Kaleigh

Hi, I'm sort of at a loss here and all the information I can find is running me around in circles so here goes...
I am a British citizen by birth, at 16 I moved to America. I had a child three years ago with a man I was not married to, after the baby came he signed the birth certificate and has disappeared of the face of the Earth (I say good riddance to him ) but now how do I go about getting her a passport so we can go home? She does not have an American one...I've been to ukinusa, ukba, and countless other pages and searches, I've called the Consulates who referred me to the Embassy in DC when I contacted them I got an automated message with helpful information for people who are not in my particular situation...
Any help/information anyone has to offer would be greatly appreciated

SanDiegogirl

From having had a quick look at the following site, I believe you just apply for her passport at the British Embassy in Washington:

http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/help-fo...w-to-apply/usa

The fact that the father is not around is not significant -as far as I am aware - to getting her a British passport since you are the British parent.

Leaving the States with her might be a different situation as you probably need to show that you are have sole custody and can leave the States with her.

Presume you have all your necessary documents - British passport, birth certificate etc etc.

The supporting documents are all listed on the above website for children applying for a first passport.

Noorah101

If the child was born in the USA, make sure she also has US passport, in case she wants to come back to the USA. All USC's should enter the USA using a US passport. It's not clear from your post whether you're just going back to the UK for a visit, or permanently.

You will also most likely need the father's permission to remove the child from the USA. If you are no longer in touch with the father, you should get advice from a family attorney. Taking the child outside the USA without the father's permission could be seen as abduction, and you could be in a lot of trouble.

Rene

S Folinsky

Both the UK and the US are parties to the Convention On International Child Abduction.

Many single parents tend to think that the other parent has no rights. This is not so. That said, it is possible to get a court order cutting off the rights of the absent parent. Slight fly in the ointment if you will -- absent parent entitled to legal notice this is happening.

These issues are not limited to immigration and citizenship. I ran across them in some step-parent adoptions I handled 30 years ago. The issues also came up when the single-mother obtained "AFDC" benefits for the child and the county wanted to be reimbursed by the absent dad in the worst way -- "I do not know where he is" or "He dropped off the face of the planet" were not acceptable answers. And the DA's got downright nasty when the blood tests showed that putative father was not the father and woman went "but he was the only one."

So, to OP, please forgive me -- I got jaded a long time ago to descriptions such as yours. Others might suggest you find child's dad. You might be surprised to what he might consent to.

Kaleigh

ok, I'm in the process of getting a lawyer to file for sole legal and physical custody but was hoping that there was some way I could avoid all the expense because he's nowhere to be found, it sounds like getting a court order cutting off his rights may be the way to go...Thank you everyone, I don't want to get in trouble for anything but my grandfather has just had a stroke and my nan isn't doing so well either and I really want to go home for a while to help them

Bob

You also don't say what your status is in the US, so if you aren't a US citizen, you don't want to jeopardise your ability to live back in the US should you want to.

Kaleigh

Oh sorry, I am a dual citizen of the US and the UK. I talked to a lawyer today and she told me to get sole physical and legal custody and as he is likely not to contest the matter it would be better legally to go that route.

Jerseygirl

Even with sole custody I thought the other parent's permission was still required before removing the child from the US. Failing that a court order...but you should have evidence that you have tried to contact the other parent.

JAJ

Depends on what "sole custody" really means in the jurisdiction where it was given. If planning to proceed without a court order, I would as a minimum suggest getting advice in writing from a competent family law attorney licensed in that jurisdiction. And similar advice pertaining to the jurisdiction of current residence, if different.

Eric S

My wife often travels out of the country with our daughter. At the beginning we used to prepare an affidavit signed by me giving her permission. But not once has she been asked by anyone to see it. So we've just stopped bothering with it.

I'm always the one who drops them off at the airport, so I could give my permission in person, I guess. But again, they never seem to care at the airline check in.

- Eric S.

Eric S

To the OP - If your child was born in the US, she is automatically an American citizen. So you should be able to just use her birth certificate to get her an American passport. Which is a good idea for her to have if you're going to travel out of the country.

- Eric S.