An Australian father who made a frantic race to the United States to prevent his daughter from being put up for adoption received last-minute help from an immigration agent.
Ahmad Shady, of law firm Longton Legal, revealed how he went to great lengths to bring the daughter of Sydney trader Dan Gaut to Australia and managed to obtain her citizenship in an incredibly short time.
But the victory was short-lived, as the girl’s mother, Liv, reneged on an agreement that Gaut could raise little Ana and decided instead that she wanted to keep her.
How the harrowing experience unfolded
Gaut met Liv on a trip to San Francisco and the pair fell madly in love before she returned to Australia with him.
After becoming pregnant, Liv decided to temporarily return to the United States to be closer to her support network.
But, once there, she informed him that she would stay and that her little girl would be put up for adoption.
A stunned Mr Gaut pleaded with Liv and the couple reached an agreement that if he could be in Texas soon after she gave birth, Ana could return to Australia with him and he could get custody.
He has since rekindled an old relationship and changed his mind, saying he wanted to raise Ana.
North Sydney carpenter Dan Gaut was excited about the impending birth until his pregnant girlfriend Liv suddenly returned to the US without him (pictured, meeting daughter Ana).
Sydney immigration law expert Ahmad Shady was able to secure Ana’s Australian citizenship in just 48 hours, a process that often takes months.
The immigration agent intervened to help, but it was too late
Gaut flew to the United States right after Liv gave birth and met her daughter.
As he hurried to make preparations to bring Ana back to Australia, he discovered that she did not automatically have Australian citizenship despite her nationality.
Shady saw Gaut’s story after it went viral in February and offered his services for free.
The immigration agent had a similar experience when his ex-wife died overseas while caring for their two young daughters and he had to fight to bring them to Australia.
He was able to obtain citizenship for Ana, which normally takes weeks, if not months, to process, in just 48 hours.
“Obviously his story resonated on a personal level,” he said. news.com.au.
“I personally had to go through the traumatic and bureaucratic labyrinth of bringing children from abroad.”
Shady approached Gaut through social media and then got Ana’s mother to consent to Australian citizenship.
He submitted a request to the government on March 13, explaining that every day the request was delayed was a day the trader could not work.
He also explained that delays carried the risk of Liv changing her mind about the deal.
Gaut was on holiday in the United States when he met Liv, who returned to Australia with him after the pair fell in love.
The request was approved two days later, but despite the speed, it was not before Liv decided to stay with Ana.
‘I feel very bad for (Mr Gaut), of course. As a father of daughters, my heart would be absolutely broken,” Mr Shady said.
Dad hopes his daughter can grow up in Australia
Gaut took to Instagram to explain how devastated he was by the decision.
“Liv has changed her mind and wants to keep Ana in the United States and be her primary caregiver,” he wrote.
‘I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who supported me on this journey.
‘I will use the remaining donations to seek legal representation in Austin and visit Ana as often as I can.
“I still hold firm to the vision of Ana growing up in Australia in the not too distant future.”
Her citizenship does not expire and Ana is now free to live in Australia at any time, but this has no bearing on her custody situation.
She is also a natural-born American citizen.
Gaut previously told ACA how she learned that Ana could be put up for adoption while Liv had “temporarily” returned to the United States.
“She was starting to send me adoption options for people she knew in Texas and was sending me the links to the Instagram page,” he said.
“And I said, ‘No, this is wrong, stop it, don’t promise it to anyone.'”
A GoFundMe was launched last month to raise funds to help Gaut in his fight, which he said he will now use to hire legal representation in the US to exercise his custody options.
Gaut said he will hire legal representatives in the U.S. to exercise his custody options.