I am in real need of an answer... as quickly as possible.
I am planning to travel to Tacoma, Washington (USA) from Toronto, Ontario (CANADA) on August 19, 2008. I have a 3-year old daughter who will be coming along with me. The only problem is, I was told I need a consent form signed by her father whom I haven't kept in touch with for the past 2 years and have no idea to his where-abouts. There is no custody agreement filed with the court. How can I cross the border in a situation like this? PLEASE Someone help me out.

I would check with legal aid in Toronto, maybe they could get you a court order that at this time you have sole custody.
Good luck

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Originally Posted by TOPOGGAN

I would check with legal aid in Toronto, maybe they could get you a court order that at this time you have sole custody.
Good luck

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You misunderstand what Legal Aid does - she can contact US Homeland Security (which handles these matters) and ask or she can ask an Attorney for advice.

Canada has little to do with this - she is going to need assistance to get into the US.

More and more people without custody orders and, therefore, without proof of legal standing are being turned back at the border.

There are exceptions to the "consent letter" - I would find out what they are.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

You misunderstand what Legal Aid does - she can contact US Homeland Security (which handles these matters) and ask or she can ask an Attorney for advice.

Canada has little to do with this - she is going to need assistance to get into the US.

More and more people without custody orders and, therefore, without proof of legal standing are being turned back at the border.

There are exceptions to the "consent letter" - I would find out what they are.

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IF the Canadian Courts determine that she has emergency sole custody to allow her to travel without Consent, it would be the Canadian Legal Aid, the freebee legal help that would provide her with the lawyer to get this done.
One must always act in the country of residency, as that determines any custodial issues with the children. The US is of no consequence, as long as the letter OR sole custody can be shown.

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Originally Posted by thea1981

I am in real need of an answer...as quickly as possible.
I am planning to travel to Tacoma, Washington (USA) from Toronto, Ontario (CANADA) on August 19, 2008. I have a 3-year old daughter who will be coming along with me. The only problem is, I was told I need a consent form signed by her father whom I haven't kept in touch with for the past 2 years and have no idea to his where-abouts. There is no custody agreement filed with the court. How can I cross the border in a situation like this? PLEASE Someone help me out.

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Thank you all for your time and answers... really appreciate it... Will seek Legal Help ASAP... Hopefully everything goes well and smooth for this trip.

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Originally Posted by TOPOGGAN

IF the Canadian Courts determine that she has emergency sole custody to allow her to travel without Consent, it would be the Canadian Legal Aid, the freebee legal help that would provide her with the lawyer to get this done.
One must always act in the country of residency, as that determines any custodial issues with the children. The US is of no consequence, as long as the letter OR sole custody can be shown.

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She is trying to ENTER the US - she must have documentation which is acceptable to the Department of Homeland Security, which has its own regulations. If you are talking solely about custody, yes, it's a matter for the Canadian Courts; if you are talking about ENTERING the US the proof must be consistent with US laws and requirements.

I don't know why you think US law is of no consequence.

Canadian Legal Aid provides help to people who are either low income or disadvantaged and I don't see the OP stating either one of those categories.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

She is trying to ENTER the US - she must have documentation which is acceptable to the Department of Homeland Security, which has its own regulations. If you are talking solely about custody, yes, it's a matter for the Canadian Courts; if you are talking about ENTERING the US the proof must be consistent with US laws and requirements.

I don't know why you think US law is of no consequence.

Canadian Legal Aid provides help to people who are either low income or disadvantaged and I don't see the OP stating either one of those categories.

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If for instance, he shows up out of nowhere and does not agree to sign the consent form, what are the porcedures or steps I should take in order for me and my daughter to visit the USA?

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Originally Posted by thea1981

If for instance, he shows up out of nowhere and does not agree to sign the consent form, what are the porcedures or steps I should take in order for me and my daughter to visit the USA?

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You need to have full custody of your child for him NOT to be able to prevent you from travelling out of the child's country of residence.

The department of homeland and securtiy may have exceptions to the letter requirement, but I doubt it applies. The only exception I can think of is that perhaps if he is a US resident, maybe he cannot NOT sign the letter. He would have no reason in his right mind to deny your entry into his own country of residency, since removing them is what these laws are aiming to protect.

I do say you need a Canadian Lawyer if you are going the route of custody, unless you are there illigellaly because only the country of the child's residency can address custody issues. The applicable law for this situaion is the Hague Internaional Treaty.
Legal aid could help you if you cannot afford a lawyer. Otherwise I would be sure to select a family lawyer.

Good luck

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Originally Posted by TOPOGGAN

You need to have full custody of your child for him NOT to be able to prevent you from travelling out of the child's country of residence.

The department of homeland and securtiy may have exceptions to the letter requirement, but I doubt it applies. The only exception I can think of is that perhaps if he is a US resident, maybe he cannot NOT sign the letter. He would have no reason in his right mind to deny your entry into his own country of residency, since removing them is what these laws are aiming to protect.

I do say you need a Canadian Lawyer if you are going the route of custody, unless you are there illigellaly because only the country of the child's residency can address custody issues. The applicable law for this situaion is the Hague Internaional Treaty.
Legal aid could help you if you cannot afford a lawyer. Otherwise I would be sure to select a family lawyer.

Good luck

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Thanks so much for your time and response to this question.

[QUOTE=TOPOGGAN]

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You need to have full custody of your child for him NOT to be able to prevent you from travelling out of the child's country of residence.

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You are not correct - she does not need full legal custody in order for the father to not prevent the child from leaving the Country.

She needs documentation which is acceptable to officers at the US/Canadian border and she needs a LEGAL opinion to find out what that documentation is. A Canadian Attorney in touch with the US authorities is the way to make that happen as quickly as possible - and I believe there is a time frame here.

There are several "varieties" of custody - full legal custody is not the only acceptable custody in order to cross the border.

Let me try to summarize this. First, your daughter needs a passport. Second, you need documentation that you are legally allowed to travel with her. Those documents have to satisfy BOTH US law and Canadian law so you can get into the US and back into Canada.

I would go to the local US Consulate to find out what documents you need to enter the US. Then check with the Canadian State Dept or Immigration dept to determine what you need to get back into Canada.

Once you know what documents you need, you can then find out how to obtain them.

Any parent can report to the authorities a risk that a child will be abducted, real or not, to the boarders to prevent a child from crossing.

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Originally Posted by TOPOGGAN

Any parent can report to the authorities a risk that a child will be abducted, real or not, to the boarders to prevent a child from crossing.

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Anybody can report anything to any authority at any time -

That will not prevent a child from crossing.

Do you have any idea how many people are "reported" to Homeland Security every day, most of them out of spite, jealousy, vindictiveness - ?

This does not address what the mother needs to present in order to cross the border with her child.

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Originally Posted by TOPOGGAN

Any parent can report to the authorities a risk that a child will be abducted, real or not, to the boarders to prevent a child from crossing.

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I fail to see the purpose of this post. The OP has stated she doesn't know where the father is. So who is going to report anything?

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

I fail to see the purpose of this post. The OP has stated she doesn't know where the father is. So who is going to report anything?

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Time to close this post?