Russian fiancée has child, but ex wants keep child in Russia

[Boosya 3]

They are divorced, live separately, share custody and have a 4 year old child. When he learned last week that I am returning for a second visit soon, and that she wants to move to USA and marry me, he went to their apartment and hit her and yelled at their child. He is upset that she divorced him, has become incrasingly angry, and talks about getting custody and refusing to let their child leave Russia. What permission is needed for her to take their child with her, on our fiancée Visa?

Sincerely, David & Vasilisa

[C-ma'am 684]

**Post moved from K1 to Russia. Requirements to take a child out of a country are specific to that country.

[gregcrs2 1,778]

You are going to have a difficult time with this. He will need to provide permission of course. If possible, maybe the shortest way is to pay him a bribe to sign off. Your fiancé should talk to a lawyer in Russia. This type of situation is not uncommon in Russia (or Ukraine).

[Boiler 45,641]

Does she have sole custody.

[.yana 597]

Has your fiancee reported the physical contact (the hit)?

I agree that it's best to speak with the lawyer, but NOT bribe anyone (I mean, jesus, gregcrs2, why would you ever suggest anyone do that?) - it may definitely be used against your fiancee in the future and considered human trafficking.

But she has to report everything he does to the police, and if possible - avoid staying alone with him.

[Boosya 3]

Joint custody. She called the police when he hit her and the police came, took a statement, and advised her to file a complaint. She will file a complant tomorrow.

[gregcrs2 1,778]

Has your fiancee reported the physical contact (the hit)?

I agree that it's best to speak with the lawyer, but NOT bribe anyone (I mean, jesus, gregcrs2, why would you ever suggest anyone do that?) - it may definitely be used against your fiancee in the future and considered human trafficking.

But she has to report everything he does to the police, and if possible - avoid staying alone with him.

Reporting? Probably will make things worse and police in Russia won't do anything about it anyway.

Considered human trafficking? Nope, does not even closely fall into the definition of human trafficking.

Paying off the ex in a situation like this is not uncommon in corrupt societies.

[Boiler 45,641]

You have filed the K1, so what is the plan if the child can not come, go to the Father?

[mariachrin 4]

Reporting? Probably will make things worse and police in Russia won't do anything about it anyway.

Considered human trafficking? Nope, does not even closely fall into the definition of human trafficking.

Paying off the ex in a situation like this is not uncommon in corrupt societies.

I agree with Greg. Bribing isn't uncommon tbh. :\

[Georgia16 2,858]

I would see if someone knows if full custody is enough in Russia, it is in some countries. If it if then seek that. If not then I guess you'll have to try and take it to court. Or maybe the option mentioned above.

[gregcrs2 1,778]

They have joint custody. Getting sole custody would be very difficult unless the ex-husband agreed to it.

We don't know the whole situation of the relationship between father and child.

Edited September 26, 2016 by gregcrs2

[Merrytooth 5,748]

Abusive?

Hitting the mother of his child, does not speak too well of his character

[gregcrs2 1,778]

Abusive?

Hitting the mother of his child, does not speak too well of his character

It doesn't speak well of his character but it doesn't mean he does not love his child. We don't know the whole family situation so there are to many unknowns here. What I mean is, is he helping support his child? Does he have a relationship with the child or doesn't really care? Is his side of the family (parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters) close to the child or doesn't want anything to do with the child because of the divorce?

[NuZayetsPogodi 117]

Like others have said, if he has any custody, this is going to be very difficult. While what the dad did sounds awful, none of us can really take sides because none of us were there and know the whole story. But I will say that unless the dad is truly abusive and is a bad person, taking his child away from him is a horrible thing to do. My children traveled with me to Russia this summer when I was with my fiance, but I could never imagine permanently taking them away from their father unless he were a threat to their well-being. So I couldn't recommend anything in your situation, other than you consider moving to Russia to live with her so her child won't have to be separated from one parent.

On another note, I once translated for a custody battle that was very similar. Bribes are common in Russia, which is how the mom got custody of her child and moved to America. But later on, the Russian dad came back, had some evidence that the Russian mom (now living in America) has been abusing the child, and he could prove he was a better parent. It was a very ugly case. So, be careful.

Edited September 27, 2016 by NuZayetsPogodi

[Boosya 3]

Thank you to everyone who has replied. I appreciated your comments, speculation and opinions on ancillary topics, but my question remains: "What permission is needed for her to take their child with her, on our Fiancée Visa?"