Kazzie46 said:
My sister's ex-husband is missing in the New York Disaster and is currently in New York with the two children by the marriage. The two boys lived with their father in NY and my sister is with them awaiting news of her ex-husband. She is unable to find the boys' passports or birth certificates and thinks that their father may have taken these to work with him, in which case they are now lost. The boys' are both registered as USA citizens as they were born in NY even though both their parents are British. She needs to bring the boys back to England ASAP so as to cause as minimum distruption as poss but does not know the best way in each to do this. Is there any legal requirement she must follow?
The first thing to do is get copies of the birth certificates and then request new SS cards. I assume she remembers where they were born and so she can contact the local government dudes. Also, go down to the local post office and pick up the forms for replacing lost passports.
I have no idea about this company but they may help if time is short.
http://www.uspassportbureau.com/
If she wants to do this herself, then
http://www.vitalrec.com will help.
Also, she may want to also apply for a British Passport for the children if they intend to remain in the UK.
http://www.britainusa.com/
What I do not know is whether you will need court permission to take the children from the US since there was a custody order in place and currently no death certificate of the father. She needs to consult with a local attorney.