Passport for a minor

[bbutterfly 12]

Hello,

I am not sure if this is in the right forum, if not please moderators move it to the appropriate one

My child is a US born citizen and I applied to renew her passport that had just expired last January. I am applying by myself, because her biological father has been MIA for about 4 years now ( I was finally able to find out that he doesn't even live in the country anymore). 3 weeks after the application, I got a letter from DHS saying that I either need a notarized letter from him, or proof of sole custody or if none of that is available I should fill the form that says so including documentation of the attempts made to contact him as well as last known address. I replied to the request by providing the phone numbers I had tried out from the foreign country that I was able to obtain, all social media handles, usernames that I was able to find and had tried to contact him through, email addresses as well as the dates I had emailed with no replies. Last address I know is the one we were leaving at in the US about 8-9 years ago. Haven't had a physical address from him ever since.

I sent the documentation, forms etc.. and received another letter yesterday, exactly the same request. Except it says " 2nd request" and given me ( again) 90 days to reply. I had sent the reply via priority email, so I had confirmation of delivery. I wasn't sure I could have asked for it t be signed since we send it to a P.O. Box

I was wondering if anyone had an experience with this, or if anybody can give me an advice on how to proceed!

I don't know what other paperwork to send. Honestly it almost feel like they didn't even put my forms with the application. Time is going by, we need to travel soon, but we will need to apply for a visa for her to go back. I can't even plan on getting tickets since I don't know for sure if and when they will send her passport. Only other evidence I could think of would have been proof of legal custody. There was no marriage so no divorce, no custody agreement ( he basically just up and left ). I was going to file for legal custody the lady at the court told me the father will need to be served but since he is not in the country, they don't serve outside of the US. I contacted a lawyer, she said it would be difficult and could take up to a year or more because he is out of the country and there are a lot of custody battle cases in my county. I might still go that route, but for the immediate future I don't know what to do.

What are my options? I am planning on calling tomorrow, hoping to be able to talk to a live person that can tell me what is going on.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hi,

The U.S. State Dept. Is reluctant to issue a child's passport when the parent applying can falsely claim that the other parent can not be contacted. It's just that possibility of saying I can't find the other parent.

You will have to go to court and get sole custody.

[Ryan H 3,790]

Try making an appointment at the nearest Passport office to see if you can talk to someone about your situation in-person. No guarantees you will get any further than where you already are.

[bbutterfly 12]

Hi,

The U.S. State Dept. Is reluctant to issue a child's passport when the parent applying can falsely claim that the other parent can not be contacted. It's just that possibility of saying I can't find the other parent.

You will have to go to court and get sole custody.

Thank you for the reply. And I understand that. I hope I can find another way, because the lawyer that I contacted was telling me even the year mark she gave me was being too optimistic, because of the complication of the case given that the other parent is for sure not in the country. Even the lady i talked to at the court said that it is a big barrier

Additionally, I find it very odd that the wording of the letter is exactly the same as the first with the mention" 2nd request" almost as though they didn't get my reply and documentation as requested. No mention of the document received at all. They also did not deny nor sent back her birth certificate

[bbutterfly 12]

Try making an appointment at the nearest Passport office to see if you can talk to someone about your situation in-person. No guarantees you will get any further than where you already are.

You mean the post office? or an actual passport agency?

Because when I was sending the form the first time at the post office, the lady that received the application told me that they see this all the time, and didn't seem to think it was going to be a problem. So I am not sure they can help me further at that location.

Will keep that in mind. Thank you

[Ryan H 3,790]

You mean the post office? or an actual passport agency?

Because when I was sending the form the first time at the post office, the lady that received the application told me that they see this all the time, and didn't seem to think it was going to be a problem. So I am not sure they can help me further at that location.

Will keep that in mind. Thank you

Actual passport agency, the Post Office, county courthouse, neighborhood service centers, etc. are only acceptance facilities.

[Sirliner 26]

No doubt you're in a tough spot. I suspect your best option is what aaron2020 says, going to court to get sole custody. However, you would still have the same problem. The court is just another government agency that's going to require the same thing, proof that you've done everything possible to contact the father. I went through something similar several years ago trying to legally adopt my then wife's daughter. Her ex-husband was also in another country and I discovered the court wanted documented evidence of actually using possible means within that foreign country to locate the ex-husband. Those "means" include publishing notices in local newspapers, searching local government records, even hiring a local private investigator. My sympathies for your situation, best of luck.

[Jawaree 717]

Go to an office to apply fill out the DS 3053 and explain the

same thing on the form about being MIA also ask to expedite.

OP if you were my family I would say if he's deadbeat & shows

not one iota of interest, then tell these ppl you don't know who

got you pregnant & be done with it

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

Those "means" include publishing notices in local newspapers, searching local government records, even hiring a local private investigator.

I think this might be more what they are looking for.

[bbutterfly 12]

Thank you for all the replies.

Nearest passport agency is 8 hours drive away. I attend a professional school where we have class pretty much everyday 8-5p, with most classes being mandatory and/or lab sessions you can't make up. I will have to wait for my break at the end of April to try this option. My question with this is : should I cancel this application before I file another one at the passport agency? They still have my child's birth certificate. I suppose I can get a copy?

@Sirliner you are right, the lady at the courthouse and the lawyers told me it is an uphill battle because I am going to have to prove I have tried my hardest. Right now I am trying to save some money to start paying the lawyer. Apparently I am looking at a minimum of $2500 and she needs half before starting anything. With me being full time at school and my husband only working. It will take a few more weeks to get there. And that's just the beginning, so i am still looking at other solutions in the meantime

@Jawere, as I mentioned above, I have to figure out if I need to cancel the current application, so that I can file that again. I have already filled up that form. Also, his name is on the birth certificate, so I can't just say that I don't know the father. I know it's sad, but I have to admit in so many instances, including this one, that I wish I didn't know the father. But that's besides the point now. The child doesn't know him, no recollections at all.

Once again, thank you for all the suggestions, I need all the ideas I can get and will work on all of the viable ones

[raven52 233]

If you would people could help you so much more.

example: last summer, me and two friends married to Filipinos left our homes in So. Carolina, and traveled 2 hours to Augusta Ga. because all our wives passports were running out, and none were citizens yet. Philippines operates a bus that travels around the South East, taking care of passports, and most all things you can get at the embassy. Just find the schedule. make an appointment, and it is very easily done.

Something like this might help you. One friend has a child, and will get the baby's new passport at a scheduled stop for the "Filipino Express" this summer.

Things are out there to help you, but help us to KNOW who you are.

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

If you would people could help you so much more.

This has nothing to do with the Op's question, which is about getting a US passport for her US born child. While timelines are helpful for Visajourney's stats, they are irrelevant for this case.

[bbutterfly 12]

If you would people could help you so much more.

example: last summer, me and two friends married to Filipinos left our homes in So. Carolina, and traveled 2 hours to Augusta Ga. because all our wives passports were running out, and none were citizens yet. Philippines operates a bus that travels around the South East, taking care of passports, and most all things you can get at the embassy. Just find the schedule. make an appointment, and it is very easily done.

Something like this might help you. One friend has a child, and will get the baby's new passport at a scheduled stop for the "Filipino Express" this summer.

Things are out there to help you, but help us to KNOW who you are.

Thank you for taking the time to read and for your input, I am not sure I understand the examples you gave me, let along how this applies to my case. As pointed out by the user just above, my child is already a US citizen by birth. If my immigration journey is somehow helpful there is a synopsis of it in my signature. Not sure what it will change the outcome though

[bbutterfly 12]

So, I am going to update this, in case someone else is ever in my situation and find it helpful.

I called the 1800 number the other day, which I am realizing is not really the passport agency, but rather just a customer service number. Last Monday when I called, the lady took all my information down, put them in the system and agreed that it was weird that I had received a second letter even after sending the information required. She then put a note for the agent working on my file to contact me by phone as soon as possible given the intended dates of travel and the fact that my application has been with them for months

Two days later, after not receiving a call, I called them back. This time the lady It talked to told me that she could see that my application was put back in " processing" status after I called them that Monday. I then asked her if it meant I didn't need to send anything in? She says " If the information I see on there is correct, I think you are fine". I again reviewed the timeline of our travel dates with her, and she said to give them a couple days, call back on Friday if I don't hear back.

I called back today, the guy told me he sees all the notes left in my file, he also sees that some documents were received, he can't see more than that. He sees the requests for someone to contact me, but he can't guarantee if or when they would call. All he can see is that my application is " processing". He said " we are not the agency, all we can do is tell you what we see on the screen and put information in the computer for them to see, the rest is up to them"

I will reserve my comments about this process until I am done, just wanted to share this for anyone that will find it helpful. I will also keep updating for future references

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

Thanks for the update!