Desperate situation
 

I am a U.K citizen married to a U.S citizen and have a newborn child (48hrs old) born in Grand rapids MI. I was in America for a year until i was removed for a visa overstay at the end of 2012. my wife came to the U.K for 6 months and left in september 2013 to return home and give birth to our child. Yesterday evening Child protective Services came to my wifes home and snatched our child. As of yet they have not contacted me, the legal parent to inform me of their actions or there reasons. I am having a real problem finding any kind of information to advise me of my situation. I dont know if i have any legal rights, if i can get emergency travel documents/permission to enter the states etc. I am extremely concerned for the condition of my newborn son taken away from his mother after just 48hrs and into the freezing cold and also the condition of my wife who is disabled and should have been resting, recuperating and bonding with our child.
Any advice would be most gratefully received.

Re: Desperate situation
 

How long was your visa over-stay? ..... As far as I know, once you've been removed for a visa overstay, you're stuck with whatever the period of the ban is, and required to obtain a visa for all future visits. The CBP doesn't care about your personal situation, births, deaths or anything else, a ban is a ban.

It sounds like you need (i) to be talking to your spouse, and (ii) retaining an attorney. Following a child being taken into protective custody, there should be some sort of court hearing to determine what happens next, and it is imperative that you and your spouse are represented.

Re: Desperate situation
 

I didnt receive any type of ban. Just unable to partake in the visa waiver scheme again.

Re: Desperate situation
 

If you were ordered removed and left before overstaying 180 days, generally the only bar is that you can't re-enter on the VWP but will need some other visa from the embassy. If you exceeded 180 days, generally there is a 3 year bar on re-entry or 10 years if your overstay was 1 year.

I believe the only way around those bans is something called a I-601 waiver, but I'm not that familiar with the process. It requires some showing of hardship, fully documented.

http://london.usembassy.gov/dhs/uscis/ivwaiver.html

You can also contact the London Embassy and seek an "Emergency Visa Appointment" following the directions here:

http://london.usembassy.gov/niv/emer...pointment.html

But before all of that, you need to get to the bottom of what occurred. Have you contacted the CPS in Grand Rapids? Their office is here, but they probably won't answer the phone until 9:00am:

http://michigan.gov/dhs/0,4562,7-124...7840--,00.html

Re: Desperate situation
 

Was your child taken from hospital? (since I know they normally keep mother and baby in for 3 days even after a straightforward birth), is there anyone at the hospital that you can contact?

It sounds strange that you didn't receive a ban - normally if you overstay, you are barred from the US for 10 years unless you can obtain a waiver.

Re: Desperate situation
 

No i was marched onto the plain and had nothing put in my passport. The INS agents said there was no ban put in place.
My wife told the hospital that as she and baby were both passed as fit they wanted to leave and the junior doctor called security. A social worker came and informed the security that my wife had every legal right under the law to leave with her child. She had a personal midwife there who was horrified at the way the hospital behaved.

Re: Desperate situation
 

Social services might have concerns about the suitability of your wife's house, especially as extremely cold as it's been for the past few days. "Concerns" could mean something structural (e.g.hole in the roof, inadequate heating system), or temporary (e.g.water or power not connected); either would make a house unsuitable for children.

It might also depend on the nature of your wife's disability, e.g. is she in danger (likely, not just a possibility) of becoming incapacitated through a fall, feinting, or seizure?

Your understanding is too simplistic. See post #4, above, for a brief summary of the "no ban/3yr/10yr" rules for visa overstays.

Re: Desperate situation
 

My wifes house is secure safe and warm with support (local) of neighbours, family new parent group members, midwife etc. My wife has PTSD which in no way impacts on our child. As far as i know it is illegal to discriminate against someone or take their child based on a mental condition.

When i was in the detention centre talking to the officials i asked a few times "how long would my ban be?". i also asked the British Consul if a ban would be put in place and they said no. I asked the two agents that escorted me to the aiport about it and they said no ban was in place. I received no paperwork saying otherwise.

Re: Desperate situation
 

One man's "potentially illegal discrimination" is another's "safety and well being of the child". It is likely that there will be a court hearing to decide, so you need to arrange legal representation as a priority.

Re: Desperate situation
 

I would definitely be calling CPS as soon as they are open. Telling them you're the father and asking for information. Explain the circumstances, etc. Try and remain calm and maybe think ahead of the questions you'll want to ask. Don't get anyone on the defensive because that won't help your situation.

Best of luck in your circumstances and congratulations on the birth of your son. Hopefully things will work out and I'm sure he's being taken care of properly.

Re: Desperate situation
 

I can only imagine how upset and frustrated you are at the situation. Your explanation of what transpired is simplistic as Pulaski noted and there must be more to the situation than what you have told us. SS does not just step and withdraw a child from a home without first having made a determination that the custodial parent is either unfit, the house is unsafe, or a combination of both. Also I belive a police officer had to have been accompanying the child service worker at the time the baby was removed from your wife's home.

If your wife has a criminal record, perhaps regarding drunk behavior or drugs, then that would be one of the reasons why your son was removed from her care. Is she under the care of a doctor for her mental condition? Was he contacted before the baby was taken?

Was she verbally abusive to hospital personnel at the time she was being discharged? Did she make any threats of committing bodily harm?

Was the house inspected at the time Child Services was there? Did your wife have formula, diapers, a crib, etc. for the baby? They had to have given her a reason why the baby was being removed and advised her when a hearing date would be, etc.

Neighbors and the care of midwife are not sufficient to care for a baby if the parent is unable to do all that is required to care for an infant. These people do not live in the household. They are not there 24/7.

As for your coming back to the US, you do not have permission to reside in the US and need a tourist visa to enter. Yes, of course, you can contact the US Consulate and see if you can get a special/quick visa to help out in this situation.

The not being permitted to reside in the US is what is going to do you harm. You might be able to take the baby to the UK if your wife were to give you permission to remove him from the US. This is one avenue. She can then follow later when you get the proper visa for her.

Seek the counsel of an attorney dealing with family matters. Good luck!

Re: Desperate situation
 

Gotcha!

Re: Desperate situation
 

Maybe if you learnt to read an entire post AMERLISA you would see i stated that my wife came to the uk last year. Or is your reply a hoax?

Re: Desperate situation
 

""my wife came to the U.K for 6 months and left in september 2013 to return home and give birth to our child""

Re: Desperate situation
 

You are yelling at the wrong person. Yell at me as she was quoting me. I missed the came to the UK part and removed my post. I cannot remove Lisa's.

Why the heck did she leave the UK? You are her husband. Getting a spousal visa to the UK is quicker than the US plus there is your good healthcare system. If she has not family network to depend on, why leave you?