Stepparent Adoption, Adopting step children - Parental Kidnapping And Passports For Children

06/12/07

Parental Kidnapping And Passports For Children

Posted by : Julie Crowley in Stepparent Adoption Blog at 09:25 pm , 481 words, 152 views
Categories: Parental Kidnapping

A while back I wrote a blog about Parental Kidnapping, which ended up sparking quite a few comments. Some readers questioned if parental kidnapping really does happen all that often. While it is hard to believe that a parent would take off with their child, intending for the other parent to never find either of them, it does happen and it happens more than we would like to think.

Today as I was strolling around the Internet, I came across an article, which was reviewing a seminar that was held to help make parents aware of the risks of child abduction. The part of the article that I found the most interesting, was really down towards the bottom of the page, it is the part that read:

She said one of the main reasons people travel to Mexico from the United States is because of children being abducted.

“One parent usually runs and wants to take the child to Mexico, because it would be harder to find them,” Levy said. “Because that used to happen so frequently is part of the reason why people now have to have passports.”

Since January, all passengers traveling by air to Mexico, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Central and South America and Canada must present a valid passport to be able to re-enter the U.S. Children under the age of 14 must get both parents’ signatures before applying for a passport.

“This keeps one parent from taking the child from the other and traveling out of the country,” Levy said. “Obviously, if both parents aren’t willing to give consent, then the chances of the abductor staying in the country is pretty good.”

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Now I knew that parental kidnapping was a problem, but I had no idea that the issue was so large that it was a factor in the new passport changes. I think it is wonderful that something is being done about international parental kidnapping, but will it really cut down on parental kidnapping, or simply the international aspect of it? What about the children who already have valid passports, they can still be taken out of the country with no questions asked?

I am also left to wonder; what about the children who only have one parent in their lives? What happens in the situations where there are two parents listed on the birth certificate, yet one is no where to be found, how does that parent go about getting a passport for his or her child, when a signature from the other legal parent is not possible? Does the child then get denied the right to travel, because he or she is unfortunate enough to have a deadbeat parent, or does perhaps the custodial parent have to jump through additional hoops and spend even more time and money on the passport process, paying for the poor choices of the non-custodial parent?

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3 comments

Comments, Pingbacks:

Comment from: John [Member]

I have been through some of this, doing single parent adoption. We have traveled to Canada and Europe. First, two parents must sign, if there are two parents on the birth certificate. There has to be a procedure to go ahead with only one siginature, but you are dealing with the State Department, it is not normal, so it is bound to be difficult.

If you have a passport for your child, you may be stopped at immigration and asked for a notarized statement from the non traveling parent, oking the trip, or a death certificate. Showing a single parent birth certificate gets the job done. We have been stopped twice entering Canada and had to provide the birth certificates. Maine has obviously run into this, their single parent birth certificates include 'parent is sole legal legitimate guardian of the child'. John

Permalink 06/12/07 @ 22:19

Comment from: AdoptionBlogs Editor [Member]

· http://editor.adoptionblogs.com

"Since January, all passengers traveling by air to Mexico, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Central and South America and Canada must present a valid passport to be able to re-enter the U.S."

But what if the kidnapping parent has no intention of bringing the child back? And how easy is it to change one's and one's child's identity once in a place like Mexico?

Permalink 06/17/07 @ 16:30

Comment from: katrina_mae [Member]

This is me I am the mother with an unfortunate situation..." what about the children who only have one parent in their lives? What happens in the situations where there are two parents listed on the birth certificate, yet one is no where to be found, how does that parent go about getting a passport for his or her child, when a signature from the other legal parent is not possible? Does the child then get denied the right to travel, because he or she is unfortunate enough to have a deadbeat parent"... THIS SITUATION IS WHAT I AM GOING THROUGH AND IM LOOKING FOR HELP! PLEASE ...

My husband is in afghanistan he is in the military and should be coming home in a few months. When he comes home we would like to take our daughter and son on a carnival cruise. sounds wonderful we are all so excited but i was reading the contract and it says i need a signed letter from the absent parent giving out daughter permission. I am sick thinking about it and dont know what to do. Im going to try to go to a lawyer but i dont know if that will help with this. The father whos on the birth certificate after birth became a bad drug addict barely ever saw our daughter, i use to bring her to see him and he would threaten to call the police on me if i didnt leave, he would move over and over from shelters, to drug rehabes, to jail, to random homes and apartments with out a forwarding address, he has never done anything for her. I asked him for a few dollars to buy baby food when she was a baby and he told me i hadnt earned it. The other bad thing is im scared of him. I know he want sign any papers that would make anything any easier on me. He hasnt seen her for over 4 years and before that he came and went as he pleased left her on doorsteps, took her into dangerous situations, barely ever paid child support, broke her heart many times and when i did trust him to babysit he would get up and leave to go on a date when i had to go to a class. I dont have long because we already booked the cruise.

What do i do?

Permalink 02/20/08 @ 21:23

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