[AnaMaria88]

I am seeking for some advice, and am hoping that one of you may have the answer or at least some helpful input.

I am 18 years old, born in Arizona and raised in Oregon. My mother raised me without the help of my father who walked out on me as a baby. My father went back to live in Nogales, Sonora where he could feed his drug addiction at lower costs than he could in the States. When I was 10 years old he had a daughter from another woman. She was a drug addict and abandoned my sister, leaving her with my father’s mother. My grandmother has raised Sarahie (my sister) but her health is faltering and my father has been in and out of rehab for years now, never making much progress. Sarahie’s mother has also not quit using drugs and I am the only other immediate family member besides my uncles who have kids of their own and don’t want to take responsibility of her. As much as my grandma tries she is not giving Sarahie the stability that she needs and doesn’t have the resources to provide for her. I am wondering do I have any right to take guardianship of my baby sister. And if I do how do I go about becoming her guardian? Also the major factor is her citizenship. I was born and raised here but she was raised in Mexico and due to the fact that my father is not an American citizen she had no citizenship here. What do I do? Would I have to adopt her? I want my sister to have the best life possible and I want so badly to make some sort of difference for her. If I were to adopt her would she get all the opportunities she deserved? Please help me!

[lakin11]

I do not know what to tell you, but I would consulte a lawyer. You may have issues because of your age. I believe the youngest age you can adopt is 21. Do you have a good job and housing that could support both of you? Those will all be factors, no matter which way you turn. Again, see if you can get a free lawyer consult. Or talk to someone in the Mexican Conuslate. Is your grandmother willing to turn her over to you? I don't know anything else to help you, but I wish you all the luck trying to help your sister! Prayers are with you.

[kimmom]

I know that this is an old post, but I'll answer anyway. You should be able to find the specific laws on the INS's website. They also have help lines. Mexico's adoption laws are IMO difficult, but you may be able to sponcer her as an immigrant, if you meet 125% of poverty level. Again, I don't know the laws governing this, but you should be able to get pretty cut and dry answers. If you have a larger window to get her out, I would suggest you research and do your own filing. I filed a fiance's visa when I was 19, I thought that it was really easy, and I saved a ton of money. If you have more time it cant hurt anything, for the cost of a few hundred dollars it seems like a good gamble to me, and you can always refile using a lawyer if it is denied. Also, I have heard of churches that will file for little or no cost. Good luck!!!