Ade and his wife Abiola live in Nigeria. When Abiola was pregnant, she traveled to the United States to visit her sister and gave birth to Emmanuel in the United States. Four months later, a child protection system (CPS) report from hospital staff led to identification of Abiola’s substance abuse addiction and neglect of the baby. As a result, Emmanuel was placed in foster care. Ade initially supported the plan to reunify Emmanuel with Abiola. He also attempted to secure a visa to visit the United States from Nigeria so he could be with his son. After his visa request was denied, he asked that the child welfare agency arrange for Emmanuel’s travel to Nigeria to his care. He maintains regular phone and email contact with the caseworker, seeks help participating in court hearings from the Foreign Consulate of Nigeria, and provides contact for relatives in the U.S. who may be placement options. The foster parents have indicated they are interested in adopting Emmanuel and have asserted it is in his best interest to remain in the United States. After seven months, the agency petitions to terminate Abiola’s parental rights for failure to pursue any components of her case plan.
https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/child_law/Immigration%20in%20CWS%20Case%20Studies_final.authcheckdam.pdf