child abduction

[jimmy1968]

My wife (She is Lebanese) and I (Tunisian) married in Lebanon in 2002 and lived since that date in Tunisia.

We had a boy in 2005 and obtained the green card same year ...we were traveling in the sates each 6 months to maintain our residency...by the time we find a job.

We obtained 2 years ago a re-entry permit which will expire in Decem 2009.

Meantime, I did not really wanted to move to the states as we are having both a good job in Tuinisia and the economic crisis wasnt very encouraging.

My wife and I started to have problems about it and threatened me many times to divorce.

In January , She got pregnant and although the fact I knew that there is a high risk that she goes to the states and never come back, I let her(gave an authorisation for my son to travel) go deliver in the States and so he can obtain the US passport.( She delivered 2 weeks ago ).

She called me recently to tell me that She will never come back to Tunisia and wants to live in the states.

My questions:

1. Is this can be considered as an abduction?
2. Can she file for divorce knowing that we lived the past 5 years in Tunisia (she is in the states only the last 2 months).
3.My 4 years boy is Tunisian (women in Lebanon cannot give their citizenship to their children),what are the steps I need to undertake to get him back? He was supposed to start school in tunisia 2 weeks ago.

thank you,

 

[absrao]

My wife (She is Lebanese) and I (Tunisian) married in Lebanon in 2002 and lived since that date in Tunisia.

We had a boy in 2005 and obtained the green card same year ...we were traveling in the sates each 6 months to maintain our residency...by the time we find a job.

We obtained 2 years ago a re-entry permit which will expire in Decem 2009.

Meantime, I did not really wanted to move to the states as we are having both a good job in Tuinisia and the economic crisis wasnt very encouraging.

My wife and I started to have problems about it and threatened me many times to divorce.

In January , She got pregnant and although the fact I knew that there is a high risk that she goes to the states and never come back, I let her(gave an authorisation for my son to travel) go deliver in the States and so he can obtain the US passport.( She delivered 2 weeks ago ).

She called me recently to tell me that She will never come back to Tunisia and wants to live in the states.

My questions:

1. Is this can be considered as an abduction?
2. Can she file for divorce knowing that we lived the past 5 years in Tunisia (she is in the states only the last 2 months).
3.My 4 years boy is Tunisian (women in Lebanon cannot give their citizenship to their children),what are the steps I need to undertake to get him back? He was supposed to start school in tunisia 2 weeks ago.

thank you,

I am not a lawyer (not even close to anything law). But depending on what is explicitly giving out in your authorization, this may not be considered abduction. But answers to your questions depends a lot on your country laws and intricacies of divorce proceedings. Very little (if any) of this has anything to do with immigration. I think you are better of consulting experienced local lawyer if you want your son back. Other child born in US, is a USCitizen and you may have tough time getting him/her back.

 

[aosing]

Edited.

1. Is this can be considered as an abduction?

You are still married to her and she has the same right to custody and control of the child as you, until such time as a court orders otherwise.

Whether this is an abduction or not depends on the context and what law you are talking about. It is probably not considered to be a criminal kidnapping, but that would depend on Tunisian law. Neither Tunisia nor Lebanon are members of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Parental Child. However the United States is; and the convention requires a return of children removed from their country of habitual residence upon petition by a custodial parent. If your whole family was habitually resident in Tunisia, you may be able to secure their return, with help of a lawyer from the USA. However if you both have USA green cards that belies this claim and you are very liable to lose, since if you are going to claim that you have been habitually resident in Tunisia since 2002 you should have surrendered your green card long ago.

2. Can she file for divorce knowing that we lived the past 5 years in Tunisia (she is in the states only the last 2 months).

It depends on the law of the state that she is in--each state has different divorce law. The fact that you are both green card holders is evidence that you have a longer domicile in the states, and a return to Tunisia would not probably not interrupt that domicile. But in general, yes, she can file for divorce in the state of her residence, assuming she meets the state requirements.

3.My 4 years boy is Tunisian (women in Lebanon cannot give their citizenship to their children),what are the steps I need to undertake to get him back? He was supposed to start school in tunisia 2 weeks ago.

You need to hire a local family law attorney, preferably one with international/immigration experience, in the state where your wife and son are. You may be better off filing for divorce or custody first. Depending on the facts it may also be possible for you to file for divorce and/or custody in Tunisia and get the U.S. state court to enforce it, but you should talk to a local U.S. attorney about your options first. There is a "race to the courthouse" effect, and it may be to your advantage to file as soon as possible. There is no guarantee that you will get custody of the boy or be able to make him return to Tunisia, but you need to get an attorney to handle this. The law is extremely complex.

thank you,

You are welcome.