Expert: Sandra - 4/2/2010

Question
My fiance and I are getting married soon, he has a son in Brazil that we really want to get here. We want to do it the right way though. How would we go about this? His son is 12 and lives with his grandparents.

Answer
The technical details for the U.S. process are simply that you must include the child's name on the form for the fiance (if you intend to marry in the U.S.) or spouse (if you marry in Brazil)visa for which you apply on behalf of  your fiance. (I advise taking a thorough preliminary look at the fiance visa form, available for download on the U.S. government website.)If you wait until your fiance is already legal, you will pay more for a second process and there will be a long delay in getting the child permission to reside in the U.S.

As far as the Brazilian end of things, you must understand who has legal custody of the child, and if it is sole or shared custody. For a child to travel (within or out of Brazil), there is a legal form to be signed by both parents (guardians)that you can obtain at the Brazilian Consulate with jurisdiction over where you both reside in the U.S. or at the nearest office of the Juizado de Menor to the child's/grandparents' residence in Brazil. (Most airports and bus stations have one.) Are these his parents or the child's maternal grandparents? If your fiance is on good terms with the child's mother or legal guardian(s), things should go smoothly. If not, be prepared for a long and costly legal procedure in Brazil to try to enable the child to leave Brazil for the U.S.

Best wishes for a happy future together.