Will my daughter get a visa from the time I marry someone, or when she turns 18? 13 Answers as of November 30, 2011

As long as the marriage takes place prior to the child turning 18, the child will be eligible for an immigrant visa along with the parent who got married to the US citizen.

She will be able to come to the US with you as long as she is under 21 years of age. You must prove that your marriage to the USC or the step-relationship was formed before she turned 18 years of age. I hope this little bit helps. Good luck!

Provided there is a valid marriage prior to the child's 18th birthday, the US Citizen step parent can file a petition for the child, and a separate petition for the alien parent and they can both come to the US. This applies even if the child is over 18 years old at that time. Good luck.

You are confusing two separate things. If you marry your future husband when his daughter is under 18 she will be classified as your stepdaughter and that will never change. If you are a U.S. citizen you will need to do separate petitions for her and her father. As long as you file the petition for her before she is 21, under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), her age will be frozen at what it was when the petition for her was filed. If you are a just a green card holder, there is a waiting list of several years to get a visa. You can file for her father and list her on the I-130 petition for him as long as she is under 21. But she would probably need to get her visa and enter the U.S. before she turns 21 unless she is protected under the CSPA, which involves a complicated calculation based on how long the I-130 was pending before it was approved and when her place on the waiting list ("priority date") became current. She can still immigrate when she is over 21 but she will be on a much longer waiting list. Despite the extra filing fee, It might make more sense to do a separate petition for her rather than including her on her father's petition.

If you marry a US citizen prior to your daughter turning 18, she is then recognized as a child of a US citizen for immigration petition purposes. Consult with an experienced immigration attorney.

The answer depends upon the circumstances. A stepchild is considered a child for immigration purposes if the marriage forming the step-parent relationship occurs prior to the child's 18th birthday. This means that a petition could be filed by her step-parent and she would be treated as a child so long as a petition was filed on her behalf before she was 21. If her step-parent is a U.S. citizen, she cannot derive benefits through her father's petition. She would need her own independent petition filed by her step-parent. In addition, given her age, it may be best to have an independent petition filed on her behalf even if she could be a derivative (i.e. the step-parent is a lawful permanent resident). In general, once a petition is filed for a child, the person remains a child no matter if he or she is over 21 as long as no delays were caused by the petitioner or beneficiary.

The step-father must file a separate I-130 petition for the child. The kid must file for adjustment/immigrant visa and will be able to obtain permanent resident status if approved before s/he turns 21. The time the I-130 was pending can be subtracted from child's age if aged out. You should consult with an experienced immigration lawyer before you take any steps.

If you marry before your child is 18, she is considered a step child of the USC husband. That means he can apply for her green card at the same time he files for yours. Because she is an immediate relative, she cannot be included on your petition and instead he files separately for her.

If the marriage occurs before the child turn 18, the US citizen parent can petition the child to immigrant to the US regardless when the visa petition is approved. If the child already turns 18, the best way to bring the child to the US is for the parent not to marry the US citizen. Instead, the US citizen should file fiance petition for the parent and the child. Once inside the US, marry the US citizen within 90 days of entry and file I-485 to adjust status.

Step-parent relationship exists from date of relationship - so child must be under 18 years when marriage to step parent takes place.