# Moving minors back to U.S.



## angie9387 (Mar 11, 2011)

I'm not very familiar with the laws concerning this, but your input is very helpful.

I have 3 nieces that were born in the U.S. and they lived in California, but they moved with my sister who is an immigrant to Mexico. My sister now wants my mom to take my 3 nieces back to California. My question is, what type of paperwork or requirements will be needed to be able to bring back the girls to the U.S.? My sister is not coming back with them, just the girls. Do they need their birth certificate, notarized letter, visa, passport, etc.?


Also, if my nieces were to come back to the U.S. do they need a notarized paper from both parents?


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## conorkilleen (Apr 28, 2010)

angie9387 said:


> I'm not very familiar with the laws concerning this, but your input is very helpful.
> 
> I have 3 nieces that were born in the U.S. and they lived in California, but they moved with my sister who is an immigrant to Mexico. My sister now wants my mom to take my 3 nieces back to California. My question is, what type of paperwork or requirements will be needed to be able to bring back the girls to the U.S.? My sister is not coming back with them, just the girls. Do they need their birth certificate, notarized letter, visa, passport, etc.?
> 
> ...


Passports yes. Birth Certificates is a must to be able to get passports. Notarized letter from both parents is also a must to not be detained by US customs. How did they get into Mexico without passports?

Still some holes in the story but you may want to go to the US Consulate that is closest to you in Mexico and ask these questions...or call the office as well if its really far.

Good Luck...if you are asking these questions then it seems and I assume you have allot of work to do.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

If the children don't have passports, then they must not have Mexican visas and are, therefore, illegal aliens in Mexico. Yikes! Who got them into this situation? You must gather up all the necessary documents, go to the nearest US Consulate and apply for passports. This may require the presence of both birth parents, with their own passports and other documents. Very strong proof that the children were born in the USA will be required, perhaps with apostilled birth certificates from The Secretary of State of California. US Consulates are now requiring only Traveler's Checks in the exact amount for passport fees, so check their requirements carefully. They won't accept cash or checks any more. The children may also need to deal with INM in Mexico. In any event, they must 'get legal' in one or both countries. If their mother is Mexican, they are also entitled to Mexican passports, as well as USA, but must have registered their births at a Mexican Consulate in the USA. That can still be done at the appropriate time. Please don't delay, as these children must have 'identity' to go to school, find jobs, marry, etc. Without it, they and their future children 'won't exist'.


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## angie9387 (Mar 11, 2011)

RVGRINGO said:


> If the children don't have passports, then they must not have Mexican visas and are, therefore, illegal aliens in Mexico. Yikes! Who got them into this situation? You must gather up all the necessary documents, go to the nearest US Consulate and apply for passports. This may require the presence of both birth parents, with their own passports and other documents. Very strong proof that the children were born in the USA will be required, perhaps with apostilled birth certificates from The Secretary of State of California. US Consulates are now requiring only Traveler's Checks in the exact amount for passport fees, so check their requirements carefully. They won't accept cash or checks any more. The children may also need to deal with INM in Mexico. In any event, they must 'get legal' in one or both countries. If their mother is Mexican, they are also entitled to Mexican passports, as well as USA, but must have registered their births at a Mexican Consulate in the USA. That can still be done at the appropriate time. Please don't delay, as these children must have 'identity' to go to school, find jobs, marry, etc. Without it, they and their future children 'won't exist'.



Well I do think my sister was crazy for taking them to Mexico, but like many other people who struggle in the U.S. they feel that by going back to Mexico their "situation" would improve. We tried to tell her that the decision of taking the girls, who are U.S. born was a huge mistake, but she would have none of it. When they left, one of the girls was around 3 or 4 yrs old, and the twins were around 7 or 8 years old. My sister has probably been living in Mexico for 3 or 4 yrs now, and she finally has realized that it was a huge mistake to move to Mexico. She now wants us to bring back the girls from Mexico to Cali. But my problem is that if we do bring them back, we might encounter problems crossing them. Now I know for a fact that my sister did not take out visas for them. They crossed the border driving, through TJ into mexico. So, I am guessing that they weren't asked for visas. My sister has the required documents: birth certificates for all 3 girls, social security cards for all 3 girls, the notarized document from her, but the father of the girls have not been in their lives. That is were I might have problems, and I do not know how to go about that. Any ideas?

Thank You very much for your input. It is very helpful, and hopefully I won't have issues bringing them back. My interest is in their future, and I want them to benefit from all the opportunities this country has to offer them, especially in their education.


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## angie9387 (Mar 11, 2011)

conorkilleen said:


> Passports yes. Birth Certificates is a must to be able to get passports. Notarized letter from both parents is also a must to not be detained by US customs. How did they get into Mexico without passports?
> 
> Still some holes in the story but you may want to go to the US Consulate that is closest to you in Mexico and ask these questions...or call the office as well if its really far.
> 
> Good Luck...if you are asking these questions then it seems and I assume you have allot of work to do.


Thank You very much for your insight and input. My sister took the girls from cali crossing the border by vehicle. So, I am guessing that they probably weren't asked for passports. Not exactly, sure how she's doing it by living in Mexico without passports or some type of paperwork requiring her to be legal in Mexico. I am honestly clueless, and I am verily learning from these posts of the required paperwork to live in Mexico. I thought that you could just live in Mexico, and not need any type of paperwork. But, I do know that I have a lot of work to do, and I have received very helpful information. Hopefully I can bring them back, without any issues. I do think that I might have encounter problems on acquiring the notarized document from their father. The father has not been in the girls lives for yrs. I don't even know if he's alive, and it be really hard to find him, especially since he is an illegal alien also. I don't know if he's in the U.S. or Mexico. But once again thank you very much for your info.


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## conorkilleen (Apr 28, 2010)

good luck angie. Sounds like your trying to do the right thing for the children, which to me is honorable. How old are the children? Do they go to school in Mexico?

I have only crossed into TJ once in my life and it was with my family years ago before 9/11. I think it was 1997. We really didnt need anything to cross at all. We just told the guy where we were born and they waved us through. We were only there for a few hours to do some shopping and crossed right back. Not sure when your girls crossed but I assume it is allot stricter nowadays in TJ.


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## ReefHound (Aug 9, 2010)

Assuming you have solid proof these kids were born in the USA, I don't see this as an immigration issue as much as a custody issue. If they simply show up at the border, US Customs has no choice but to admit them. They are natural born US citizens. There are no grounds or provisions for deporting or barring natural citizens. 

Having a US passport would be of tremendous value in proving citizenship. I'd start with getting that at the nearest consulate. The rules require presence of both parents OR permission of non-present parent OR proof of sole custody OR affidavit explaining why none of that is possible. 

However, you do not have legal custody therefore they *may* be taken into custody and turned over to CPS to determine who has legal custody. That could turn into a long and messy affair requiring their US relatives to petition the courts to be granted custody.

My bet is you won't have any problems as long as you can show they are citizens and have notarized letter from the mother. The notarized letter isn't to cross the border but to show you are their guardian and in your immediate custody. Notarized parental permission is intended to prevent kids from being illegally taken out of their home country, not returned to it. For all they know you aren't taking the kids away from their mother but bringing them back home to their mother.


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