Welfare and Whereabouts Visit

[SageDad]

Nearly a month after the welfare and whereabouts visit was done and six months after it was requested I have the photos from the visit  :biggrin

I still don't have the text of the report but that's no where near as important to me. 


My baby son has grown into a little boy..









I can't help but think how much he's grown since he was taken.  He used to smile more.. He used to always be smiling.  This picture is from just a few weeks before the abduction:



...but time that's gone is gone.  There's little to be gained by dwelling on a past that can't be changed. 

[UD_student]

Carlos, that is great that you have photos!! Thanks for posting them. It looks like he is jumping in the last picture from the visit.

Do you know if the woman in the pictures is a relative or a court/State dept person?

I'm sure once he is adjusted to being back home with you he will be back to smiling 

[SageDad]

Do you know if the woman in the pictures is a relative or a court/State dept person?

That's my wife and Sage's mother/kidnapper.  I was suprised they didn't edit her out to protect her privacy...  :confused:

[UD_student]

Carlos, I was thinking it couldn't possibly be your wife and Sage's mother/kidnapper due to her not being edited out. Perhaps it would have taken too much effort (ie, technical knowledge) to crop her out of the photo so they left her in...

[M.Capestro]

Wow! That little boy looks a lot like his daddy! He is absolutely adorable, Carlos.

Praying that one day soon you'll be sharing picutres of you and Sage together, holding hands and enjoying a random sunny afternoon.

[sue]

Very cute little boy!  I'm glad you finally have a recent picture of your son

[Trevor Richardson]

Make sure to not agree to give the taking parent a copy of the State Department H&W report and inform the State Department to not send it to them.  Since the reports are normally positive, as can be expected, the tp will somtimes use this as an article 13 defense to not return the child since they will argue that the report shows the child is happy and settled in to his new home and removing him would cause psychological harm.  Just a word of caution.

[SageDad]

Very good advice.  I've talked to one parent who had to fight like hell to keep the US Embassy from just handing the abductor a copy of a glowing report that said how great the child was doing and how settled he seemed to be.  The report, a public document issued by a US government authority, practically seemed tailored to the language in Article 12 on the child being settled in their new environment.

I wouldn't give my wife a copy of the report though.  In my case it's so massively redacted by the time it gets to me that it barely says anything anyway.  Though I agree they pretty much always say the child is doing great.  If they say anything else they might have to actually do something about it.

[sue]

Have you received any pictures since these were sent to you?  I can't believe it's been nearly a year.  I hope she at the very least sends you pictures of your son.

[SageDad]

They sent me pictures on his birthday in May.  Nothing since then.

[sue]

That is so wrong  :madgo  Why would anybody do such a cruel thing?  I'm so sorry Carlos.

[SageDad]

That is so wrong  :madgo  Why would anybody do such a cruel thing?  I'm so sorry Carlos.

Under ICARA you are, by law, supposed to be able to have a W&W visit done every 6 months, but I had to go through so much bullshit to get the last visit done (about a dozen phone calls and emails with the Embassy, State, Senators and Congressmen over the course of months) that it's easier to pursue other channels like requesting pictures from the court in Mexico or just going there myself (gotta love our State Dept.)

I asked my lawyer to request pictures be taken and sent to me at my expense from the court in Mexico but he never did it. 

I also asked him to request visitation at the court house whenever there's a hearing in the new Hague case and he never did that either.  Both part of the reason he no longer represents me. 

I think he was concerned that the more dialog between my wife and I the more likely an agreement might be reached outside of the courts that would put an end to paying his legal fees.

[Trevor Richardson]

If there were any signs of child abuse in the past you request that the SD contact the local authorities to intervene and force the tp to allow a H&W report.  You also might be able to argue to the SD that the act of the abduction is child abuse and therefore the SD shoud contact local authorities to force a H&W report.  If the SD refuses to contact the local authorites, contact your family court to see if they could possible motivate the SD to perform the H&W report.  I am doing this in my case.  I will see if produces anything.  See below about H&W reports:

•A consular officer cannot visit a child without permission from the child’s parent, guardian or other custodian in the foreign country. If permission is refused and there is evidence of possible child abuse or neglect, the consular officer will request assistance from the appropriate local authorities. Evidence of child abuse or neglect would include, but not be limited to, police reports, medical reports, social services reports, etc.