I am recently divorced and wish to travel to the U.S. in H1B with my minor son, who will be coming in H-4 status. My ex-husband has no objections to this. Do I need to bring documents with me for my son to enter, since his father will not be traveling with us?

Answer

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) strongly recommends that, if a child is only being accompanied by one parent, the parent traveling with the child carry a note from the other parent that states: “I acknowledge that my wife / husband / etc is traveling out of the country with my son / daughter / group. He/She/They has/have my permission.”

While CBP may not ask to see this documentation, an officer does ask for this and if the parent requesting admission to the U.S. does not have it, they may be detained until the circumstances of the child traveling without both parents can be fully assessed. If there is no second parent with legal claims to the child (e.g., deceased, sole custody, etc) any other relevant paperwork (e.g., a court decision, birth certificate naming only one parent, death certificate, etc) may be useful. (27.May.2021)

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