My fiancee has an five year old daughter that I have come to know and love as well. Her daughter was born in St. Petersburg to Olga and her Indian boyfriend who were never married. Several years ago, he decided to take daughter to the Indian embassy and have her nationalized as a Indian citizen, all without Olga’s knowledge. This is one of the first issues with Olga and her daughter being granted a visa to come to the US.

A question arose whether the affidavit of service is in compliance with the laws of the Russian Federation.

Dear Karina:

I have been looking at your website and can see that you give very helpful advice and information to people in difficult and confusing situations.

I am American and my husband is Russian. We were married in Moscow, where we were living at the time, but after a couple of years we moved to the United States, where we settled and raised a family.

We are now planning to divorce – there are no minor children involved and we have agreed privately how to divide our assets.

We thought it would be logical to file the papers in Russia since we were married there and we also have an apartment there, which is to go to my husband.

The Russian Embassy has advised that they can witness a statement from myself to enable my husband to lodge the papers in Moscow in my absence (he has agreed that they should be filed in my name on the grounds of his unreasonable behaviour).

However, we have also been advised to file in parallel in the United States, since we have our home here and a holiday apartment in Spain. Is this correct? Wouldn't one of the proceedings override the other?

I will be seeking advice here in the United States, but I would be very grateful for your opinion from the Russian legal point of view. I simply find it hard to believe that we can be divorced twice at the same time in different countries.


Thank you in anticipation.

I am an Indian engaged to a Russian lady in Moscow, Russia, who was recently denied a tourist visa to come to India because she did not have a notarized consent letter from her ex husband, allowing her daughter to travel. She is a divorcee for 10 years now, and her daughter is in sole custody with her. There is no contact with her ex husband and he is not supporting them in any way. Is this a valid reason? I read at Russian-divorce.com that this is not so and also on the Indian embassy visa agency website that this letter is only required when the child is traveling without parents. We wish to get married next month and I also want to know whether the ex husband will or can create any hindrance to his daughter living in India with me and her mother, or traveling to and from India to Moscow. I would greatly appreciate a prompt reply.

I live in New york and have a girlfriend in Russia, she is 29. We have not met. It is my intent to travel to Russia soon. The ultimate goal is to possibly bring her to the US. She is a very sweet girl who's husband has left and has filed for divorce with the court date being in late May, she has a small child that is not quite three yet.

I have read some on your site and have a general understanding of Russian law. Her ex is telling her that he will ask for custody, I realize it will be hard for him to get it.

My questions and concerns are: Will custody be settled along with the divorce or will a separate petition have to be filed by her to start that process?

Also do you think the father will be awarded visitation at that time and if so how often would it typically be?

My concern being, how would she comply if he was to see the child every other weekend or something like that if she is in the US? It is not the intent to deprive the father from the child, just can’t go to Russia every other week.

Also I have read on your site that the mother shouldn’t have any problem bringing the child to the US as long as the father doesn’t write a formal protest to the authorities. Will he be notified that she is attempting to remove the child from the country? if he does protest and she has custody will that prevent her leaving the country or will it just be that a visitation schedule would have to be worked out?

Also are you interested in helping in the visa process for her? I think she needs legal representation through the divorce/custody process, wouldn’t you agree? If so can you or do you have someone in that area to represent her?

We would like to be informed about the general questions as
follows:

1. Which court has a jurisdiction over the case of requesting a return of
a child under the Hague Convention?

2. What is the general proceedings of the court procedure of a child
return like in Russia? Especially, please let us know the time period
between the filing and a court order, which is recommended to be six weeks
under the Hague Convention.

3. If a request for return of a child is filed, what kind of defense is
available for the defendants (Taking Parents) under the implementation law
of the Hague Convention of Russia?

4. What kind of documents are necessary to initiate the court procedure
under the Hague Convention in Russia? Especially, are the original
documents required? Do you need the translation of the documents into
Russian?

We would appreciate your comments to the above points.

I have contacted you in the past with regards to visit my child in Russia however since then my wife came to live with me in U.S. as I managed to get them both back in U.S. I made an American Passport for my daughter.

Due to the work, I went back to England in search of work I then discovered my wife had left my parents home and took my child out of my country back to Russia I am totally devastated and a loss as what to do I did everything within my power and so did my family to make a happy and secure family but this was never enough I have been threatened today on the phone by a man with her sister if i didn't make what her sister wanted I will be harmed this has mad me extremely worried in case i go to visit my child in case some harm will come to me all i need to do is visit my child in peace and be allowed my right as her father to have regular contact either by phone or webcam in between visits I think there maybe a problem with the mother as she is very controlling and in the past has only been interested in me sending money and what i have sent is never enough i would appreciate your advise and how you could help me in this matter.

I live in USA and I would like to know if you can help me with getting an annulment of marriage. My wife is a Russian citizen and has been living in New York for 9 months. She has returned to Russia last week and is now living at her mothers apartment. We were married in St. Petersburg in September of 2009 then she arrived here in May of 2011. She has two children from a previous marriage, she was registered last living with her mother in St. Petersburg. I met her on internet and then i came to St. Petersburg and stayed 3 weeks, at that point in my life i had just went through suffering a death of a very close family member, my finance was very comforting to me and i explained to her while there that i wanted some time but she told me that she could not continue our relationship and we needed to be married. I went ahead while there and we were married, we went on talking online and i felt maybe i was just not thinking right about the situation and that everything would work out. After the last nine months she has told me that she wanted a divorce and that she wanted to go back to Russia , then before leaving she said that she really did not want to leave. The relationship has been very disappointing for both of us . We do not have any property together and or children, can this marriage be annulled or would a divorce be the only way and can you help in this matter?

Hi, I am Icelander living in Norway. I am married to woman from Kharkov. Now we have a problems because mistake and misunderstandings, we have never lived together. After she was home again everything was going wrong for us and now she want divorce.

I think I must go to Ukraine and try to talk with my "still wife" eyes to eyes, but we have not talk together over one year, only few words with email. She told me she want divorce because she felt I did not want her. Something in my words or behaviour was misunderstand by her. It.s lot of things who is different between the west people and the east and can be misinterpreted and badly misleading and can make wrong conclusions and then conflicts. That has happen in our case but I am helpless, I only want she can be happy and I hope so. She did not answer my phone-calls. We have not lived together, only few weeks under same roof, so this seems to be simply. Most simply in such case is invalidate the marriage due to adultery, she told me in email, she want start new life with man in her homeland.

I am ready to pay you for help in this case, if you want further details so you can evaluate based on feminine intuition eastern European woman what best to do, or go direct to annul the marriage if it is really her wish is in your hands if the price is acceptable.

with great thanks,

My goal is to get the divorce as soon as possible.

The custody issue will be addressed in the US, it can not be avoided.

If we included custody in St. Petersburg, Olga will simply delay and delay the process.

In the event Olga would return to Russia, that I would have zero recourse and
ability to see my daughter.

That said, I would be sure to report her to the FBI for child abduction if she ever tries to take my daughter out of the US.

This is the only compelling reason to even consider some custody order in St. Petersburg.

So, after the divorce is separated from the custody, we may want to address custody in Russia, to protect my parental rights in the event she does return.