kid Passport advice:non-USA parents.

 

            Posted on Aug 9,2009   

            Passport advice for children of non-USA parents.

Q. My wife and I are Sunni Muslims. We live, but she's unhappy with life, in America. She wants to move into her family's compound in the United Arab Emirates with our two kids, a boy (age 3) and a girl (age 1).

Since I'm from a lower social level, not an UAE citizen, and got USA citizenship, if I accompanied her I'd be lower in that household than Cinderella before the ball.

I'm worried that someday soon I'll come home from a business trip to find a note saying: "Gone home with kids."�

Can I get protection from that happening?

N.K., Milford

A. You can file a custody or divorce case in the probate court with a motion to restrain your wife from taking the children outside the USA, for deposit of all USA and UAE passports in court, temporary custody, and that she have only supervised visitation.

You'll need to support your claims with a detailed affidavit supporting your concerns.
I'll assume, because your children were born here they have USA passports. After the court enters the restraining order send a certified copy to the U.S. Department of State asking to add your kids' names to a special watch list that the airlines must check before letting a minor get on a plane talking them outside the USA.

Then, if your wife tries to leave using their USA passports, their names will pop up at the departure counter, after which security will take the kids into protective custody.

If your kids also have and your wife uses their UAE passports the airlines cannot stop them from leaving, despite their name popping up on the watch list. Even if UAE passports are deposited into court, that cannot prevent the UAE from issuing quickly issuing duplicate passports.