Question My 24 year old daughter has been living with her boyfriend from the honduras here in mt for over a year - they had a baby last August. His visa (or whatever) expired and he had to go back to the Honduras. She wants to go down there and marry him (I understand this marriage would be recognized by U.S.) and have him come back to Montana with her and her baby. Is this a valid option? Are there other more viable options available? Can their baby go with her on a passport without the father's consent? Thanks in advance. Rick
Answer Rick,
First let me start off by saying that I am not an immigration attorney and your daughter should consult one to determine what the best course of action is for her. I can tell you about my experience though.
I was living in Honduras and got married to a Honduran woman in 1998. When I looked into it I had two choices. She could apply for a Fiancé Visa or we could get married and she could apply for a visa as my spouse. Since I was living there at the time we chose to get married and get the spouse Visa. I had heard at the time that it was easier and faster to get a Spouse Visa.
In your case, since your daughter is here and he is there, maybe the Fiancé Visa is the way to go -- certainly worth looking into at least. I will say the regardless of what you do, the Visa process can be slow. The other issue to consider is if you had your choice, would you prefer to hold the wedding ceremony in Honduras or the US?
As far as bringing their baby to Honduras, I knew a person who brought her child there while her husband stayed in the US. They got into Honduras just fine, but she needed permission from the child's father to leave the country. That created some problems with their travel plans. Even when I married my wife, and she was 20 years old, they would not let her leave the country without her parent's permission (or a small bribe). So definitely check into that before she brings her child there. This was 12 years ago so the rules may have changed too.
I hope that helps and sorry for not getting back to you right away.
