Can a Permanent Resident Receive Primary Custody

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: South Carolina

I have been married for 17 years and my soon to be ex wants Primary Custody of the kids because she wants to take them out of the Country. In South Carolina you have to be separated for 1 year before you can file for a divorce. She has no grounds for the divorce except that she doesn't want to be married anymore. I am a great father to my kids and since we have been divorce we have been sharing custody. I have them or 7 days and she have them for 7 days. Like I said before she wants Primary Custody only because I will grant her the option to take the kids out of the Country with out my permission. What should I do?

She doesn't need to have primary custody to travel. All she needs is either sole legal custody, or - if you won't sign the passport app - the court to order you to sign it.

(If you don't, the court will make sure she can get the passports anyway unless she's a documented flight risk)

Her immigration status is irrelevant.

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Quoting Dogmatique

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She doesn't need to have primary custody to travel. All she needs is either sole legal custody, or - if you won't sign the passport app - the court to order you to sign it.

(If you don't, the court will make sure she can get the passports anyway unless she's a documented flight risk)

Her immigration status is irrelevant.

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I agree with this if the OP was talking about vacations outside the country. However, I got the impression that the OP was talking about mom wanting to MOVE the children outside of the country. If that is the case, then sole custody would NOT grant her that option.

I'm reading it differently, but OP can clarify. He's been married 17 years though - that doesn't exactly prove that she'd be a flight risk. He'd need much more than a "she might" for the court to deny her the ability of taking a vacation (and thus allowing her to get passports)...even if he "knows" deep down that she'd flee.

Realistically if she's going to flee, she's likely going to blatantly lie about her intentions anyway and insist that she only wants to take the kids to see her family elsewhere.

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Quoting Dogmatique

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I'm reading it differently, but OP can clarify. He's been married 17 years though - that doesn't exactly prove that she'd be a flight risk. He'd need much more than a "she might" for the court to deny her the ability of taking a vacation (and thus allowing her to get passports)...even if he "knows" deep down that she'd flee.

Realistically if she's going to flee, she's likely going to blatantly lie about her intentions anyway and insist that she only wants to take the kids to see her family elsewhere.

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I too would like the OP to clarify. However, I didn't get the impression that mom intended to flee...I got the impression that mom thought (and dad as well) that if mom got custody then she would be ALLOWED to move the children out of the country.

*facepalm* okay y'know what? I didn't even THINK of that being the case.

I shall make some coffee... *embarrassed*

Yes, that's what I was thinking. Since if from Canada and have said many times that she wants to move back home.

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She is from Canada, I don't know there laws concerning returning the children even if there is a court order!

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Quoting John43

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Yes, that's what I was thinking. Since if from Canada and have said many times that she wants to move back home.

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She is from Canada, I don't know there laws concerning returning the children even if there is a court order!

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Do the children already have Canadian passports?

No, the US passport that they have is expired.

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Quoting John43

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No, the US passport that they have is expired.

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She won't be able to get passports for them without your signature unless you cave and give her sole legal and physical custody, which you absolutely should not do.

However, even with sole legal and physical custody she could not legally remove them from the US without either your permission or the permission of the courts.

However, its almost guaranteed that a judge would allow her to vacation in Canada with the children, so you will need to be prepared to accept that.

Luckily, Canada and the US work well with each other on matters of child support and child custody. So she really wouldn't be able to pull off just up and moving there with them.

Dad, you absolutely MUST sign up for CPIAP. Go here - and I'm serious, this needs to be the first thing you do after you read this thread.

http://travel.state.gov/content/chil...nting/faq.html

While CPIAP does not guarantee that a passport will not be renewed or issued, it at least gives the State Dept a chance to notify you of the attempt. Unfortunately I'm not nearly as confident as LL that Mom can't away with absconding.

I'm less bothered about the US passports though, than the Canadian side of things.

Sooooo...is Mom a dual citizen and does she have a Canadian passport?


(For what it's worth, it is possible - not easy, but possible - for Mom to get US passports without Dads consent)

She is a permanent Resident and has a Canadian Passport... I completed to documentation today and will send it off tomorrow! I will also check with the Canadian Embassy about any passport being issued to my kids without my knowledge. Thanks for the information.

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Quoting Dogmatique

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Dad, you absolutely MUST sign up for CPIAP. Go here - and I'm serious, this needs to be the first thing you do after you read this thread.

http://travel.state.gov/content/chil...nting/faq.html

While CPIAP does not guarantee that a passport will not be renewed or issued, it at least gives the State Dept a chance to notify you of the attempt. Unfortunately I'm not nearly as confident as LL that Mom can't away with absconding.

I'm less bothered about the US passports though, than the Canadian side of things.

Sooooo...is Mom a dual citizen and does she have a Canadian passport?


(For what it's worth, it is possible - not easy, but possible - for Mom to get US passports without Dads consent)

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Okay this is what's concerning me.

Mom could, technically, cross over the border into Canada without much fuss at all.

I live about 15 minutes from the US/Canada border, and at least on this side of the US (the left hand side), border control are almost useless. My adult kids were able to come and go without any hassle at all (and they're US citizens with no ties to Canada). The process is, you don't always need a passport to get into Canada. It's returning to the US that becomes tricky, but if Mom is just trying to get across the border, there's a damn good chance she'll pull it off.

So, go here too and follow the instructions: http://www.ppt.gc.ca/protection/16-.aspx?lang=eng

What REALLY concerns me is the that Canada's restrictions are nowhere near a stringent as the US's rules. Mom can, if she's smart, get Canadian passports for the kids without your input at all.

I'm not saying this is entirely legal - but Canada has left a few loopholes which might allow her to skip around certain requirements and get the kids into Canada without much trouble at all.

You absolutely need to get a custody order as soon as you can.