Is a 16 year old allowed to live by himself?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe this would qualify as neglect if he was not emancipated.

You have a responsibility to ensure his safety and care until he is 18. He's NOT 18. You would be abandoning him. That is neglect. It is not o.k.

You need to arrange for his guardianship. Someone needs to be responsible for him. I do not think you can get him emancipated just because you want to leave the country.

CPS isn't going to get involved with a 16 year old who has a place to live, money, and needs being met. If they took him, he'd go into independent living which is basically a group home loosely supervised. The big issue is if he gets sick or needs help. With under 16 he may need someone to sign but he could email documents to mom and have mom sign.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
OP here.

The story is that I may need to leave the US in a few months while my immigration paperwork gets sorted out. USCIS has a huge backlog of cases, so it could take 2 years, but maybe not for my type of application, in which case it could take just a few months - my attorney cannot tell me. He’s not even sure at this point whether I will need to leave, but then last time, he was sure I didn’t need to leave, until I was given 48 hours notice to leave, which was incredibly stressful (that was years ago and we left as a family).

My son is doing well in school, and I was wondering whether he could stay to finish high school, with friends checking on him. Or would he need to stay with someone? Do I need to sign a letter authorizing his stay? He’s never stayed by himself before.

Will he have funds? Is he ok with this plan? Are you in MD, DC or VA? Every state has it's own laws.

Yes to funds.
No, neither of us are OK with this! But neither are we OK with giving up what he's worked so hard for in school. We don't know how long we might be gone, and then it's goodbye to changes of a good college.
We're in Montgomery County, MD, as I stated in my OP.

None one would probably do anything about it I'd at least have an adult who can be there if here is an emergency. Does he have a friend's family he can stay with?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
OP here.

The story is that I may need to leave the US in a few months while my immigration paperwork gets sorted out. USCIS has a huge backlog of cases, so it could take 2 years, but maybe not for my type of application, in which case it could take just a few months - my attorney cannot tell me. He’s not even sure at this point whether I will need to leave, but then last time, he was sure I didn’t need to leave, until I was given 48 hours notice to leave, which was incredibly stressful (that was years ago and we left as a family).

My son is doing well in school, and I was wondering whether he could stay to finish high school, with friends checking on him. Or would he need to stay with someone? Do I need to sign a letter authorizing his stay? He’s never stayed by himself before.

Will he have funds? Is he ok with this plan? Are you in MD, DC or VA? Every state has it's own laws.

Yes to funds.
No, neither of us are OK with this! But neither are we OK with giving up what he's worked so hard for in school. We don't know how long we might be gone, and then it's goodbye to changes of a good college.
We're in Montgomery County, MD, as I stated in my OP.

OP, I hope you're exaggerating here but I fear that you are not.

I have a 16 YO son. I know plenty of 16 YO boys. I simply cannot fathom what kind of parent would ever think it is OK to even consider leaving him alone for "we don't know how long we might be gone" (??!!) and think that is OK for his mental and emotional health - all because you are afraid he won't get into a good college? Are you out of your mind?

Lady, you need to tame the tiger.

[Anonymous]

You need to find a trusted family friend for him to stay with or bring him with you.

What you are considering is illegal, and since you are currently in limbo about being able to return to the USA I wouldn't change anything that could make things harder for you or could end up with your son in state custody.

[Anonymous]

Op,

I understand why you are considering this but you need to rethink it. What happens to your son if something does go wrong? If he gets hurt or robbed or his friends start taking advantage of him having his own place. He will have no adult support.

I think you need to start figuring out if there is a family he can stay with or at the very least, will promise to be responsible for him.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

So... Who can I contact to confirm that my 16 year old will legally be allowed to live either by himself in my home, or with a friend, for the duration of my immigration process? He’s a US citizen, of course.

What paperwork do I need to sign, for medical care and temporary authorization to live without me, or in the care of someone else?

Thank you. We are very stressed about this, and my immigration attorney is not helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
OP here.

So... Who can I contact to confirm that my 16 year old will legally be allowed to live either by himself in my home, or with a friend, for the duration of my immigration process? He’s a US citizen, of course.

What paperwork do I need to sign, for medical care and temporary authorization to live without me, or in the care of someone else?

Thank you. We are very stressed about this, and my immigration attorney is not helpful.

Praying that you are a troll

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
OP here.

So... Who can I contact to confirm that my 16 year old will legally be allowed to live either by himself in my home, or with a friend, for the duration of my immigration process? He’s a US citizen, of course.

What paperwork do I need to sign, for medical care and temporary authorization to live without me, or in the care of someone else?

Thank you. We are very stressed about this, and my immigration attorney is not helpful.

Praying that you are a troll

Maybe. NP and my parents had to leave for 2 months to get their immigration papers sorted out (this was in the 80s) and I stayed with a woman from church. I was 9 at the time, so it is a real situation.

[Anonymous]

My in-laws did this to my husband. He essentially lived alone for two years in high school. He was extremely responsible and never had wild parties, but being left alone during his teenage years was tough.

Find a way for him to stay with family and friends if possible.

Also, there’s no “teenage supervisor” you send a letter to. I would have your son emancipate himself if you’re going to do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
OP here.

So... Who can I contact to confirm that my 16 year old will legally be allowed to live either by himself in my home, or with a friend, for the duration of my immigration process? He’s a US citizen, of course.

What paperwork do I need to sign, for medical care and temporary authorization to live without me, or in the care of someone else?

Thank you. We are very stressed about this, and my immigration attorney is not helpful.

You need guardianship papers for the family your son will stay with. Ask around for a lawyer recommendation.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, OP, that you are going through this.
To those who are slamming the OP, it's entirely possible that she could be going to a situation that is not great for a kid, and this is the son's only chance of a real shot at the kind of life you all take for granted.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are getting a lot of bad advice.
You need to talk to a family law attorney who can set this up. First, I’m assuming your son is a citizen so won’t have the immigration issue, right?
If you leave him and he is deemed an abandoned minor, CPS will put him in the system. As a well behaved teen from a supportive family he might get lucky with a foster home placement. Otherwise, he will end up in a group home situation or supervised apartment situation which might be okay or maybe not. It’s hard to say. An attorney would be able to help you either get him emancipated (which would sever your parental rights over him if you were able to return—which may not be a big deal if your son is responsible and you have a good relationship) or to set him up with a legal guardian. At 16, I am not sure if a legal guardian would have to live with him—a family law attorney could answer this. One thing to discuss with your immigration lawyer is whether emancipation will affect his ability to sponsor you as an adult child, if you want to get permanent residency through that route. I would check on that.
Good luck. I feel like a lot of posters are forgetting that their own great-grandparents got on boats at 16 to come over here and work in mills or scrubbing floors. Not everyone has the ability to live the John Hughes movie teenage life. Again, best of luck to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
OP here.

So... Who can I contact to confirm that my 16 year old will legally be allowed to live either by himself in my home, or with a friend, for the duration of my immigration process? He’s a US citizen, of course.

What paperwork do I need to sign, for medical care and temporary authorization to live without me, or in the care of someone else?

Thank you. We are very stressed about this, and my immigration attorney is not helpful.

Talk to an attorney. You can just sign a POA if you are paying for insurance. If he needs to go on the other person's health insurance they'll probably need guardianship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you are getting a lot of bad advice.
You need to talk to a family law attorney who can set this up. First, I’m assuming your son is a citizen so won’t have the immigration issue, right?
If you leave him and he is deemed an abandoned minor, CPS will put him in the system. As a well behaved teen from a supportive family he might get lucky with a foster home placement. Otherwise, he will end up in a group home situation or supervised apartment situation which might be okay or maybe not. It’s hard to say. An attorney would be able to help you either get him emancipated (which would sever your parental rights over him if you were able to return—which may not be a big deal if your son is responsible and you have a good relationship) or to set him up with a legal guardian. At 16, I am not sure if a legal guardian would have to live with him—a family law attorney could answer this. One thing to discuss with your immigration lawyer is whether emancipation will affect his ability to sponsor you as an adult child, if you want to get permanent residency through that route. I would check on that.
Good luck. I feel like a lot of posters are forgetting that their own great-grandparents got on boats at 16 to come over here and work in mills or scrubbing floors. Not everyone has the ability to live the John Hughes movie teenage life. Again, best of luck to you.

He is far better off living alone if he is responsible than going into CPS. As long as he's cared for, CPS will not get involved. More than likely he'd be in a group home or independent living. Most foster homes aren't very good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
OP here.

So... Who can I contact to confirm that my 16 year old will legally be allowed to live either by himself in my home, or with a friend, for the duration of my immigration process? He’s a US citizen, of course.

What paperwork do I need to sign, for medical care and temporary authorization to live without me, or in the care of someone else?

Thank you. We are very stressed about this, and my immigration attorney is not helpful.

Praying that you are a troll

There are immigration situations where you have to go back and then reenter. She needs a family law attorney.