Posts
Jeremy D. Morley*
Parents of children who are abducted to a foreign country, or
who are being retained in a foreign country, often do not have their children’s
passports that are needed to enable them to bring the children back to the
United States.
As part of our work in helping parents to get their kids back
home, we are often required to assist such parents in the process of obtaining
a new U.S. passport for the children.
It
frequently happens that the passports are being held by the other parent. U.S.
law basically provides that either parent, whether a U.S. citizen or not, may
apply for a U.S. passport on behalf of a minor child and that the minor must appear
in person when applying for the passport, but the so-called “Two-Parent Consent
Law” also requires that both parents have consented to the passport
application.
One
of the exceptions to this rule is the provision that a passport may be issued
when only one parent executes the application, in cases of “exigent or special
family circumstances.”
The
key term of “exigent family circumstances is defined as “time-sensitive
circumstances in which the inability of the minor to obtain a passport would
jeopardize the health and safety or welfare of the minor or would result in the
minor being separated from the rest of his or her traveling party.”
The
term “time sensitive” is then defined to generally mean that there is not
enough time before the minor's emergency travel to obtain either the required
consent of both parents (or legal guardians) or documentation reflecting a sole
parent's or legal guardian's custody rights.
The
alternative key term of “special family circumstances” comprises:
· circumstances
in which the minor's family situation makes it exceptionally difficult for one
or both of the parents to execute the passport application; and / or
· compelling
humanitarian circumstances where the minor's lack of a passport would
jeopardize the health, safety, or welfare of the minor; and / or
· circumstances
in which return of a minor to the jurisdiction of his or her home state or
habitual residence is necessary to permit a court of competent jurisdiction to
adjudicate or enforce a custody determination.
The
applicable law also provides that a passport issued due to such special family
circumstances may be limited for direct return to the United States.
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* Jeremy D. Morley consults on international family law
matters with clients globally, always working with local counsel as
appropriate. He may be reached at +1- 212-372-3425 and through his website,
www.international-divorce.com. Jeremy has handled hundreds of child custody and
abduction cases and has written the leading treatises on international
family law.
