Hello
I have the following situation. I have never lived with the father of my child or were married to him. When I got pregnant, he walked away and did not help with anything and was not in touch. He was not originally in child’s birth certificate. I never asked for anything. When child turned 2 years old, I got an offer to do shared custody and certain child support. I decided I can’t agree on it and deserved sole custody. We spent 2.5 years in courts and on the brink of trial he signed settlement agreement and gave me sole custody. HE has the following access: each second week from Friday after school to Monday back to school. Each Wednesday for 4 hours after school but in a year it will be each Wednesday overnight. Holidays are split 50/50 but Summer father has only 2 weeks which should increase to 3 weeks in two years. Father is listed in child’s passport right now and we have a clause which says that I can’t remove child’s residence outside my area without father’s permission or court’s permission
I just got engaged, my fiancé lives in US 4 hrs drive from here. We have been dating for 3 years and saw each other each single weekend driving 50/50. We spent all vacations together. MY child has a good relationship with him. MY fiancée is same age, we are in mid 30s and he is a professor in a prestigious university, it is permanent job for life. I make a moderate income of 50 K, he makes twice more. I currently live with my parents and they were there since my son’s birth, so he is attached to them too. He also has 2 cousins of similar age from my side who live in town. He plays with them often.<O
<O
Father of the child is very wealthy, so when it comes to courts, he takes me there without counting legal fees and to make my life miserable he tries to postpone the process by making unnecessary motions, etc that is why it took me 2.5. years to take sole custody.
Now, since I am engaged and career of my fiancée is in US, we want to build a family and get married and I want to move there with my child. So, I have two concerns.<O
1.) Which path is best to choose in terms of immigration. Fiancee visa or marriage first and then waiting for green card. MY fiancée thinks fiancée visa is faster waiting time and in terms of responsibility it is same financial commitment from his side as for anything else, therefore he thinks in eyes of the judge being engaged and for him to sponsor us is as serious of a plan as marriage, we will need to get married in 3 months after arriving to US. With fiancée visa we could start application ,then go to court for relocation case and if permission is granted to my child, finish my application, fill in child’s, go through waiting line and enter US
2.) In my eyes marriage is very solid for court case and I wonder if I have more chances to succeed with child’s permission to move if I am married? I don’t know yet technical details about how process itself is like, what is waiting line etc.
3.) I also have many questions about relocation case. First of all how many chances I have, if I bring to the court detailed plan with change of schedule for visitation, I am ready to drive child once a month for the weekend and give him for the other week of the month if father drives or share distance, or agree to reduce child support so father can come once a month and book hotel and spend two night in town where I would live and I will deliver child once a month, plus I can give more time during holidays and in summer too. So, I am ready to cooperate in terms of giving that access back but in a different format.<O
Father of the child also manipulates his income and keeps reducing it as he owns his own business, by myself here I am a single mother with moderate income, together with husband we have a much solid financial situation. I see it as big plus. In addition, public schools in new place and extracurricular activities are great. Child can still have relationship with father. I know I have extended family here but they can visit there, my mother and my father plan to visit us often. I wonder what court would think of all that considering child has always lives with me?<
4.) I have not got to the lawyer yet and have not started the process but I am confused about what it will be like if father opposes the move. As I understand it should be motion to change from my side. And what it will be like, how long it can take and how costly it can get? We are all in debts despite the fact that we both work because previous process took all our saving and filled in all our credit cards. I hope to do some of the work myself and use lawyer part-time as I can’t afford it all and I want to learn from my mistakes and try to make it shorter this time but I don’t fully understand the process. Would it be motion, hearing, settlement, settlement # 2, pre-trial and trial in case father keeps opposing the move? Or could it be simpler than that? I really would like to understand what it could be like and how long it could take, but no matter how much literature I read on it, it is still unclear to me.
Anyone’s input on any of the topics touched here would be greatly appreciated.
I have the following situation. I have never lived with the father of my child or were married to him. When I got pregnant, he walked away and did not help with anything and was not in touch. He was not originally in child’s birth certificate. I never asked for anything. When child turned 2 years old, I got an offer to do shared custody and certain child support. I decided I can’t agree on it and deserved sole custody. We spent 2.5 years in courts and on the brink of trial he signed settlement agreement and gave me sole custody. HE has the following access: each second week from Friday after school to Monday back to school. Each Wednesday for 4 hours after school but in a year it will be each Wednesday overnight. Holidays are split 50/50 but Summer father has only 2 weeks which should increase to 3 weeks in two years. Father is listed in child’s passport right now and we have a clause which says that I can’t remove child’s residence outside my area without father’s permission or court’s permission
I just got engaged, my fiancé lives in US 4 hrs drive from here. We have been dating for 3 years and saw each other each single weekend driving 50/50. We spent all vacations together. MY child has a good relationship with him. MY fiancée is same age, we are in mid 30s and he is a professor in a prestigious university, it is permanent job for life. I make a moderate income of 50 K, he makes twice more. I currently live with my parents and they were there since my son’s birth, so he is attached to them too. He also has 2 cousins of similar age from my side who live in town. He plays with them often.<O
<O
Father of the child is very wealthy, so when it comes to courts, he takes me there without counting legal fees and to make my life miserable he tries to postpone the process by making unnecessary motions, etc that is why it took me 2.5. years to take sole custody.
Now, since I am engaged and career of my fiancée is in US, we want to build a family and get married and I want to move there with my child. So, I have two concerns.<O
1.) Which path is best to choose in terms of immigration. Fiancee visa or marriage first and then waiting for green card. MY fiancée thinks fiancée visa is faster waiting time and in terms of responsibility it is same financial commitment from his side as for anything else, therefore he thinks in eyes of the judge being engaged and for him to sponsor us is as serious of a plan as marriage, we will need to get married in 3 months after arriving to US. With fiancée visa we could start application ,then go to court for relocation case and if permission is granted to my child, finish my application, fill in child’s, go through waiting line and enter US
2.) In my eyes marriage is very solid for court case and I wonder if I have more chances to succeed with child’s permission to move if I am married? I don’t know yet technical details about how process itself is like, what is waiting line etc.
3.) I also have many questions about relocation case. First of all how many chances I have, if I bring to the court detailed plan with change of schedule for visitation, I am ready to drive child once a month for the weekend and give him for the other week of the month if father drives or share distance, or agree to reduce child support so father can come once a month and book hotel and spend two night in town where I would live and I will deliver child once a month, plus I can give more time during holidays and in summer too. So, I am ready to cooperate in terms of giving that access back but in a different format.<O
Father of the child also manipulates his income and keeps reducing it as he owns his own business, by myself here I am a single mother with moderate income, together with husband we have a much solid financial situation. I see it as big plus. In addition, public schools in new place and extracurricular activities are great. Child can still have relationship with father. I know I have extended family here but they can visit there, my mother and my father plan to visit us often. I wonder what court would think of all that considering child has always lives with me?<
4.) I have not got to the lawyer yet and have not started the process but I am confused about what it will be like if father opposes the move. As I understand it should be motion to change from my side. And what it will be like, how long it can take and how costly it can get? We are all in debts despite the fact that we both work because previous process took all our saving and filled in all our credit cards. I hope to do some of the work myself and use lawyer part-time as I can’t afford it all and I want to learn from my mistakes and try to make it shorter this time but I don’t fully understand the process. Would it be motion, hearing, settlement, settlement # 2, pre-trial and trial in case father keeps opposing the move? Or could it be simpler than that? I really would like to understand what it could be like and how long it could take, but no matter how much literature I read on it, it is still unclear to me.
Anyone’s input on any of the topics touched here would be greatly appreciated.
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