Okay, well, I am not the type to ever go on forums or seek public help/guidance, so if I go about this wrong, I apologize.
Here is the short version of my situation;
I am an American. I met a Taiwanese woman in the US back in 2011 who had been there for college and decided to stay longer. We ended up dating, then moving in together, then she got pregnant. I wanted to do what I felt was the right thing, so, I paid for a new house, new vehicles (family friendly), all new furniture, etc. She was supposed to stay home and relax while I worked three jobs to pay for everything. My son was born in the US and we continued to live there until he was 7 months old. While I was with my Unit for annual training, I got an email from her that essentially said she had taken my son to Taiwan and I would never see him again.
I sold everything I owned, quit my jobs, separated from the Army, and got a ticket to Taiwan. I arrived in Taiwan in the summer of 2013. Once here, she convinced me to forgive her, start fresh in Taiwan, etc. We got legally married in Taiwan, though I never got my residency, since we were planning on going back to the US when it was time for my son to start school. She worked full time while I raised our son. Everything was getting better and better and I felt truly fortunate about how nice life had turned out.
Then, on the morning of November 11th, 2016, I woke up to a message from my wife that said “I am sorry, I can’t do this anymore, I have filed for divorce. [Our son] is with me.”. Sure enough, my son and wife were both missing, along with our dog, all the cash, all the bank cards, both vehicle keys, etc.
Now, this is where everything gets especially hectic, but, the basic outline is that she has taken my son to an unknown location, she refuses to let me see him, she refuses to reason with me, she has taken away all of my resources, and I recently found out that she stopped paying rent, so I have to be out of the apartment by the 5th, as we are being evicted. Both of my feet are heavily blistered and injured from walking all over the city every day, trying to get things figured out. I have spoken to the police, the courts, a social worker, and received some free legal advice. Everyone seems to be telling me that, though I have full parental rights, they cannot force her to bring my son back to me.
I found out that she filed for a restraining order against me. She basically applied for every single thing the law offers, but most of the requests were denied. The only thing that was granted was a basic and temporary restraining order that basically says I am not allowed to beat her. She also has a protection order (which is a separate thing) from the police department that basically says that they are not allowed to tell me where she is. The Legal Aid Foundation approved a my request for a lawyer to appeal the restraining order, as I have evidence that she is lying about her claims. However, the lawyer told me that the appeals are very, very rarely granted. I have also been told that the longer she has him, the less likely it is that I can win a custody case.
He is my son. I am a good father. I am the one who has raised him. I changed every diaper, fed him every meal, bathed him, clothed him, cared for him when he was sick, cut his hair, taught him to walk, talk, etc. I have taken him out to experience the world daily. Meanwhile, she was always very neglectful, very mean toward him, never had time for him, would lose her temper and hit him, etc. I am the calm one who is always the voice of reason, even acting as a buffer between her and her psychotic family. She, on the other hand, has a documented history of mental illness. She has had to be in therapy, be on medication, has been hospitalized in the US for attempted suicide, and regularly harms herself (hits herself, bangs her head against the wall, cuts herself, etc).
Yet, somehow, she was able to take my son from me and NOBODY seems to see a problem with it or be at all interested in helping. They just keep telling me that it will be sorted in court later, which could take years, and that I need to be patient.
Is there ANYTHING I can do? Are there ANY options that I have? Any loopholes? Any technicalities? I am being told that, despite him being an American citizen, having an American passport, being completely raised by his American dad, speaking English as a primary language, etc, that I have a very slim chance of winning custody simply because I am both a foreigner and a man.
What can I do? I cannot accept this as reality. I can’t accept that something so obviously wrong can be completely permissible and there is nothing I can do.
Any help? Any thoughts? Any ideas? Anything?