The child custody and parental consent is explained below. If you are married to a Thai and she has a child then you will need to consider the issues with taking the child out of Thailand. You will need to have a permission for this from the father who might object the child to travel with you. This is required for both the K2 visa being for the child of your fiancée and a K4 visa for the child of your Thai wife. Speak to an attorney about this as it can be complicated.
Child Custody and Parental Consent
This is the type of visa which applies for unmarried child under the age of 18. To take this child out of the country would require permission from the other parent. The US Embassy will need to have proof of this as there has to be an evidence that there is a permanent sole legal custody of the child. You will need to speak to your Thai fiancée about this or your Thai wife. There has to be a written agreement on this and it has to be drafted and signed at the Amphur’s office and a letter given from the Amphur’s office in this regard. You will need to have the following:
- The original documents showing that your Thai wife or Thai fiancée has permanent, sole, absolute legal custody of the child with no other person sharing legal rights.
- The original agreement showing that the other parent has granted permission for the child to migrate and live permanently in the US.
Speak to your attorney about this as there may be issues when it comes to this part of the visa process. You will need to locate the other parent and get them to sign off on the needed documents. These documents are not very complex and the US Embassy has given an example of what documents they will accept. Again, take proper legal advice as you will need to contact the Amphur’s office as well as it will need to be on their letterhead. It must state that:
I, Mr. first name + last name, the father of first name + last name of each child, consent for (my child/my total number of children) to migrate to the U.S. permanently without any conditions.
Again, child custody does become a problem as your Thai wife or Thai fiancé may have been married and there may also be an existing agreement on the issues of child custody. You are going to need to get the person to sign off on giving up parental rights and custody be it sole or joint. Take legal advice on this.
Taking children across international border on a permanent basis is a very complex legal issue. Always take proper advice as each case tends to be different. The other person might not want to sign off on this or the person may have died. You will need to take into consideration all these issues. Speak to a lawyer about the child custody and parental consent as explained above.
