Parental Child Abduction From Country
America is a place where people from all over the world come together. Because there are people from all over the globe in the United States, it has become common to find couples with ties to other countries. These marriages can offer unique opportunities to people. However, when a marriage between people from different countries ends in divorce, challenges may arise, especially when a child is involved. What if one parent abducts the child and takes them back to their home country? Often, parental child abduction occurs when a parent is afraid of losing custody or visitation rights because of an unpredictable relationship with the custodial parent. It can be scary if the other parent takes your child back to their home country. You might be left feeling hopeless. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to prevent this from happening. And if it does happen, do not give up hope. There may be options you can pursue.
Your Options if Your Child Has a Passport
The court does not have the power to suspend or revoke your child’s passport. However, you can ask the court to keep the passport safe. Once the court orders the passport to be surrendered for safekeeping, you and the other parent need the court’s permission to access the passport. However, before the court can ask for your child’s passport to be surrendered, you must prove that taking the child out of the country is not just a possibility. For example, if the other parent has purchased plane tickets for themselves and your child.
Your Options if Your Child Doesn’t Have a Passport
If your child has no valid passport, you may have a number of options that can help prevent your child from being taken out of the country without your consent or approval. In the U.S., there is a law that requires that, in most cases, both parents consent to their minor child obtaining a passport. Only under a few circumstances can a young child’s passport be issued if one parent applies for the passport without the other parent’s consent.
Another option is registering your child with the Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program. This program alerts parents if someone tries to apply for a passport for their child.
What if Your Child Has Already Been Taken Out of the Country?
Sometimes, despite you doing your best to prevent the other parent from abducting your child and taking them out of the country, the worst-case scenario happens, and your child is removed from the country without your consent. Depending on where the other parent took the child, The Hague Convention might help. This international agreement helps return children wrongfully taken to another country. More than 90 countries have signed this agreement.
Things can get complicated if your child is taken to a country that is not part of The Hague Convention. In such a case, you may need an attorney familiar with that country’s laws.
Contact a Tampa Family Law Attorney
If you have concerns about your child’s safety, a qualified Tampa family law attorney at The Law Office of Laura A. Olson. P.A. can help. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
Source:
travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/International-Parental-Child-Abduction/prevention/passport-issuance-alert-program.html
