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Domestic violence and child support
Summer Breeze
Registered User new member
Registered User new member
Someone asked me for advice and I’m asking it here on their behalf and with their permission.
Her predicament: she, foreign born and not a citizen, married a naturalized American and moved with him briefly to the US, and then moved back out of the US. During this period, they had two kids, and throughout it and including during her one of her pregnancies he was physically and otherwise abusive.
She decided to escape, and with some people’s help managed to get back the US, where she has a green card and is legal resident. Her kids, because of their dad, and one of them being born here, are both citizens. But she has no family or any support structure here.
What she wants is legal protection from her husband. She’s afraid of him coming to the US to find her and/or take the kids away. I don’t know what counts as documentation/proof of abuse, but she says it’s very clear on her body. She went for a doctor visit some days ago, and the doctor was very concerned about what she saw and asked her about it.
She also wants to sue him for child support. He’s wealthy, and an American citizen, but also not currently living here.
Does she have much in the way of legal recourse? If so, what kind of legal representation are we looking for? Would a simple family lawyer help us with this?
Thanks in advance.
Her predicament: she, foreign born and not a citizen, married a naturalized American and moved with him briefly to the US, and then moved back out of the US. During this period, they had two kids, and throughout it and including during her one of her pregnancies he was physically and otherwise abusive.
She decided to escape, and with some people’s help managed to get back the US, where she has a green card and is legal resident. Her kids, because of their dad, and one of them being born here, are both citizens. But she has no family or any support structure here.
What she wants is legal protection from her husband. She’s afraid of him coming to the US to find her and/or take the kids away. I don’t know what counts as documentation/proof of abuse, but she says it’s very clear on her body. She went for a doctor visit some days ago, and the doctor was very concerned about what she saw and asked her about it.
She also wants to sue him for child support. He’s wealthy, and an American citizen, but also not currently living here.
Does she have much in the way of legal recourse? If so, what kind of legal representation are we looking for? Would a simple family lawyer help us with this?
Thanks in advance.
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The bad thing, without prior police report, it would be incredibly difficult for her to get sole custody.
If she has limited employment, a judge is going to look at the stable house with the employed family member. However there are other factors.
State of residence, state of residence of the father.
But she needs to see a lawyer.
There is significant risk, more so without a lawyer.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline - 1-800-799-7233
They can provide some answers to the questions related to abuse. The medical office she went to can probably get her in contact with a local group.
That doesn't really solve custody and/or restraining orders. Though they may have recommendations regarding the steps to take and the documentation she will need moving forward. Some stuff is easy to do at a courthouse in an afternoon, some stuff is really complicated. Appropriate specialty lawyer will be key, and there may be free advise from a lawyer available in her area.