traveling with stepdaughter

Bailarina

New member
May 16, 2005
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hi There. I am going to the DR to get my husband's minor daughter and bring her back to the US to live with us.
What kind of paper do I need from the mother to allow her daughter to travel with me? My husband does not papers yet and can't travel to get her.
the mother went and spoke to a lawyer and the lawyer told her that he can do the permission but it has to be a specific permission each time we travel listing my travel date, flight number, etc. that seems outrageous.
I want a GENERAL PERMISSION since i will be traveling inside and outside the US (for example taking her back to the DR to spend summer vacations and going to get her).
is a general permission possible? do i need both permissions? anyone know how much it will cost? the lawyer quoted 3,000 pesos to do the specific permission and the translation into english alone.
if it will help, the child is getting her visa thru the k-2 process and i'm her sponsor.. so my name should be on her passport visa page already. i was hoping that would make it easier, but it seems not.

Help!!
 

Dolores1

DR1
May 3, 2000
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Bailarina said:
hi There. I am going to the DR to get my husband's minor daughter and bring her back to the US to live with us.
What kind of paper do I need from the mother to allow her daughter to travel with me? My husband does not papers yet and can't travel to get her.
the mother went and spoke to a lawyer and the lawyer told her that he can do the permission but it has to be a specific permission each time we travel listing my travel date, flight number, etc. that seems outrageous.
I want a GENERAL PERMISSION since i will be traveling inside and outside the US (for example taking her back to the DR to spend summer vacations and going to get her).
is a general permission possible? do i need both permissions? anyone know how much it will cost? the lawyer quoted 3,000 pesos to do the specific permission and the translation into english alone.
if it will help, the child is getting her visa thru the k-2 process and i'm her sponsor.. so my name should be on her passport visa page already. i was hoping that would make it easier, but it seems not.

Help!!

Would it be possible for you and your husband to do a procedure so you have legal guardianship for the child? Then the child could travel with you both. Ask your lawyer about that.

Otherwise, what your lawyer is telling you is correct. And he is not charging you much. I once did the procedure and it cost me RD$5,000. A new child protection law requires this paperwork if the child is to travel without both parents. Probably since the mother is divorced then the paperwork needs only to be filed for her for the child to travel with you, since apparently she has the custody of the child. The paperwork he mentions has to be filed every time the child travels without parents, even if the child were to travel alone, assigned to the airline.

I do hope this can be eliminated in the future, especially enabling a child to travel with one parent, because it is a nightmare and while the intent is to prevent child abduction it causes too many problems. It is in effect until the child is 18 years old.
 

Bailarina

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May 16, 2005
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never married

Hi Dolores.
the mother and my husband were never married. The mother will never agree to adoption. is there another procedure we could do to have legal guardianship of the child (even if it were only to grant him full custody)? i would love that. what worries me is that if I let her go back one day, for vacation, the mother will all of a sudden decide that she doesn't want to let her come back. I want some legal leg to stand on if that happens!!
Please help!
and thanks for your advice. I called the visa services line in Washington, DC and they told me a notarized letter from the mother, to let her travel with me. Now i am resting easier, but i want my husband to have legal custody in the US. How do we go about that?
thanks for your help!!


Dolores said:
Would it be possible for you and your husband to do a procedure so you have legal guardianship for the child? Then the child could travel with you both. Ask your lawyer about that.

Otherwise, what your lawyer is telling you is correct. And he is not charging you much. I once did the procedure and it cost me RD$5,000. A new child protection law requires this paperwork if the child is to travel without both parents. Probably since the mother is divorced then the paperwork needs only to be filed for her for the child to travel with you, since apparently she has the custody of the child. The paperwork he mentions has to be filed every time the child travels without parents, even if the child were to travel alone, assigned to the airline.

I do hope this can be eliminated in the future, especially enabling a child to travel with one parent, because it is a nightmare and while the intent is to prevent child abduction it causes too many problems. It is in effect until the child is 18 years old.
 
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Dolores1

DR1
May 3, 2000
8,215
37
48
www.
Bailarina said:
Hi Dolores.
My stepdaughter and my husband were never married. The mother will never agree to adoption. is there another procedure we could do to have legal guardianship of the child (even if it were only to grant him full custody)? i would love that. what worries me is that if I let her go back one day, for vacation, the mother will all of a sudden decide that she doesn't want to let her come back. I want some legal leg to stand on if that happens!!
Please help!
and thanks for your advice. I called the visa services line in Washington, DC and they told me a notarized letter from the mother, to let her travel with me. Now i am resting easier, but i want my husband to have legal custody in the US. How do we go about that?
thanks for your help!!

The information you have been provided with by the visa services line in Washington DC regarding the documentation is outdated. New requirements are in place that require more than a notarized letter from the mother.

The law permits you to have guardianship (this is different from adopting). This is usually granted when the courts determine it is better for the welfare of the child. With the guardianship, the child can travel back and forth with you. See http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15285&highlight=guardianship

Do a search of the legal forum of dr1. I believe the guardianship topic has been covered with details.

Also, do a search for the legal requirements for a child to travel without both parents. I believe these would be covered in this forum also.

It is irrelevant if your husband was married when he had the daughter. What counts is if he is on the child's birth certificate.
 
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rellosk

Silver
Mar 18, 2002
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I wouldn't take any chances. Why not PM Fabio Guzman and get his legal opinion. He should also be able to give you an idea of any costs involved. This last thing you want is to be stopped at immigration in the DR because you misinterpreted some rule.

BTW, you may also want to check with INS in the US to make sure that the K2 documents with you as the sponsor gives you the authority to bring her in the US. One time I was returning from the DR with my Daughter and they sequestered us. Luckily we were able to convince them that I wasn't kidnapping her.
 

Bailarina

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May 16, 2005
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ouch, sounds complicated!!

Dolores said:
Requirements for minors traveling without both parents from the source:

http://www.migracion.gov.do/viajes_menores.htm

ok, we read the website, thank you.. we will go to the DR consulate in the US and get permission from him for me. We'll talk to the mother and see if she can give us la guarda. I hope her lawyer knows what he is talking about and that complies with the rules. Since I'll be in the American consulate anyway, I will make sure to ask if there is anything else the mother needs to sign.

Her appointment is in a couple weeks, so I'm worried to get all the papers in time. I know only the court can assign la guarda. And I'm not sure she will give this. Although my husband says she would sign something saying she is coming to live in the US with us.

thanks for your help.
 

HOWMAR

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Jan 28, 2004
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Dolores said:
Would it be possible for you and your husband to do a procedure so you have legal guardianship for the child? Then the child could travel with you both. Ask your lawyer about that.

My husband does not papers yet and can't travel to get her
.

I think the sticky wicket may be that the husband is not legal in he US. How can he go to court in the US or the DR?
 

rellosk

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Mar 18, 2002
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HOWMAR said:
I think the sticky wicket may be that the husband is not legal in he US. How can he go to court in the US or the DR?
I'm guessing her husband is in the US legally, but just doesn't have any papers to leave the US. (After getting a K1 visa, an immigrant can't leave until their status get changed).
 

Bailarina

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May 16, 2005
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rellosk said:
I'm guessing her husband is in the US legally, but just doesn't have any papers to leave the US. (After getting a K1 visa, an immigrant can't leave until their status get changed).

My husband is legal, he's waiting for his greencard and rellosk is correct. He came in on a K-1, then his daughter gets to come with him later on as part of that visa.
 

Bailarina

New member
May 16, 2005
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rellosk said:
I wouldn't take any chances. Why not PM Fabio Guzman and get his legal opinion. He should also be able to give you an idea of any costs involved. This last thing you want is to be stopped at immigration in the DR because you misinterpreted some rule.

BTW, you may also want to check with INS in the US to make sure that the K2 documents with you as the sponsor gives you the authority to bring her in the US. One time I was returning from the DR with my Daughter and they sequestered us. Luckily we were able to convince them that I wasn't kidnapping her.

I think I will be ok here, the problem is leaving the D.R., isn't it? for this time only, I will have the papers the consulate gives me for first entry into the US. And my name is all over them since I'm her dad's sponsor and I believe, my name should be in her passport on the visa too. The only thing I"m worried is getting her out of the country. And they can forget about me taking her back! One time to go through all this is more than enough stress.

One more question will I need permission from both parents on DOMESTIC flights too???

Pass the xanax.. I need to chill! This is totally stressing me out!!
 

rellosk

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Mar 18, 2002
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Bailarina said:
One more question will I need permission from both parents on DOMESTIC flights too???
In the over 50 times traveling domestically with my Daughter, I've only been questioned once. If you can, it doesn't hurt to have a notarized document from the mother (even if it's in Spanish) stating it is okay for her to travel anywhere in the US with her father.
 

trina

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Jan 3, 2002
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I face the same problems with my stepson, actually. My husband's son has come to live with us in Canada. The mother would not agree to full custody, but has agreed to "let Angelo travel anywhere in the world with his father, with no time limits". Angel (my husband) is the only name on Angelo's passport. He has this document in Spanish, stating that he can travel anywhere in the world, and it has no time limits, signed by her. Unfortunately, she would not allow my name to be on the original document. I told Angel that I want to have legal permission to travel with Angelo, so when he went to the DR, he went looking for his ex to have another paper signed. He couldn't find which rock she crawled under, so he had another document drawn up, saying that I can travel anywhere in the world with Angelo, signed by him. I am doubting the validity of the second document, because I would think the ex would need to sign it. However, Angel's name is the only one listed on the passport, so maybe it won't be an issue. Angel's lawyer said I only needed to travel with the passport and the one letter, and everything will be fine, but it scares me to death, going to the DR with Angelo, because what if I can't bring him home? How can I take that chance?

Anyways, I know what you are going through, and I hope it all works out for you. Do let us know.