB: F-1 students always
pay non-resident tuition - ouch!

And then of course, don't forget that college is expensive here.

You want her to be 16, or 18, when she moves? 18 makes more sense.

Hcj1440

> OK, before I'm torn a new one for being lazy, I admit I'm asking here
> as I don't want to spend time finding this info out.
>
>
> I am a conditional permanent resident, my wife a USC. I was granted
> AOS from H1B to CR6 this year.
> I have a 14 year old daughter who is a UK citizen, living with her mum
> in the UK.
> My daughter visits me here in the US, and on a recent trip we talked
> about her going to College and University here when she finishes high
> school in the UK.
> I plan to become a USC when I qualify.
>
> Can my wife file a petition based on my daughter being her step-
> daughter? Is it better to wait until I am a USC instead?
> My daughter needs to finish high school (16) before moving here, but
> I'd like a smooth transition from her finishing school one academic
> year to starting school here the next.
> When should I apply for her to join me here? I am presuming this is
> better than her applying for a VISA to study here.
> Please reply with what you see as pitfalls and any advice you have
> to offer.

Hi Dave,

According to USCIS website:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f61417-
6543f6d1a/?vgnextoidB7b6c854523d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD& vgnextcha-
nnel4519c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1____

"Definition of a Child
The immigration law defines a â�?�?childâ�? as an unmarried person under
the age of 21 (a minor) who is
[snipped]
* A stepchild if the marriage creating the steprelationship took
place before the child reached the age of 18
[snipped]"

So it seems to me that your USC spouse can file for your 14 year old
child as her stepchild.

From further down the page:
"A U.S. citizen��?s unmarried, minor child is considered an immediate
relative, does not need a visa number, and is eligible to receive an
immigrant visa immediately."

Yay, no quota for your daughter.

As for when you should apply -- I guess I would take a look at your
service center's reported processing time for I-130s, then factor in the
amount of time it takes to process an immigrant visa at the US consulate
in your home country. She has six months from when the visa is issued
to use the visa so you have a little bit of room to play with. Also,
even if the visa is obtained "too quickly" she can always visit you in
the US on a school break in order to activate the immigrant visa before
the six month end date, then go back home and finish out whatever she
needs to do there for a few months. So I guess if it were me, I would
err on the side of applying too early rather than too late.

Rete

> OK, before I'm torn a new one for being lazy, I admit I'm asking here
> as I don't want to spend time finding this info out.
>
>
> I am a conditional permanent resident, my wife a USC. I was granted
> AOS from H1B to CR6 this year.
> I have a 14 year old daughter who is a UK citizen, living with her mum
> in the UK.
> My daughter visits me here in the US, and on a recent trip we talked
> about her going to College and University here when she finishes high
> school in the UK.
> I plan to become a USC when I qualify.
>
> Can my wife file a petition based on my daughter being her step-
> daughter? Is it better to wait until I am a USC instead?
> My daughter needs to finish high school (16) before moving here, but
> I'd like a smooth transition from her finishing school one academic
> year to starting school here the next.
> When should I apply for her to join me here? I am presuming this is
> better than her applying for a VISA to study here.
> Please reply with what you see as pitfalls and any advice you have
> to offer.

Your wife can petition for her now but only if your daughter is willing
to spend the rest of her high school years here. Once the visa is
approved at the US Consulate in London she has only 6 months to enter
the US and take up residency here. Or she can wait until she is in her
last year of high school and then petition for her.

If you wait until you are a US Citizen (approx 4 years from now), then
you can petition for her but she will be missing at least the first year
of college during the wait for residency.

Remember, as well, that having residency does not mean that the school
of higher learning will treat her as a residence for tutition purposes.
Some universities have regulations that state you must live in the state
for one year in order to qualify, while some will take the parent's one
year residency in the state in lieu of the child's residency.

Texas_Dave

> Hi Dave,
>
> According to USCIS website:
> http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614-
> 176543f6d1a/?vgnextoidB7b6c854523d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD& vgnex-
> tchannel4519c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1____
>
> "Definition of a Child
> The immigration law defines a â�?�?childâ�? as an unmarried person under
> the age of 21 (a minor) who is
> [snipped]
> * A stepchild if the marriage creating the steprelationship took
> place before the child reached the age of 18
> [snipped]"
>
> So it seems to me that your USC spouse can file for your 14 year old
> child as her stepchild.
>
> From further down the page:
> "A U.S. citizen��?s unmarried, minor child is considered an immediate
> relative, does not need a visa number, and is eligible to receive an
> immigrant visa immediately."
>
> Yay, no quota for your daughter.
>
> As for when you should apply -- I guess I would take a look at your
> service center's reported processing time for I-130s, then factor in
> the amount of time it takes to process an immigrant visa at the US
> consulate in your home country. She has six months from when the visa
> is issued to use the visa so you have a little bit of room to play
> with. Also, even if the visa is obtained "too quickly" she can always
> visit you in the US on a school break in order to activate the
> immigrant visa before the six month end date, then go back home and
> finish out whatever she needs to do there for a few months. So I
> guess if it were me, I would err on the side of applying too early
> rather than too late.

Thats great news.

I know it is at least a year before I need to start making any decision
on how to apply.
I was a little worried I would wait a year only to find it would have
been easier/cheaper/etc to have taken a different route and started the
process earlier.

My daughter is here again at Christmas, so I'll discuss this more
with her then.

Thank you all for your info.

Texas_Dave

> Your wife can petition for her now but only if your daughter is
> willing to spend the rest of her high school years here. Once the
> visa is approved at the US Consulate in London she has only 6 months
> to enter the US and take up residency here. Or she can wait until she
> is in her last year of high school and then petition for her.
>
> If you wait until you are a US Citizen (approx 4 years from now), then
> you can petition for her but she will be missing at least the first
> year of college during the wait for residency.
>
> Remember, as well, that having residency does not mean that the school
> of higher learning will treat her as a residence for tutition
> purposes. Some universities have regulations that state you must live
> in the state for one year in order to qualify, while some will take
> the parent's one year residency in the state in lieu of the child's
> residency.

This was just the type of pitfall I was looking for. I'll do some
research on this one.

Thanks Rete

Elvira

> This was just the type of pitfall I was looking for. I'll do some
> research on this one.
>
> Thanks Rete

This won't be an issue if your daughter moves here at age 16, as
planned, since she will be attending high school in the US for another 2
years before going off to college.

High schools are free to legal residents. Most universities require one
year residence to be eligible for in-state fees.

Texas_Dave

> This won't be an issue if your daughter moves here at age 16, as
> planned, since she will be attending high school in the US for another
> 2 years before going off to college.
>
> High schools are free to legal residents. Most universities require
> one year residence to be eligible for in-state fees.

Oh, I had forgotten about the age difference between UK and US students.
In the US a child graduates with a high school diploma at 18? Whilst in
the UK my daughter will have optained her GCSE's by 16. Maybe the 2
years would help prepare her for the US higher education system.
Which poses an interesting problem. Should she attend high school for 2
years; Would she be legally required to attend high school at 16. Can
she go straight in to College at 16, of course she would then be in a
clas of students older than her...

Elvira

> Oh, I had forgotten about the age difference between UK and US
> students.
> In the US a child graduates with a high school diploma at 18? Whilst
> in the UK my daughter will have optained her GCSE's by 16. Maybe the 2
> years would help prepare her for the US higher education system.
> Which poses an interesting problem. Should she attend high school for
> 2 years; Would she be legally required to attend high school at 16.
> Can she go straight in to College at 16, of course she would then be
> in a clas of students older than her...

I doubt that any college (at least not a major one) would accept GCSEs
in lieu of a high-school diploma. In any event, I htink the 2 years at
high-school will help your daughter settle into the US way of life, and
make friends, as well as develop her extra-curricular activities and do
some community work. The latter are important for college (have a look
at some application forms and you'll see why. Also your wife can
probably fill you in on this - very different from a UCAS form .)

If your daughter is 'academic', she will be able to take Advance
Placement classes while at high school. These not only make it easier
to get into a good college, but if she takes the requisite AP exams,
she'll also get college credits (and thus graduate sooner, which means
less fees...)

Ah college fees... (Insert scary smilie here!!!)

The good thing is that she will get credit for her GCSEs towards the high-
school diploma (and these will eventually have to be listed on her
college application). But be prepared to do a fair amount of homework on
how to 'translate' them. Make sure your daughter obtains a detailed
transcript - not just grades, and detailed descriptions of the courses
that she is taking, i.e. course content, method of grading etc.

You might even want to have a look at the academic requirements of the
colleges that she might attend, to make sure that she has the right GCSE
courses not only to graduate from high-school, but to meet the college's
entry requirements (which may be more arduous).

HTH!

Jenney & Mark

> I doubt that any college (at least not a major one) would accept
> GCSEs in lieu of a high-school diploma. In any event, I htink the 2
> years at high-school will help your daughter settle into the US way
> of life, and make friends, as well as develop her extra-curricular
> activities and do some community work. The latter are important for
> college (have a look at some application forms and you'll see why.
> Also your wife can probably fill you in on this - very different from
> a UCAS form .)
>
> If your daughter is 'academic', she will be able to take Advance
> Placement classes while at high school. These not only make it easier
> to get into a good college, but if she takes the requisite AP exams,
> she'll also get college credits (and thus graduate sooner, which means
> less fees...)
>
> Ah college fees... (Insert scary smilie here!!!)
>
> The good thing is that she will get credit for her GCSEs towards the
> high-school diploma (and these will eventually have to be listed on
> her college application). But be prepared to do a fair amount of
> homework on how to 'translate' them. Make sure your daughter obtains
> a detailed transcript - not just grades, and detailed descriptions of
> the courses that she is taking, i.e. course content, method of
> grading etc.
>
> You might even want to have a look at the academic requirements of the
> colleges that she might attend, to make sure that she has the right
> GCSE courses not only to graduate from high-school, but to meet the
> college's entry requirements (which may be more arduous).
>
> HTH!

Just to clarify, nearly all universities will only grant college credit
if the student scores 4 or 5 (out of 5) on an AP exam. Simply taking the
AP exams is not sufficient. Plus, it currently costs $83 for each AP
exam, so unless the student is absolutely sure they'd score 4 or 5, it's
a waste of time and money to take the exam. That said, I agree that
having AP classes on one's transcript is still impressive, even if no
exams are taken.

I speak from personal experience.

~ Jenney