The Foreign Service Journal, April 2003

A P R I L 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 57 s more and more congressional and media attention is focused on interna- tional child custody disputes, resolving such issues has become a major focus for the Department of State — both at our embassies and consulates and back in Washington at the Office of Children’s Issues in the Bureau of Consular Affairs. Consider the following case study from last year, one of approximately 1,100 in CI’s active files. Seven-year-old Billy (his name has been changed), an out- of-wedlock child, was abducted by his Iranian-born father in July 1999 during an unsupervised visitation period in defiance of a Georgia court order awarding temporary custody to his mother. The mother suspected the father and the child were in Iran when she subsequently received a letter or two from the father with an Iranian postmark. She filed a missing child report with local law enforcement officials, who contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to open a case. Local and federal law enforcement authorities then filed criminal charges against the abducting father and Interpol notices were posted worldwide. In 2001, the mother married and moved from Georgia to Washington, but she never gave up hope that someday she would be reunited with her child. In late October 2001, U.S. Interpol was notified by their Australian counterpart that the abducting father had been picked up and questioned about a violation of Australian immigration law. He was scheduled to appear for a hearing at a later date. Interpol quickly notified the FBI office in Georgia and both offices made contact with the State Department’s Office of Children’s Issues. The CI officer immediately called the left-behind mother in Washington, who burst into joyful tears at the news. The offi- cer then told her about the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and explained how to file an application for Billy’s return. Since the abduction had taken place in Georgia, the moth- er needed an Affidavit of Law from a Georgia attorney affirm- ing her custodial rights at the time Billy was abducted. The attorney who had represented her pro bono during the cus- tody proceedings was delighted to hear that Billy had been found and once more offered his services at no cost to the mother. CI coordinated the collection of all the necessary documents from the mother in Washington, the attorney in Georgia and the FBI agent. Unfortunately, due partly to Sept. 11-related delays, it took until February 2002 for the application package to reach the Australian government, and, as the U.S. consulate in Perth reported, by that time the abducting parent and the child had disappeared. As local law enforcement authorities searched for them, Australian officials requested that the left-behind mother obtain a passport and be ready to travel at a moment’s notice. The Seattle Passport Agency arranged expedited issuance and the Australian Consulate in California pre- cleared mom for visa issuance. On May 20, 2002, CI was informed that the father and Billy had been located again. Australian officials arranged for an experienced Australian social worker to pick up Billy at the school he was attending, and his father was taken into custody at another location by immigration authorities. As soon as CI R ESOLVING INTERNATIONAL CHILD CUSTODY DISPUTES IS A HIGH PRIORITY FOR THE S TATE D EPARTMENT ’ S C ONSULAR A FFAIRS B UREAU . T HE O FFICE OF C HILDREN ’ S I SSUES IS ON THE FRONT LINE OF THOSE EFFORTS . B Y B ARBARA J. G REIG H ELPING TO R EUNITE F AMILIES : T HE O FFICE OF C HILDREN ’ S I SSUES A Barbara J. Greig is a case officer and team leader in the State Department’s Office of Children’s Issues (CA/OCS/CI), where she has worked for six years. She is also the training officer for the office’s Abduction Unit. Prior to that, she accompanied her spouse to six overseas assignments and served as a CLO, before joining State as a Civil Service employee and working in the Visa Office for five years.