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

[CherryMummy1]

Me and my DD’s (6 years old) dad have been separated for 4 years. He had DD last weekend and has taken her overseas (he had her passport) and has moved overseas (America) with her and won’t bring her back! I had no idea that he was planning to do this! He has obviously been planning it for a while as he would have had to get Visa’s and plan his move to America and so on. He texted me on Saturday morning while he had DD saying that he was at the airport and that he was moving to America for work and that he was taking DD with him and wouldn’t bring her back! He hasn’t answered any of my calls or messages since. I’m going insane worrying about my DD. I’ve been absolutely in bits since, I’m an absolute wreck and can’t stop crying and worrying about my DD and just want her home with me! I’m DD’s primary parent so can’t imagine how scared and upset she must be feeling without me! The police here in the UK won’t do anything as they are saying her dad also has parental responsibility like me so there’s nothing they can do. Social services are refusing to get involved as well. AIBU to think that the police and authorities should be doing more to get my DD home? I’m absolutely in bits and can’t stop crying over it all! I’m furious and livid with her dad too, I’m absolutely raging at him with anger for doing this

You may have already answered this, so sorry if so, but if your ex spent at least 5 years in the US or one of its territories before your daughter was born, at least two of which were after his 14th birthday, your DD is entitled to US citizenship through him. The eight years before her birth are irrelevant as long as it doesn't cancel out the above.

At least that's how I'm reading it.

I can't imagine how you're feeling, sending hugs and hoping for a speedy resolution!

He's her father and he's American. Surely her birth certificate would prove that

All he needed to do was report the birth to the Consulate at any point prior to her 18th birthday. The U.S endows citizenship both by soil and by blood.

Her American citizenship isn’t dependent on a passport.

The police are wrong here - to take a child out of the country without permission of whoever has parental responsibility is a criminal offence. This is child abduction and it is a crime and they are wrong not to treat it as that. It’s irrelevant that you both have parental responsibility, that’s only applicable about issues where you are both still in the country. I’m telling you this as a child protection social worker

Your DD’s father has abducted her and he is a criminal.

I agree about not contacting the employer. The last thing you would want is for him to lose his job, then disappear.
I hope you can speak to some people who can help you tomorrow. This must be awful. What kind of person does that to a child and their mother

This happened to a friend, though it was Spain rather than America. She did get her children back, and had to go through lawyers, but it took months. I hope he comes to his senses.

Also speak again to the police, we had an incident with police and went and complained and spoke to a senior officer and he apologised and said his junior officers didn’t know the law and had dealt with it wrongly as they were not trained in that matter. Try again. Don’t leave it. I googled some advice that might help : Frontline police officers are often not trained in the complexities of international family law and frequently confuse internal family disputes (within the UK) with international parental abduction.
How to Force the Police to Take Action

1. Demand to Speak to a Supervisor: Ask to speak directly to a Duty Sergeant or a Duty Inspector. Calmly state: "This is not a civil dispute. Under Section 1 of the Child Abduction Act 1984, taking a child out of the UK without my consent is a criminal offence." 1, 2]
2. Request the "MASH" or Public Protection Unit: Ask the station to transfer your log or case to their Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) or the Public Protection / Child Protection Unit. These specialized officers understand that international abduction is a major safeguarding issue.
3. Insist on a Crime Reference Number: Do not accept an "incident log" number. Insist that a crime is formally recorded so it is allocated to an investigating officer.

Immediate Back-up Steps You Must Take If the police are stalling, you need to bypass them or get professional leverage immediately:

• Call Reunite International Immediately: Phone the Reunite International advice line at tel:0116 255 6234 0116 255 6234. They are the leading UK charity specializing in international parental abduction. They can guide you on exactly what to say to the police and can sometimes liaise with law enforcement on your behalf.
• 1]
• Contact the FCDO: If your child is already overseas, call the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Consular Directorate at tel:020 7008 5000 020 7008 5000. They can put pressure on police channels via Interpol. 1, 2]
• Instruct a Specialist Family Solicitor: Contact a law firm accredited by the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU). A specialist solicitor can rapidly apply for emergency High Court orders (like a Prohibited Steps Order or an All Ports Alert) that the police must legally enforce. 1, 2]

This is awful and terrifying. I am so, so sorry. I would also do everything as calmly and by the book as possible, despite how much you want to go nuclear. Your poor daughter and poor you.

Nope. She was born abroad, it's not automatic. He would need to prove she's American.

Even then a child cannot be kidnapped from their mother who is a primary parent.

You also can't get the CRBA without the other parent knowing.

I didn’t say otherwise. The point is that, if the above applies to her ex, then their daughter is an American citizen as well as a British one.

Sorry OP. This is so awful for you. Could you speak to him and appeal to his better nature? Stay calm and pretend not to be angry anymore. Say you’ll get back with him. Anything to get him to either bring her back or invite you over. He’s a real evil cunt for this. I’m guessing there’s a history of abuse? I’d play him at his own game to take her back to UK.
you’re already seeking legal advice and you know she’s safe. Try to stay as calm as possible (really hard I can imagine).

That’s shocking how often this happens. I bets these men palm the kids off to a nanny or their female relatives as well.

Do you have any family or friends to support you?

I'm so sorry this has happened . You must be so worried . A very similar thing happened to an old friend of mine many years ago when her child was taken by her ex husband. We've since lost touch but I remember her saying that Cherie Blair had acted for her as international child abduction is an area that she specialises in. I don't know how active she is in that area now but would be worth reaching out to her via her contact page to see if you could be signposted somewhere specific that can help xx

She’s automatically a citizen as long as her father met the aforementioned conditions. Having citizenship is a prerequisite for a CRBA. The strict two parent rule applies to passports, not the CRBA.

“d. The Form DS-2029 is to be executed only by a child’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s). Either parent, including an alien parent, may execute the application.
f. Custody dispute: There is no two-parent signature requirement for a Form FS-240 with respect to permission to issue. 7 FAM 1130 provides guidance regarding adjudication of a citizenship claim. In the case of a child involved in a custody dispute, either parent may apply for the Form FS-240 regardless of which parent has been awarded custody. In the rare event that separate applications are received from both parents, as in the case of a divorce, approve the application received first. Once the Form FS-240 has been issued, the other parent may obtain an FS-240.”

https://fam.state.gov/FAM/08FAM/08FAM050601.html

While the child may be a US citizen, you cannot get a passport for a child without both parents being present at the embassy for the appointment or having a notarized letter from the absent parent. It certainly wouldn’t be easy.

Honestly, this doesn’t really add up for me. He can’t have gotten her a visa or passport without your consent. He should not have been able to get her out of the country.

Is this possibly to deflect you and get you looking in the wrong direction? You’ve said his company cannot tell you if he’s working in New York? You haven’t spoken to either of them in days? I’d honestly contact the police again and report it more generally as child abduction. You don’t know if he’s actually taken her out of the country.

This. You will get her back and he has now created serious problems for himself in terms of future access to her. He is a fool. It will likely be a process and will take time, but what he’s done is child abduction and you will get her back.

She’s probably got a British passport.

I still think there’s no need to make op more worried with such posts unless they are helpling her prepare in some way.

Dd being American citizen does not mean, she cannot return to UK where she was born, where her mother lives, and where she spent all her life.

I think if you look at this case objectively dd belongs more in the UK with her mother than in the US. Even in the US a parent can’t take their child outside the country without a written permission from the other parents.

So I don’t understand why op should not be able to get her dd back unless we are saying courts in US are biased towards their own citizens.

I’m really worrying about the meeting with the solicitor tomorrow

I haven’t said she can’t be, or that she won’t be. How likely it is that she will be returned no one here knows. From what I’ve been able to ascertain the rate at which children are returned under The Hague Convention from the US sits at around the 50% mark.

What I’m saying is that she urgently needs legal representation.

Assuming the OP is not aware of her having a US passport: either he somehow lied to secretly get her passport, which is illegal, or else she has entered the country on her UK passport (despite being an American citizen by birth), which (similar to the new UK law) is illegal.