If your kids don’t have Taiwanese passport they will be staying illegally here after 3 months. You can be the whistle blower to the immigration office with regards to that. They will have to ‘deport’ your kids since she also doesn’t have your signature authorizing the issuing of the new passport.
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The motivation could be pretty simple - once the criminal case is established, or investigation is still in process, withdraw it in exchange for signing the divorce papers in her favor.
The investigation case will likely take 5-7 months.
This gonna be tough…
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How old are your kids? I did not see it mentioned.
Had the same question. Presumably school-aged as he mentioned they’re enrolled in the American school system.
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Hopefully they are old enough to refuse the mother if they don’t want to live here.
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Yeah, I can’t imagine they’d be thrilled about having their lives uprooted so they can serve as ammunition in their mom’s legal battle against their dad.
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Not mention the future therapy bills. 
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As far as choosing which parent gets custody, I’m not sure American children have a say until they’re 13. In any case, the situation definitely looks grim for the kids. Highly doubt they‘re gonna be okay with leaving all their friends and everything they’re used to behind in the US.
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This was your red flag and the reason you absolutely, positively should not have come to Taiwan with your kids.
Your wife planned this all out ahead of time and set you up. I’ll bet she was very nice and accommodating right before the trip to catch you off guard.
Now, she’s suing you for domestic violence and has successfully barred you from returning to the US. She will now use this as leverage against you by agreeing to drop the charges so long as you agree to giving her full custody of the kids and monthly income.
If you don’t sign over custody and if you are able to leave Taiwan and return to the US to work, she will play the “abandonment card” in order to secure full custody of the kids with a default judgement. Taiwan won’t help you and won’t care. Seen it way too many times.
Your only hope at this time is if you are able to prove that the kids entered Taiwan on their US passport and therefore are required to leave on their US passport and can get them back safely to the US.
However, if you leave for the US, your wife might be able to have the kids leave Taiwan on their US passport to Hong Kong or Macau, apply for a Taiwanese passport for your kids and then bring them back into Taiwan on their Taiwan passports. Your kids will be lost to you until they reach adulthood at this point.
I’m really sorry about this and I hate giving people bad news, but the truth and the reality of your situation in very bleak.
Prayers for you and your kids.
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Yup, that’s my take. Now to prove it you would need evidence. Did she admit hiding the passports? That would be evidence of intent. Do you have mutual friends in the US that she might have confided her intent? When did she cancel the return flight, before or after the confrontation, if it was before then you have more evidence of intent. If there are no signs of any injuries it is a she said he said scenario, where if enough evidence of intent can be found, the more likely it will appear the claim is bogus.
What a lousy situation, wishing you all the best.
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Here are some famous cases I was able to dig up off the top of my head.
You can also do a search on the forum regarding the trials and tribulations of @pgdaddy1 to see how poorly he fared when he went through the custody battle.
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Yea if you can find any evidence of intent find it. It will help prove to the prosecutor that she’s setting this up and intended to deceive the police/prosecutor in order to file a criminal charge. This can get the charge dismissed and you can then counter sue her for this.
Are there any medical report giving evidence of violence? I don’t mean a few mean words, I mean tangible evidence of injury.
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Why would he have to leave?
The kids are 7 and 4 years old. Too young to have any say.
Yes, it was a setup and I now deeply regret coming to Taiwan this time. She’s using this DV allegation and the travel ban as unfair leverage to get me to agree to a lopsided custody arrangement in her favor. She claims she was well within her right to take the kids’ passports out of my bag and hold/hide them because she’s their parent, too. Yeah maybe so but she totally did it to bait me into an argument.
We haven’t been able to see yet all of the evidence that she submitted with her allegation, but I suspect that if there is any it’s fake and/or exaggerated.
Well,let’s assume for a moment that the OP isn’t a multi-millionaire and that he actually has a job in the United States. How about a computer engineer with Microsoft?
He takes annual leave for 2 weeks to come visit Taiwan over the CNY holiday, not realizing his wife set him up for the whole thing. He has a career, a house and mortgage to pay. You know,like a real life.
Question: How can he not “have to leave”?
Do you think ANY company will hold his job for an indefinite period of time? Will they continue to pay him his salary without him working? Forget about his life in America the house and everything inside, allow it to be foreclosed on? Quit his career job and stay in Taiwan…to do what? Be an English teacher? Sit around in Taiwan slugging it out in the courts for up to five years perhaps, only to end up losing?
Of course he has to go back to the US. Sooner than later. What’s the OP’s Forumosa handle?
Could just as well be…
@idontwannagohomebutihavetogohomebuticantgohomerightnowandwtfamigonnadonow
This is another all too familiar story and I’m just sick with worry for the OP and the kids!
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No, you’ve misunderstood me. You said “if you leave for the US, your wife could…”. Couldn’t she still do that with him here in the country?
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Can you work remotely? Do you trust your manager? Perhaps fill them in on the situation and see if some sort of arrangement can be made until you can get a better grasp on the situation here and what your options are.
Well, the law is supposed to be that you enter on your US passport, then you have to leave on your US passport. But, here is Taiwan and I don’t trust anything.
So, yes I suppose that the OP’s wife could secretly spirit the kids off the island while he’s still here, get Taiwanese passports for them, then bring them back here and it’s 100% game over.
Although he should have to sign the paperwork at a TECRO for the kids to get Taiwanese passports, it’s hsppened that the TECROS do it regardless.
I feel the best course of action is to see that NIA enforces the kids’ American on a visitor status and ensure the leave Taiwan. Hopefully with the father and straight back to the US.
I’m not holding my breath on that, though.
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I’ve been accused of domestic violence. Could I have some unpaid leave or work from home?
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Yeah, I might think that would be one’s first order of business. I guess there’s nothing about it that would raise any red flags for anyone. This might be worth investigating though
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/contact-us/International-Parental-Child-Abduction.html
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