Immigration Corner | What will happen to my baby?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

I am seeking advice on my current immigration case here.

I am 24 years old and currently being filed for by my mother. After I received my interview date, I found out that I am pregnant. How will this pregnancy affect my filing? Will it cause my case to be void? Do I stand a change of getting the visa?

Thanks for your response.

TMB

Dear TMB,

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

In United States immigration law, when a parent files a petition for a son or daughter to migrate to the United States, the intending immigrant is deemed the beneficiary of the petition and the parent is the petitioner. When the son or daughter has a child, that child is a derivative beneficiary and entitled to migrate with the son or daughter who is the child’s parent. That derivative beneficiary must be under 21 years old when the visa is available or be subject to the calculation of the Child Status Protection Act to see if they qualify to keep the child classification.

However, when the beneficiary is pregnant, timing becomes important. Your petition is not void because your are pregnant, your child will be able to migrate, but it depends on the timing of the birth. Actually, if you are able to submit to the medical examination before the interview and are approved, you can migrate while pregnant and give birth to your baby in America.

If you are unable to submit to the immigration medical examination, you may have to give birth in Jamaica and then add the baby to the petition before the child can be processed at the US Embassy in Kingston and then migrate to America with you. The doctor conducting the medical examination will determine if you can be subjected to the full examination required for the US immigrant visa, or whether you will have to wait until after giving birth.

Not to worry, you may only experience a delay until after the baby is born. Best wishes.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq, is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States; and family, criminal and international law in Florida. She is a diversity and inclusion consultant, mediator, and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com