Mothers in Colombia who are seeking child support in the United States.
Collecting Child Support from a Parent in the United States
This information sheet provides guidance to parents in Colombia who are seeking child support from the other parent, when that other parent resides in the United States. For information about collecting child support in countries other than the United States, please see the Department’s of State’s information on Child Support Enforcement Abroad.
The U.S. Embassy is sometimes contacted by the mother or father of an American child in Colombia, requesting assistance in collecting financial support from the other parent in the United States. The Embassy is also sometimes asked to locate the absent parent for the purpose of collecting financial support.
The Embassy regrets that it is unable to directly assist in these matters. In the United States, each individual state or territory maintains its own agency that is responsible for the administration of child support. These agencies are not a part of the U.S. federal government, and for that reason they do not have representatives at the U.S. Embassy.
If you are the parent of an American child in Colombia and are seeking financial support from the other parent, please contact the child support enforcement agency in the state where the other parent lives, or in the state where your child was born or previously lived. A list of state child support agencies is available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The state child support enforcement agency may be able to assist you in locating the parent in the United States, if necessary. In some cases, the agency will advise you to travel to that state, or to hire an attorney in that state, to assist you in obtaining a court order for child support. You may want to contact your own country's Embassy or Consulate in the United States for a list of attorneys who could represent you.
Some countries, not including Colombia, have agreements with the United States that may allow you to enforce another country’s child support order in the United States without having to travel or hire an attorney there. Information about these agreements is available from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Child Support Enforcement.
Please see the Department of State's website for additional information about international child support issues. http://bogota.usembassy.gov/child_support.html
La Diaspora Peruana
