This next set of strange stories involves long distance marriage and paternity.
1) A male in his thirties came to legal aid because he said his fiance was denied an international visa. In his paperwork, the man's only income was $500 of food stamps. I asked how he met his girlfriend and it turns out he has known her for five months and only over the internet. Yet, he was convinced she was the one and went through the (expensive?) process of bringing her to the United States. Supposedly she was stuck in Europe after a layover because her paperwork was denied. This was a a strange situation. Ralph's instruction was to refer him to a private immigration attorney in town.
2) One of my clients this last week was a young man approximately 25 years old. He was he was at legal aid because he wanted to pay child support and be involved in the life of his young daughter who was only a few days old. I congratulated him and asked how long he knew the mother and if they were still together. He knew the mother for about seven months and they were no longer together. I delicately asked if seven months was how long they were dating or if that was the timeline he had known her. He was adamant that was how long he knew this woman and he relocated from Bend to raise his daughter. I next asked him if he had a paternity test. He seemed a bit confused but said he had not. I then asked him how he knew it was his daughter. His response, "she looks a lot like me." I had a hard time gently informing him that from what he told me I did not understand how he could be the biological father of this child. I encouraged him to take a paternity test but made sure to inform him he did not have to do this and he could choose to take the role of father in this child's life voluntarily.
1) A male in his thirties came to legal aid because he said his fiance was denied an international visa. In his paperwork, the man's only income was $500 of food stamps. I asked how he met his girlfriend and it turns out he has known her for five months and only over the internet. Yet, he was convinced she was the one and went through the (expensive?) process of bringing her to the United States. Supposedly she was stuck in Europe after a layover because her paperwork was denied. This was a a strange situation. Ralph's instruction was to refer him to a private immigration attorney in town.
2) One of my clients this last week was a young man approximately 25 years old. He was he was at legal aid because he wanted to pay child support and be involved in the life of his young daughter who was only a few days old. I congratulated him and asked how long he knew the mother and if they were still together. He knew the mother for about seven months and they were no longer together. I delicately asked if seven months was how long they were dating or if that was the timeline he had known her. He was adamant that was how long he knew this woman and he relocated from Bend to raise his daughter. I next asked him if he had a paternity test. He seemed a bit confused but said he had not. I then asked him how he knew it was his daughter. His response, "she looks a lot like me." I had a hard time gently informing him that from what he told me I did not understand how he could be the biological father of this child. I encouraged him to take a paternity test but made sure to inform him he did not have to do this and he could choose to take the role of father in this child's life voluntarily.
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