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  1. #1

    Default How to Prevent a Parent From Taking Our Child Out of the Country

    My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Florida / International.

    If my situation is more applicable to the Imigration / international law forum please advise and I will relocate.


    I will try to be as concise as possible but invariably this might get long.

    My girlfriend and I, let's call my GF Princess, are currently expecting our first daughter. We are not married.
    I am willing and wanting to take full responsibility as her father.
    Princess is a resident allien, aka has a green card. She is originally from Ecuador.
    I am a citizen of these U.S. of A.
    Princess' father believes Princess would be better off going back to Ecuador with my daughter as soon as she is born. He is luring Princess back to her native country with promises of endless amounts of maids at her disposal to alleviate the arduous tasks of changing diapers etc. Princess will of course not have to work either living with daddy which is not something I can offer her if she were to stay here. She is seriously evaluating this alternative. What yours truly has to say to the matter is of course rather irrelevant to both of them.

    It is my understanding that when both parents are U.S. citizens and either separated or never married, that in order to obtain a passport for their child, both parents would need to apply for it. I also understand that one parent can not leave the country with the child without the other parent's consent in the form of a written authorization. I am unsure however, whether Princess could apply for my daughter's Ecuadorian citizenship and passport with the Ecuadorian Embassy. Could she do this without my consent and subsequently leave the country with my daughter as an Ecuadorian citizen? Let's assume potential criminal charges against her if she comes back to the U.S. are irrelevant at this point. For now, I am mainly focused on preventing my daughter's possible departure out of the country with her mother.

    What are my options?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Preventive Meassures to Avoid Child Leaving the Country

    Quote Quoting Tang Zulu
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    My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Florida / International.

    If my situation is more applicable to the Imigration / international law forum please advise and I will relocate.


    I will try to be as concise as possible but invariably this might get long.

    My girlfriend and I, let's call my GF Princess, are currently expecting our first daughter. We are not married.
    I am willing and wanting to take full responsibility as her father.
    Princess is a resident allien, aka has a green card. She is originally from Ecuador.
    I am a citizen of these U.S. of A.
    Princess' father believes Princess would be better off going back to Ecuador with my daughter as soon as she is born. He is luring Princess back to her native country with promises of endless amounts of maids at her disposal to alleviate the arduous tasks of changing diapers etc. Princess will of course not have to work either living with daddy which is not something I can offer her if she were to stay here. She is seriously evaluating this alternative. What yours truly has to say to the matter is of course rather irrelevant to both of them.

    It is my understanding that when both parents are U.S. citizens and either separated or never married, that in order to obtain a passport for their child, both parents would need to apply for it. I also understand that one parent can not leave the country with the child without the other parent's consent in the form of a written authorization. I am unsure however, whether Princess could apply for my daughter's Ecuadorian citizenship and passport with the Ecuadorian Embassy. Could she do this without my consent and subsequently leave the country with my daughter as an Ecuadorian citizen? Let's assume potential criminal charges against her if she comes back to the U.S. are irrelevant at this point. For now, I am mainly focused on preventing my daughter's possible departure out of the country with her mother.

    What are my options?
    Your best bet would be to research Ecuador's policies regarding applying for a passport for the child. They may very well require the signatures of both parents as well. If so, problem solved. If not, then you will at least have more information.

    However, if Princess decides to return to Ecuador while pregnant, there would be absolutely nothing you could do to stop her.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Preventive Meassures to Avoid Child Leaving the Country

    There are some incorrect assumptions there actually.

    If you're unwed, and Mom is the only legal parent, that's all she needs to obtain a passport. She can also leave the country with the child, without your consent (assuming she's the only legal parent).

    As a practical matter, the only thing you can do is make sure you establish paternity as soon as you possibly can. Otherwise, all bets are off (certainly from the US perspective, anyway).

    You can check with the Ecuadorian Embassy for the rest.

  4. #4

    Default Re: Preventive Meassures to Avoid Child Leaving the Country

    The child will definitely be born in the U.S.. We agreed for the child to have my last name and for me to be listed as her father on her birth certificate. That will, or lets say should, happen for sure. We also both agree that the child needs to be a U.S. citizen no matter what. So she will be born here. Pretty sure she is not going to want our daughter being deprived of being a U.S. citizen. So that's one for Murica. Zero Ecuador.

    I don't exactly understand who checks whether a child has permission from a parent to leave the country. The only people reviewing documents when leaving the country are the airline clerks at the check- in desk and the TSA for your bags. Are the check-in desk clerks supposed to ask a traveler with a minor carrying a passport whether she/he has permission from the other parent for the child to leave the country? I find that highly unlikely. In fact, I would say that does not happen at all. Anyone have experience with this?

    Already called the Ecuadorian embassy. They informed me that the mother can have a passport made out for the child without my consent provided she has her birth certificate which she will have. The only consequence is the Ecuadorian embassy informs the U.S. government of any U.S. citizens applying for an Ecuadorian passport. The U.S.. can do nothing to prevent the Ecuadorian embassy issuing a passport to a U.S.. citizen however. That's at least the way I understand it.

    Does this mean I am screwed and have to consider plan B?

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    Default Re: Preventive Meassures to Avoid Child Leaving the Country

    Be careful because if mom does decide to have said child in Ecuador that child very well may be able to get US citizenship based on you being the father

    http://travel.state.gov/content/pass...rds/birth.html

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Preventive Meassures to Avoid Child Leaving the Country

    Quote Quoting Tang Zulu
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    The child will definitely be born in the U.S.. We agreed for the child to have my last name and for me to be listed as her father on her birth certificate. That will, or lets say should, happen for sure. We also both agree that the child needs to be a U.S. citizen no matter what. So she will be born here. Pretty sure she is not going to want our daughter being deprived of being a U.S. citizen. So that's one for Murica. Zero Ecuador.
    Looks like 1-1, actually; the child doesn't have to be born in the US at all.

    I don't exactly understand who checks whether a child has permission from a parent to leave the country. The only people reviewing documents when leaving the country are the airline clerks at the check- in desk and the TSA for your bags. Are the check-in desk clerks supposed to ask a traveler with a minor carrying a passport whether she/he has permission from the other parent for the child to leave the country? I find that highly unlikely. In fact, I would say that does not happen at all. Anyone have experience with this?
    It falls down to individual airlines. The point is though, that if Mom has a passport for the child and she's the sole legal custodian, she doesn't need your permission.

    Already called the Ecuadorian embassy. They informed me that the mother can have a passport made out for the child without my consent provided she has her birth certificate which she will have. The only consequence is the Ecuadorian embassy informs the U.S. government of any U.S. citizens applying for an Ecuadorian passport. The U.S.. can do nothing to prevent the Ecuadorian embassy issuing a passport to a U.S.. citizen however. That's at least the way I understand it.
    That's correct.


    Does this mean I am screwed and have to consider plan B?
    It means you have to establish paternity.

  7. #7

    Default Re: Preventive Meassures to Avoid Child Leaving the Country

    Quote Quoting Tang Zulu
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    We agreed for the child to have my last name and for me to be listed as her father on her birth certificate.
    Realizing of course that mom can't PUT you on the birth certificate. If you were married to mom, you'd automatically be the legal father even with no paperwork, but, since you're not married to her, you will have to put your OWN name on the birth certificate by completing the Acknowledgment of Paternity paperwork after the child is born. Can you can get that done before mom lawfully takes the child out of the country as a single parent? Dunno.

    Making babies without establishing your rights as the husband of the mother creates problems. As it stands now mom will effectively have all the rights because she will be unwed at the time of birth (unless she marries you or someone else, who would then be the legal husband). If you want rights as the other parent, you're now going to have to go about it the harder, slower, paperwork way.

    I don't exactly understand who checks whether a child has permission from a parent to leave the country. The only people reviewing documents when leaving the country are the airline clerks at the check- in desk and the TSA for your bags. Are the check-in desk clerks supposed to ask a traveler with a minor carrying a passport whether she/he has permission from the other parent for the child to leave the country?
    The US doesn't have EXIT controls. Officials don't care who leaves, only who returns/comes in. Without a specifically worded custody order that says that the child cannot travel outside the country (which would allow the child's passport to be flagged), law enforcement and airline personnel are not going to act to prevent your child from being taken out of the United States. Unless you get a court to issue a custody or visitation order that includes restriction on international travel, you're not going to be able to stop mom from taking the child.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Preventive Meassures to Avoid Child Leaving the Country

    OP, you should act fast to protect your interests when the child is born and not necessarily trust what she's telling you.

    Let that be a lesson to Americans who want to make babies with foreign visitors and green card holders.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Preventive Meassures to Avoid Child Leaving the Country

    Quote Quoting geek
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    OP, you should act fast to protect your interests when the child is born and not necessarily trust what she's telling you.

    Let that be a lesson to Americans who want to make babies with foreign visitors and green card holders.
    Let that be a lesson to Americans that men and women of all nationalities and immigrant statuses (or lack thereof), can conveniently disappear very effectively all while staying on American soil.

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