Immigration Corner | Can my daughter live with someone else?

Good day Mrs Walker-Huntington.

My daughter’s father was filed for, and she was on her father’s filling. They went to the United States but my daughter never met the family before so the living condition wasn’t conducive for her. My question is: Can she live somewhere else and nothing happens? I patiently await your advice.

A.R.

Dear AR:

This scenario plays out quite a lot. A child migrates to live with a step-parent or with a parent and their family and due to unfamiliarity, tension arises. One thing that the child must realise is that they are not at home anymore and they need to adapt to new people, the new rules of the house they are living in, as well as to a different culture. This also happens when one party of a married couple who never previously lived together migrates and finds that their other half lives differently than they do – again they have to adapt to unfamiliar person(s) and culture.

In some scenarios the differences amount to abuse and or neglect and it becomes totally unbearable for the new immigrant. The situation can sometimes lead to child protective services becoming involved, separation and or divorce or in the case of your daughter – moving out and living elsewhere.

You did not say how old your daughter was and what was her father’s position on the matter. Is he willing to move with his daughter to live somewhere else? Technically, he now has custody of his daughter because she migrated with him to live in America. Legally, he will definitely have custody of her after she has lived with him in the new location for six months or more. Who is the person that you want her to go and live with? Does she know this person? Will she abide by the rules of this new house? Does her father agree for her to live with this new person(s)? All those questions need to be considered.

As far as immigration is concerned, unless you migrated to live with a spouse, a new immigrant can live anywhere they choose. However, a minor child is subject to the custody and permission of the parent with custody and control of the child. If your daughter is over 18 years old, she is considered an adult and can live wherever she chooses.

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 mediator and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com