republic-os/legal/us/code/title-22/chapter-98/section-9121.md

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LegalText	22 U.S.C. § 9121	Response to international child abductions	us	united_states_code	code_section	22	FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE	98	INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION PREVENTION AND RETURN	9121	22 U.S.C. § 9121	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc22@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t22/s9121	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-22/usc22.xml	11eed94b8a51a6a8d1ba590f0c871728895453eefc9c36fbe24b457963120cf5	b9c63ede722f5e0bf8eabfe9029e06e312ab9bcfd95c4d1424ed515baff1df83	6d276b840e998234ca97f093c40ba9a88b6e9305ebd0be0b24ae2632f0a1538a	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

22 U.S.C. § 9121 - Response to international child abductions

Text

(a) United States policy It is the policy of the United States—

(1) to promote the best interest of children wrongfully abducted from the United States by—

(A) establishing legal rights and procedures for their prompt return; and

(B) ensuring the enforcement of reciprocal international obligations under the Hague Abduction Convention or arrangements under bilateral procedures;

(2) to promote the timely resolution of abduction cases through 1 or more of the actions described in section 9122 of this title; and

(3) to ensure appropriate coordination within the Federal Government and between Federal, State, and local agencies involved in abduction prevention, investigation, and resolution.

(b) Actions by the Secretary of State in response to unresolved cases (1) Determination of action by the Secretary of State For each abduction or access case relating to a child whose habitual residence is in the United States that remains pending or is otherwise unresolved on the date that is 12 months after the date on which the Central Authority of the United States submits such case to a foreign country, the Secretary of State shall determine whether the government of such foreign country has failed to take appropriate steps to resolve the case. If the Secretary of State determines that such failure occurred, the Secretary should, as expeditiously as practicable—

(A) take 1 or more of the actions described in subsections (d) and (e) of section 9122 of this title; and

(B) direct the Chief of Mission in that foreign country to directly address the resolution of the case with senior officials in the foreign government.

(2) Authority for delay of action by the Secretary of State The Secretary of State may delay any action described in paragraph (1) if the Secretary determines that an additional period of time, not to exceed 1 year, will substantially assist in resolving the case.

(3) Report If the Secretary of State delays any action pursuant to paragraph (2) or decides not to take an action described in subsection (d) or (e) of section 9122 of this title after making the determination described in paragraph (1), the Secretary, not later than 15 days after such delay or decision, shall provide a report to the appropriate congressional committees that details the reasons for delaying action or not taking action, as appropriate.

(4) Congressional briefings At the request of the appropriate congressional committees, the Secretary of State shall provide a detailed briefing, including a written report, if requested, on actions taken to resolve a case or the cause for delay.

(c) Implementation (1) In general In carrying out subsection (b), the Secretary of State should—

(A) take 1 or more actions that most appropriately respond to the nature and severity of the governmental failure to resolve the unresolved abduction case; and

(B) seek, to the fullest extent possible—

(i) to initially respond by communicating with the Central Authority of the country; and

(ii) if clause (i) is unsuccessful, to target subsequent actions—

(I) as narrowly as practicable, with respect to the agencies or instrumentalities of the foreign government that are responsible for such failures; and

(II) in ways that respect the separation of powers and independence of the judiciary of the country, as applicable.

(2) Guidelines for actions by the Secretary of State In addition to the guidelines under paragraph (1), the Secretary of State, in determining whether to take 1 or more actions under paragraphs (5) through (7) of section 9122(d) of this title or section 9122(e) of this title, shall seek to minimize any adverse impact on—

(A) the population of the country whose government is targeted by the action or actions;

(B) the humanitarian activities of United States and nongovernmental organizations in the country; and

(C) the national security interests of the United States.

(d) Action in the case of abducted children who reach the age of 16 When an individual who is an abducted child attains 16 years of age, a consular officer from a United States diplomatic mission in the country in which such individual resides shall, until either the left-behind parent seeking assistance or the individual (after attaining 18 years of age) requests the officer to cease, annually attempt to contact such individual, through welfare and whereabout visits and by engaging other agencies and foreign counterparts as necessary, to provide information, as relevant, on rights and privileges as a United States citizen, such as passports, and any eligible benefits from left-behind parent, such as G.I. educational and health benefits and to obtain a verified location of such individual.

(Pub. L. 113–150, title II, § 201, Aug. 8, 2014, 128 Stat. 1817; Pub. L. 118–159, div. G, title LXXV, § 7509(b), Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2551.)

Notes

Editorial Notes

Amendments2024—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 118–159 added subsec. (d).