DD’s dad has taken her overseas and won’t bring her back

Have you checked the I-94 records, as a PP suggested? It's extremely unlikely that your DD has a US passport, so there should be a record of her arrival.

What was the reason you made an appointment with the solicitor you spoke to today? Did someone recommend them to you?

OP do you know any member of his family in England?

https://www.gov.uk/looking-after-children-divorce/apply-for-court-order

Hi op, it can be hard to keep going over the weekend when things go quiet with legals etc. call women's aid or the Samaritans if it feels too much alone.

The above link is for a prohibited steps order, you can get these done exparte urgent hearings with a few of a few hundred pounds or less if eligible. It's worth looking into

I am not a legal person at all but I've had previous international abduction attempts from my DCs father, I'm still working hard on my own situation so I've just been lurking but wanted to reach out.

Has anyone mentioned Hague mothers to you yet. Might be worth a look if not.

Stay focused op. She needs you calm and methodical. There's been some good advice here and lots of women rooting for you. If I think of anything else that might help you I'll post again I have to lay low because my exP is not a good person.

If you can't face food try protein drinks like Huel. Sending thoughts x

You could ask your friend if the ringing tone she got when she rang him was the usual (UK) one or if it was different. That would suggest if he is in the UK or abroad (I think).

I realise how distraught you are about this and how you probably can't stop thinking of all the worst possible outcomes for you and your DD. Having said that, it is possible that your little girl isn't experiencing this as anything other than an exciting venture with her father. She's only 6 and possibly has no conception of how far away from you she is or what that might mean for her ability to see you in the future. I realise this probably isn't much help to you, but you have so many practical things that you do need to be focused on right now that grieving for your daughter's safety and well-being possibly isn't the best use of your emotional energy. Why would she be scared or upset if she's with her DF? He's probably treating her to lots of exciting new things. She will have no concept of the trauma her absence is causing you. I'm not saying this to diminish her or your situation, but to perhaps help you cope with the practicalities of getting her back -- which I hope will be swiftly resolved for you.

To clarify, The Hague Convention should get the child swiftly returned as the E&W courts will have child custody jurisdiction.

The Child Abduction Act will get the OP’s ex arrested and prosecuted. Generally, for pragmatic reasons (and to encourage future cooperation in later cases), if the abducting parent sees sense and returns the child, there is no prosecution. However, there are people who have gone to prison for doing exactly what the OP’s ex has done.

It’s different if the parent takes the child overseas. In that case, the Hague Convention applies (provided the other country is a signatory which the USA is).

Under s.1 of the Child Abduction Act 1984, it is a criminal offence for a ‘connected person’ (usually a parent) to take a child out of the UK without the appropriate consent. ‘Appropriate consent’ means the consent of everyone with parental responsibility - almost always the mother (PR can be removed by the courts but this is rare) and the father if he has PR.

Edited to say: This is therefore not a civil matter and the police should not be treating it as such.

It’s not an error, plenty of parents don’t have a court order, we didn’t and managed to co parent amicably.

But not having a court order does mean that the police won’t get involved as there’s no order to be broken.

His taking the DD out of the country does complicate things, but when there’s no court order it’s considered a civil dispute not a legal one, and it does take some doing to get the child back.

There have been numerous cases on here of fathers who have withheld the children and refused to bring them back and that’s local, and the police won’t get involved and it’s taken weeks to get them back.

That's really not how it works. Court is for parents who can't work out arrangements amicably even with mediation (unless there's abuse). They have a contact schedule. They didn't need court. It really isn't an error.

Unfortunately, the OP trusted her ex so didn’t go through court to arrange access and that was her second biggest mistake after trusting her ex to be reasonable.

Unfortunately, she’s got no more rights than he has to have the child living with her (in the UK) so I suspect this will be a long drawn out battle to get the child returned to her.

If he's applying for his next passport at age 17, then it will be a 10-year one. If a child applies for a renewal at age 16 or 17, their next one is an adult one (good for 10 years).

You would have to appear with him at 17 renewal bec his previous one (ie the one that's expiring now) had been a 5-year.

He won't need another renewal until he's 27, not 22.

My son was 14 at his last renewal, so even though he's turning 19, his last passport was good for 5 years, so parents have to appear.

The 16 or 17 year old passport will be valid for 10 years (but a parent must approve the application)

https://travel.state.gov/en/passports/apply/child/16-17-year-old.html

No, the young adult goes in person alone:

https://uk.usembassy.gov/apply-for-an-adult-passport-my-last-passport-was-issued-before-i-was-16-or-more-than-15-years-ago/

After that, they can get their second 10 year passport by post.

Did I misunderstand your previous post? I thought you said that you still had to go as a parent with an adult child when they are getting their first 10-year passport at the end of their last 5-year passport. My DC will still have a 5-year passport at 22y 8mo.

There are a million more hoops to jump through when applying at an embassy, rather than in the States. One of my friends applies when she goes home for this reason (she goes for long periods).

How did this go?

This is what I was wondering.

You don't have to appear at the embassy but if you don't the other parent needs your notarized permission and copies of your passport.
As I said we do this with one parent/one child from 5-6y and upwards. Latest was 2024.

How did it go? @CherryMummy1

Sorry - don't know which part you're replying to from my post.

Don't actually have to do what? Appear at the embassy?