Nervous about getting passports for my daughters

[surrocruiser]

I'm concerned about getting passports for my two daughters due to having sole custody but their father having a weeks vacation per year. He is talking about Europe next year. :eek: I don't think he would ever disappear with them, but sometimes I wonder....

 

Any other parents have good or bad stories related to this?

[travelbugs]

If your husband is a US citizen, not so bad. If he was born in another country this could raise some concerns. I only hear of the stories whose children were taken from the US back to the father's original country of birth. How old are the girls? Would they know how to get to a US Embassy? Can they work a satellite phone? There are actions you can take preemptively. If you have sole custody it's really up to you and your daughters (do they want to go? Do they trust him enough to go with him?). I don't envy your situation but I do admire your taking into consideration what may be a wonderful trip for your daughters! Take care, good luck with this one -Travelbugs

[jbh7]

I believe most (if not all) airlines now require a notarized letter by the custodial parent (or non traveling parent) approving the traveling parent to leave the country with the children. This was done to help prevent international kidnappings. but of course this doesn't prevent them from not returning once they get overseas if you feel this is an issue. If you do get the passports, make sure the girls have photo copies on them so that if they had to get to a US Embassy they would have a picture. Check the state department web site - they have address and numbers of all embassy locations. You can also register with the local embassy the names of your children and when they will be there. Get copies of all tickets, hotel reservations etc from your ex.

[improvgirl]

The bottom line is that you can be ordered by the court to give permission for the passport and for travel. I am a divorced mom (and work in family law), and have gone through this. I suggest an "Agreed Entry" with the court which governs your case stipulating that EITHER parent traveling outside the country with the children give the other parent a detailed itinerary, register the trip with the US Embassy (which can be done online), listing the non-traveling parent as the emergency contact, file all travel details including receipts for payment of airline tickets, hotel room reservations, cruise details, etc. with the court before traveling, and stipulate who gets to keep the passports when they're not in use. Courts rarely deny parents permission to travel to safe countries with their children during their own parenting time, unless they're seen as a flight risk (i.e. - a foreign national, etc.). If your ex is a tax-paying, steady-job holding, law-abiding citizen of the US, you might as well go ahead and give him the permission to travel because if it becomes an issue, the courts probably will anyway. The bottom line is, that he might flee anyway but the chances are very very small if you take reasonable precautions, and then there are recourses. It's not as easy as you think to just "disappear" in this day & age. But, if you're really worried, consult legal counsel, not these boards.