USA husband abandoned dominican wife in dr with 2 children

I would suggest that she gets all her paperwork in order - marriage certificate, birth certificates, copy of the divorce decree that he wanted her to sign and then call the US counselor's office and set up an appointment with them. It would be helpful if she had name of the law office he was using to file for divorce as well. She should also take any copies of his personal ID such as passport or drivers license for example if she has them. If she doesn't have legal documentation however she will be out of luck I think.

It might also help her case is she can list the dates he came in and out of the DR. The office should be able to check with DR and US immigration to verify these travels to add weight to proving her case about this problem.

Were the children registered with the U.S. Counsolar?

If so she/they have a chance, if not try previous advice.

g'luck

Welcome to DR1 Forum.

Since she is a Dominicana i am sure DB Cooper will help. He loves Dominicanas.

It sounds like she needs to do something right away. Depending on what State this guy lives in, the type of profession, especially if it is one that requires a license or has an overseeing board, you can easily shame him into doing something right away. If she has info about a family member etc.. On the other hand, there is always two sides to every story, it would be great to hear his side. He would not stick his neck out there trying to get a divorce if he wanted to hide. If you have a name and DOB you can find this guy in 30 min or less. I would try some quick simple solutions first with the information that you already have and with the results it will be a lot easier to show up at the Embassy and apply for benefits. If you'd like more ideas PM me.

I believe It would be better if a Mod put this in the legal forum..............
Maybe the OP would luck out and dr1's resident lawyer could comment.......IMO...

B in Santiago

I sorry to say ,but nothing really can be done right away. He has already talk to a lawyer in the USA, and I know for a fact his lawyer told him not to worry about it. It takes A LOT of money and time to resolve this. All he has to say "the kids are not mine she lied I am not the father regarless of what the birth Cert. says" It took my daughter aunt almost 2 yrs to see a dime of child support from her ex and he lives 30 mins away here in Illinios.

waytogo said:

I believe It would be better if a Mod put this in the legal forum..............
Maybe the OP would luck out and dr1's resident lawyer could comment.......IMO...

B in Santiago

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Agreed. Moved!!!

JMB773 said:

I sorry to say ,but nothing really can be done right away. He has already talk to a lawyer in the USA, and I know for a fact his lawyer told him not to worry about it. It takes A LOT of money and time to resolve this. All he has to say "the kids are not mine she lied I am not the father regarless of what the birth Cert. says" It took my daughter aunt almost 2 yrs to see a dime of child support from her ex and he lives 30 mins away here in Illinios.

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Hence the reason why he should be shamed into doing something. If there is no immediate legal recourse, there is no better avenue than his own reputation and conscience.

amigodr said:

hello, sorry I don't know if this is the correct forum for this question,

I have a friend, she is a dominican woman, 26, married legally here with a man from Pennsylvania, (he is not "Dominican-york", he don't even speak Spanish only English), she had two children with him, now they are 2 and 1 years old. The two children are "registered" with him as their father in birth certificate.

Last year he return to USA abandoning her and his two sons, she does not know his USA address or phone, (she don't have visa and never traveled to USA). He is not paying any children maintenance of course.

The last notice from him was last month when a dominican lawyer sent by him was trying she to sign a divorce papers, resigning to any economic compensation or even children maintenance, she of course refused to sign.

She is having a really hard times to feed the children, what she could do from here to get this resolved? is there any way? thanks in advance!

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I'd try to see if you can find him via Internet. (certainly she has DOB, etc.). He's likely banking on her not having the means/smarts to pursue it. Knowing the state is critical. I'd also dialogue with the Dominican lawyer letting him know she is willing to negotiate the divorce. The lawyer certainly has a way to contact him. Because they are married, she doesn't have enforcement options open to her, and as others have said they are costly and take time. I think trying to apply for benefits on behalf of the children as US citizens may trigger something that gets her closer to a resolution.

It's not a good idea to ignore the divorce papers. She should have proof that she's responded to his request for divorce (even though she can disagree with everything) or he can probably claim he attempted to reach her and she didn't respond/wasn't available, and a judge in the US will grant the divorce. If he gets divorce papers that do not include child support, it will be nearly impossible (given her financial situation) to get it later.

As to the "informal" means, I'd also suggest trying to contact his parents, as grandparents often have a soft spot in their hearts for the grandkids.

I agree that there are always 2 sides, but certainly the children are losing out at this point.

If you are successful in helping, please report back. Someone else may benefit from what you learn.

amigodr said:

hello, sorry I don't know if this is the correct forum for this question,

I have a friend, she is a dominican woman, 26, married legally here with a man from Pennsylvania, (he is not "Dominican-york", he don't even speak Spanish only English), she had two children with him, now they are 2 and 1 years old. The two children are "registered" with him as their father in birth certificate.

Last year he return to USA abandoning her and his two sons, she does not know his USA address or phone, (she don't have visa and never traveled to USA). He is not paying any children maintenance of course.

The last notice from him was last month when a dominican lawyer sent by him was trying she to sign a divorce papers, resigning to any economic compensation or even children maintenance, she of course refused to sign.

She is having a really hard times to feed the children, what she could do from here to get this resolved? is there any way? thanks in advance!

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I'm sorry for this, not all of us are bad guys. But here is the deal and you can take it to the bank that I'm spot on. Things are going to be difficult for her to say the least. Right now, only New Jersey has any reciprocal agreement for child support. Even with this agreement, international support issues are difficult. But here is the only way that I know of making this happen. First, she'll have to get a support order for child support in the Dominican Republic. Then have it accepted, sort of legalized if you will in his state of residence. Second, the marriage certificate in the D.R. will have his passport information. Third, she is smart not to sign anything from the lawyer but it doesn't protect her as much as she might think. There are legal reasons, due process laws that most states have in common but if in many states, failure to respond or sign can result in default judgement. She needs a P.A. lawyer and they cost a lot of money. What is she entitled to. In the D.R. she'd get half of all assets if no prenuptial agreement existed. In the U.S. it depends on the state, on the length of marriage, etc. For the children, it depends on his income and assets and it doesn't sound like she's familiar with either.

Like I said, the sad part is that the mothers only recourse is to have a child support order put in place in the D.R. Then she will have to have it recognized by the court in his state of residency. This isn't easy but it is possible. The unfortunate thing is that in the U.S. she'd need a lawyer and they cost money. Lots of money. Probably more than she'd get in 15 years of child support awarded in the D.R. But, should he set foot in the D.R. again, things will be very different. She can haul his deadbeat ass to court and get some relief. I'm sorry I don't have a better answer for you but you but take what I'm saying to the bank. It's fact. If she ever became a resident of the United States things might be different. If he legalized the children with the embassy she may want to speak child support services in P.A. but because neither she nor the children are residence of P.A. I can tell you it will not go far.

This being said there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. Laws change and evolve. New Jersey just implemented a reciprocal agreement with the D.R. I assume there's a large Dominican population in N.J. But other states may follow suit. Also, there is the possibility that the Hague treaty will be ratified by the U.S. and the Dominican Republic may choose to become a signatory in the future. If this happens then she's got his sorry ass. Again, I'm sorry. If you have any more questions feel free to PM me. I'll do my best to answer or at least to point you in the right direction.

La Rubia said:

I'd try to see if you can find him via Internet. (certainly she has DOB, etc.). He's likely banking on her not having the means/smarts to pursue it. Knowing the state is critical. I'd also dialogue with the Dominican lawyer letting him know she is willing to negotiate the divorce. The lawyer certainly has a way to contact him. Because they are married, she doesn't have enforcement options open to her, and as others have said they are costly and take time. I think trying to apply for benefits on behalf of the children as US citizens may trigger something that gets her closer to a resolution.

It's not a good idea to ignore the divorce papers. She should have proof that she's responded to his request for divorce (even though she can disagree with everything) or he can probably claim he attempted to reach her and she didn't respond/wasn't available, and a judge in the US will grant the divorce. If he gets divorce papers that do not include child support, it will be nearly impossible (given her financial situation) to get it later.

As to the "informal" means, I'd also suggest trying to contact his parents, as grandparents often have a soft spot in their hearts for the grandkids.

I agree that there are always 2 sides, but certainly the children are losing out at this point.

If you are successful in helping, please report back. Someone else may benefit from what you learn.

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The advice on not ignoring the divorce paperwork is correct. Notice, I didn't say sign anything right away. Just know your rights before you sign anything. The best thing would be to discuss this with a family practice lawyer in PA. It takes money and lots of it. After she understands what she is responding to (by the way, they have to have it translated to Spanish for her) she can respond. There is a less expensive way to ask questions. There is online legal advice. But in many instances I would question it's accuracy.

Also, I can't stress enough that she needs to keep his passport number from their marriage certificate handy. This is the key to locating him. In the future, if laws do change for the better, a U.S. Child Support agency will be able to track him down with this information.

Also, she should be made aware that the notice she received is time sensitive. It depends on the due process laws of the State but she doesn't have a lot of time to respond.

amigodr said:

Last year he return to USA abandoning her and his two sons, she does not know his USA address or phone, (she don't have visa and never traveled to USA). He is not paying any children maintenance of course.

The last notice from him was last month when a dominican lawyer sent by him was trying she to sign a divorce papers, resigning to any economic compensation or even children maintenance, she of course refused to sign.

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If the husband had divorce papers delivered by a Dominican lawyer I'm sure that Dominican lawyer will know how to get in touch with the husband.

You didn't specify if the divorce papers are from the US or if he is attempting to get a Dominican divorce.

This lady can barely feed herself and her kid and some of you are recommending her getting a lawyer?????

Chip said:

This lady can barely feed herself and her kid and some of you are recommending her getting a lawyer?????

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As soon as these rat bastard lawyers smell any kind of financial victory she will have representation coming out of her decree nisi...

Chip said:

This lady can barely feed herself and her kid and some of you are recommending her getting a lawyer?????

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Chip, I sympathize with her plight. I truly do. But her options are very limited at this time. She would have to be in a reciprocating country or she would have to be a resident in the U.S. That's the law of the land. Odd's are he's going after a U.S. Divorce because he knows that she can't show up to defend herself or the children. I don't know all of the situation but they are his children. At least keep a roof over their head and food on the table. Dam.


But ya, if she's going to make anything work in the U.S. it takes money. The sad thing is that if the D.R. was a reciprocating country then the state would incur the cost. But right now it's not. She's stuck between a rock and a hard place. I gave her the best option. Get a support order in her own country. I doubt tying to shame the guy into supporting his kids will do anything. A man or woman who'd let their kid go hunger has no shame. I know it can be tough on the guy at times. Both in the U.S. and the D.R. there are women who will use the money for anything but the children. (The U.S. women being worse in my opinion.)

He's had a process server in the D.R. deliver the notice of his intent to divorce her. She has a set amount of time to respond before the U.S. court will issue a summary decision and I can promise that if she doesn't respond it will not be in her favor. So your dam right I told her to speak with a U.S. lawyer. Try, at least. She might find one who's sympathetic and will not charge her much. But to do nothing is foolish. If you've got something better to put on the table, let's hear it. If not ----

Also, people telling her to go to the consulate - good luck with that. You can hardly get service as a U.S. Citizen and that's only for things they are responsible for. The consulate will do nothing with respect to child support. It's not their job.

Look, she should get the support order NOW. If she has no money to deal with this in the U.S. then I'm sorry. It is what it is. But in the future things may change. If the D.R. becomes a reciprocating country with PA then she and her government can utilize the child support agency in the U.S. to track him down and get support. The cost will be incurred by the agency.

Man, it sucks, but it's the best she can do. The the OP, again, I'm sorry.

I am just asking myself, what makes a man run from his two kids and disappear. I have a vague idea, but I'll keep it for myself.

Why doesn't she do what all the "Dominicanas" do when the father is a "Dominicano"?
Leave the kids with her mother to raise,and move on to her next "Baby Papa"!
The guy must have gotten the results to the "DNA" test back,or maybe came for an unexpected visit and found her with the real "Baby Papa"!
Like all pancakes,there are two sides to every story.I'd love to hear "His" side.
"Something" tells me it might be just slightly different!
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