Moving to the USA with Children: Visas, School and Child Benefits

When you move to the USA with children, you make every decision twice: once for yourself and once for someone who had no say in it. This guide sorts out the four questions every family has to answer: which status your children enter the country on and how long it lasts, how school works, what happens to child benefits from home, and which tax advantages the USA offers families.

When you move to the USA with children, you make every decision twice: once for yourself and once for someone who had no say in it. This guide sorts out the four questions every family has to answer: which status your children enter the country on and how long it lasts, how school works, what happens to child benefits from home, and which tax advantages the USA offers families. The details on school enrollment, vaccinations and deadlines are in our Arriving series of guides; this one is about the plan that comes before.

1Your child travels on your visa

On the routes our clients take, children don't need a visa basis of their own. They come as family members of the parent who receives the visa or green card. For the E-2, USCIS allows spouses and unmarried children under 21 to accompany or later join the investor or employee, and they don't need to share the same nationality. They are usually granted the same period of stay as the parent. For the L-1, the same applies in L-2 status. For employment- or investment-based green cards, the law gives spouses and children the right to the same status and the same priority if they accompany or follow to join (8 U.S.C. 1153(d)).

That leads to the single most important point for any family: your children's status depends on the parent's status. If the parent's visa ends, so does the children's status. If the parent extends, they extend too. If the family is already in the USA and wants to extend or change status, they file together on Form I-539, which costs $470 on paper and $420 online at USCIS. For a green card from inside the US, each child needs their own Form I-485; for children under 14 filing together with a parent, it costs $950 instead of $1,440 on paper and $900 instead of $1,390 online. What else applies to spouses and children on the E-2 is covered in E-2: spouses and children, and for the L-1 in our guide to the L-2 visa.

1.1Work authorization is for spouses only

According to USCIS, spouses in E-2 status are authorized to work by virtue of their status. USCIS names no such authorization for children. That makes no difference for schoolchildren, but it matters a lot for teenagers with summer jobs and for taxes, as the section on the Child Tax Credit shows.

2The 21st birthday

In US family immigration law, the age of 21 is a hard line. Anyone who turns 21 or marries is no longer a child under the law and loses their derivative status. For a family with teenagers, that means a visa planned to last for years may not carry your oldest child through to the end. If they want to study in the USA, they will need their own status, for example as a student; if they want to work, their own visa.

For the green card, there is some help. The Child Status Protection Act of 2002 doesn't change the definition of a child, but it calculates the relevant age in a way that lets some applicants still count as children after their 21st birthday. USCIS calls this the CSPA age. The child must still be unmarried, and the rule only applies to certain applicant groups listed by USCIS, including children coming as family members on an employment- or investment-based green card. If your child is close to turning 21, plan the order of your applications carefully. For an overview of the green card routes for entrepreneurs, see From visa to green card.

3School: your address decides

In America, you don't register your child with a central education office but with the school district where your home is. Public school charges no tuition, and it may not turn your child away because of your nationality or your visa. Which documents, vaccinations and deadlines Texas, Florida, California and New York require is covered in our guide Enrolling your children in school in the USA. It also explains why a child who is only in the country as a visitor on ESTA or a B visa should not attend school regularly. If you enter as a tourist first and get your visa later, wait for the right status before enrolling.

Because your address determines the school, choosing a school starts with house hunting. For families, that means: check the school district first, then sign the lease. How public schools, charter schools, private schools and international schools differ, and what a US diploma is worth if you return to Europe, is explained in our comparison School in the USA or in Europe. For a picture of universities and tuition fees, see our guide to the US education system, and if you want to teach your children yourself, you'll find the rules in our guide to homeschooling in the USA.

Don't underestimate timing. In many school districts, the school year starts in August. Moving over the summer break gives your child the easiest start; moving mid-year is possible but calls for good paperwork: translated report cards, an explanation of the grading scale and proof of vaccination.

4Custody: when one parent stays behind

5Child benefits after the move

Family benefits in your home country depend on residence, usually both yours and your child's. So if the whole family moves to the USA, you will generally lose them.

5.3Switzerland

Swiss family allowances are paid for children living abroad only where international agreements require it; the Federal Social Insurance Office names in particular the agreements with the EU and EFTA. For the USA, there is an exception only for employees who remain compulsorily insured in the AHV, for example because their Swiss employer has posted them. If you emigrate and work in the USA, you will usually not fall under it.

6Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents

The US federal government has no child benefit of the kind you may know from home. Support comes through your income tax return instead. The Child Tax Credit cuts your tax by up to $2,200 per child. If you owe little or no tax, up to $1,700 per child can be paid out as the Additional Child Tax Credit, provided you have at least $2,500 of earned income. The child must be under 17 at the end of the year, have lived with you for more than half the year, be claimed as your dependent on the return and be a US citizen, US national or US resident. Children who live with you in the USA become residents themselves once they meet the day count of the Substantial Presence Test.

6.1The hurdle is the number

Since tax year 2025, the IRS requires that you (or, on a joint return, at least one of you) and every child have a Social Security Number that is valid for work in the USA and was issued before the filing deadline, including extensions. For the other spouse, an SSN or an ITIN is enough. For families on a visa, this is the key point: whether a child can get such a number depends on their status. If the child has none, the Credit for Other Dependents remains: up to $500 per dependent, non-refundable, with an SSN, ITIN or ATIN for the child. Both credits phase out from an income of $200,000, or $400,000 on a joint return. How to apply for an ITIN for your child is explained under Applying for an ITIN.

In the year you move, the IRS often treats you as two taxpayers: a nonresident up to the cut-off date, a resident after it. Which credits apply then depends on how you file; our article on the year of the move on your US tax return explains the elections. If you are a US citizen raising children in Europe and know the other direction, you will find the rules on child benefit and the Child Tax Credit side by side in the article Child benefit and the Child Tax Credit.

7Health insurance and everyday life with children

After rent, health insurance is the biggest ongoing cost for families, and in the USA it is priced by age, location and plan. Children can be covered through an employer's family plan or a plan of their own. The options families have, when the state CHIP program for children comes into play and which deadlines apply are covered in the article Health insurance in the USA by age. How to find a pediatrician before you need one is described in the article Doctors and dentists in the USA.

Also plan for the small things that become big with children: a separate passport for each child, certified birth certificates with translations, vaccination records, school reports and, if the parents are separated, the written consent of the other parent. If a child takes medication at home, have the prescription translated and bring enough for the first few weeks.

8The family checklist

1. Clarify status: Which visa will the children come on, and when does the eldest turn 21?
2. Put custody arrangements in writing if one parent is not coming along.
3. Choose the school district before the home and have documents translated.
4. Notify the child benefit office at home before payments continue even though the entitlement has ended.
5. Apply for numbers: a Social Security Number if the status allows it, otherwise an ITIN for the tax return.
6. Health insurance from day one for every family member.

Where you move decides school, taxes and cost of living. You will find our comparison of 13 states under Which state suits you, and what the move costs overall under What does moving to the USA cost. How families plan the move to the USA from the very first thought is shown in our guide to moving to the USA with children.

In short

• Children usually enter as family members of the parent with the visa or green card; on the E-2 and L-1 this applies to unmarried children under 21.
• Derivative status ends on the child's 21st birthday. For the green card, the Child Status Protection Act can calculate age differently in some cases; for visas, the child then needs a status of their own.
• Public school is assigned by home address; for separated parents with joint custody, moving abroad requires both parents' agreement.
• In the USA there is a Child Tax Credit of up to $2,200 per child under 17 if child and parent have a Social Security Number valid for work; otherwise the Credit for Other Dependents of up to $500 may apply.

How we help you

• Your US Tax ReturnForm 1040 or 1040-NR, handled in English.
• Visa RoadmapIn writing: which visa fits you and your family, prepared with the immigration attorney on the firm's team.
• Moving to the USAVisa, bank account, taxes and where to live: your move with Mount Bonnell Advisors.
• ConsultationOne hour with the firm: your case, your questions, a clear answer.