How to Serve Legal Papers to an Absent Parent Who Has Been Deported
- 1). Determine where your deported spouse is now living. After your spouse has been deported, you will need to determine where she is living in order to serve her with court papers. If you do not know exactly where your deported spouse is living, try calling family members in that country or hire a private investigator located in the country where your deported spouse is living.
- 2). File an affidavit requesting service on a foreign defendant. Many court systems, such as the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (see Resource section), will provide a form for requesting service on a foreign defendant.
- 3). Determine whether the absent parent can be served by mail. International service of process is governed by the Hague Service Convention, which permits service of process by registered mail. However, several countries, including China, Japan and Korea, do not permit service of process by registered mail. The U.S. State Department (see Resource section) maintains a list of all countries that do not permit service of process by registered mail.
- 4). Fill out a USM-94 form (see Resource section) and submit your documents to the U.S. Marshals Service if the absent parent has been deported to a country that does not permit service via mail. If your spouse has been deported to a country that does not permit service of process by registered mail, the U.S. Marshals Service will take possession of your legal documents and forward them to the appropriate agency in the country where your spouse is now residing for service.
- 5). Bring a copy of the affidavit requesting service on a foreign defendant, a copy of all legal documents to be served, a return receipt card, a return envelope, a filled-out USM-94 form if appropriate and sufficient postage to the clerk of court. Check with the clerk of court where you have filed your court action for their procedures on handling service of process in foreign countries.
