Processing Incoming Cases under the 2007 Hague Child Support Convention

POLICY INTERPRETATION QUESTIONS

PIQ-22-01

DATE: March 14, 2022

TO: State Child Support Agencies

FROM: Tanguler Gray, Commissioner, Office of Child Support Enforcement

SUBJECT: Processing Incoming Cases under the 2007 Hague Child Support Convention

The purpose of this PIQ is to assist state child support agencies in processing incoming Convention applications under the 2007 Hague Child Support Convention. The Convention is implemented in the United States through a framework of applicable laws. Section 454(32)(A) of the Social Security Act provides that “any request for services under this part by a…foreign treaty country…shall be treated as a request by a State”. Therefore, in processing incoming Convention applications, states must follow federal law and regulations, as well as UIFSA 2008,^[1] in providing intergovernmental services and cooperation to Convention cases (see sections 454(6)(A), 454(9), 454(20), 459A, 466(f) of the Social Security Act and 45 CFR 302.36 and 303.7). For more information on international case processing topics, see OCSE’s training: International Case Processing under UIFSA 2008. For background on the Convention, see AT-14-11 and IM-15-01 and our international webpage.

Responsibilities of the State Central Registry

Question 1: When a central registry receives a Convention application, how should it review and acknowledge the application?

Answer 1: Upon receipt of a Convention application, the state central registry should review it to determine if the application complies with UIFSA Article 7, which incorporates requirements of the Convention. Questions the central registry should ask are:

• Is the application within the scope of UIFSA Article 7, (that is, did it come from a Central Authority of a Convention country)?
• Are required documents, including translations, included with the application?

Article 12 of the Convention requires the requested/responding Central Authority to acknowledge receipt of an application within six weeks of the date of receipt ^[2]. In the United States, state child support agencies are subject to tighter time frames since 45 CFR 303.7(b)(2) requires the state central registry in an intergovernmental case to acknowledge receipt and identify missing documents within 10 working days of receipt. To acknowledge receipt, according to 45 CFR 303.7(a)(4), state child support agencies must use the mandatory Convention Acknowledgment Form (PDF), which is approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and accessible from OCSE’s website in an English fillable format. This is not the same form as the Child Support Enforcement Transmittal #1 - Acknowledgment used in interstate and other intergovernmental cases.

Question 2: May a state central registry reject a Convention application if additional documents or information are needed?

Answer 2: No. The responding state central registry may not reject an application solely because additional documents or information are needed. Under 45 CFR 303.7(b)(3), “[i]f the documentation received with a case is incomplete and cannot be remedied by the central registry without the assistance of the initiating agency, the central registry must forward the case for any action that can be taken pending necessary action by the initiating agency.”

Responsibilities of Responding/Requested U.S. State Agency

Question 3: May a state child support agency close a Convention case if a Convention country does not respond to requests for information that may be needed to take action on the case?

Answer 3: While case closure regulations under 45 CFR 303.11(b)(17) and (d) provide a responding state agency the option to close a case when it can document that the initiating state has failed to take an action that is essential for the next step in providing services, the responding state should use this case closure option sparingly and not as an automated action. (See AT-20-14, Q&As 50 and 71.) Foreign countries are not subject to U.S. case processing time frames (see PIQ-04-01, Question 2), so a state agency should make a good faith effort to communicate with the requesting Central Authority before initiating case closure or automatically closing a case if the requesting country does not, for example, provide translated documents or other information according to U.S. case processing time frames.

We note that under the Convention, a country has at least 90 days to respond to a request for additional documents or information. Article 12 of the Convention provides that if the requesting Central Authority does not respond to a request within three months or a longer period specified by the requested Central Authority, the requested Central Authority may decide that it will no longer process the application. In such a situation, it must inform the requesting Central Authority of this decision.

Question 4: What should a state child support agency do in a responding international case when it locates the respondent in another U.S. state?

Answer 4: If the respondent is located in another U.S. state, 45 CFR 303.7(d)(3) requires the responding state agency to return the intergovernmental forms and documentation, including the new location, to the initiating agency, or, if directed by the initiating agency, forward the intergovernmental forms and documentation to the central registry in the state where the respondent has been located. Often, in a Convention case, the requesting Central Authority prefers that the forms and documentation be forwarded to the new location. If the responding state no longer has the original hard-copy case documentation, the state should transmit the case documentation that it has, even if electronic. Given the work involved in developing a Convention application, OCSE encourages responding state agencies to assist the requesting Central Authority as much as possible.

Question 5: On incoming Convention applications for recognition and enforcement, may the responding state child support agency request additional documentation, such as a birth certificate or payment record?

Answer 5: Article 11 of the Convention provides that an application for recognition and enforcement “shall be accompanied only by the documents listed in Article 25.” Article 25 of the Convention lists the documents that must accompany an application for recognition and enforcement. In the U. S., these Convention articles are implemented through UIFSA section 706 Registration of Convention Support Order. It is inappropriate for U.S. child support agencies to request additional documents to accompany an application for recognition and enforcement, such as the children’s birth certificates, as these documents are not required under section 706 of UIFSA. The exception is if the U.S. agency is forwarding a directive made by the U.S. tribunal.

Question 6: When and how should a responding state child support agency provide case updates to the Convention country?

Answer 6: As noted in part in Q&A 1, intergovernmental regulations under 45 CFR 303.7(b)(2)(iii) and (iv) require a state central registry, within 10 working days of receiving a new case, to acknowledge receipt, request missing documentation, and inform the initiating agency where the case was sent for action. In addition, 45 CFR 303.7(b)(4) states that the central registry must respond to inquiries from initiating agencies, within 5 working days of receiving the case status review request. Finally, under 45 CFR 303.7(a)(7) state agencies must “notify the other agency within 10 working days of receipt of new information on an intergovernmental case.”

These U.S. regulatory requirements are stricter than requirements under the Convention. Convention countries are not subject to U.S. time frames, as noted under Q&A 3; rather they adhere to Convention requirements. Article 12 of the Convention requires the requested Central Authority to, within six weeks, use the Convention Acknowledgment form to acknowledge receipt of the case, indicate what initial steps have been or will be taken, and request further necessary documents and information. The Convention also requires the requested Central Authority to inform the requesting Central Authority of the status of the application within three months after sending the acknowledgment. Finally, Article 12 also directs the requesting and requested Central Authorities to keep each other informed of the person or unit responsible for a particular case and the progress of the case.

As provided under 45 CFR 303.7(a)(4), when acknowledging and providing status updates in Convention cases, U.S. state agencies should use the OMB-approved Convention Acknowledgment form and Status of Application Report specific to the application used in the case, which may be sent in English.

Question 7: May a state child support agency require a requesting Convention country to convert a Convention obligation expressed in foreign currency into U.S. dollars?

Answer 7: No. If the Convention support order establishes an obligation expressed in foreign currency, the state child support agency cannot require the requesting Convention country to convert the amount of support expressed in foreign currency into U.S. dollars. UIFSA places responsibility on the state support enforcement agency and the tribunal to do currency conversion, as described in the chart below.

Question 8: Where can a state child support agency find out about payment requirements for each Convention country?

Answer 8: To learn about payment information for each Convention country, go to the OCSE International page and use the drop-down menu for “Select a country.” For each country, OCSE provides that country’s language requirements as well as payment information. For more information, see the appropriate Country Profile on the child support section of the Hague Conference on Private International Law.

INQUIRIES: Contact OCSE at ocseinternational@acf.hhs.gov