How Can I Support Staff with their International Child Support Caseload?

As defined by federal regulations, an intergovernmental child support case involves one parent who lives or works in a different jurisdiction from the other parent and child. Those jurisdictions may be a state, tribe, or foreign country. In an intergovernmental case, the initiating jurisdiction has referred the case to a responding jurisdiction for services.

No, international child support cases are handled differently depending on which country is involved. Certain foreign nations have a treaty relationship with the United States. The United States has established a bi-lateral arrangement with four countries – Australia, El Salvador, Israel, and Switzerland – and almost all of the provinces and territories of Canada. These are known as foreign reciprocating countries. The United States has also recognized a treaty relationship with most of the more than 40 countries that have ratified or acceded to the 2007 Hague Child Support Convention. Federal regulations only require child support agencies to process cases initiated by Central Authorities in one of these countries. The website of the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement has information about all countries with which the U.S. has a treaty relationship, 

Yes, the primary law used in interstate cases also has provisions that apply to international child support cases. The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) is a model law developed by the Uniform Law Commissioners. A federal law required U.S. states, but not tribes, to enact UIFSA. UIFSA provisions govern the establishment, enforcement, and modification of child support orders when the parties reside in different states, as defined by the Act. It also applies to a support proceeding involving: (1) a foreign support order; (2) a foreign tribunal; or (3) an obligee, obligor, or child residing in a foreign country. UIFSA’s definition of a foreign country includes most, but not all, foreign nations. There is one section of the Act that only applies to cases involving a Hague Child Support Convention country. If there is a support order from a foreign nation that does not meet UIFSA’s definition of a foreign country, the tribunal may, but is not required to, apply UIFSA.