Thank you Flakes for that info. Now, could you please tell us if Adam would have had to inform this part of the Australian government that Zahra was living in the US?
OR did Adam keep the same banking account in Australia so the government would not know Zahra was in the US?
Did he transfer these monies from his Australian bank to the US?
We all are aware that he did NOT pay any type of income taxes in the US because he was an illegal. There was US government money going into his household here in the US and he was living off the good citizens of America. Yet, he wouldn't take his daughter for free medical services. It was all about ADAM.
First, let me say I think he was a despicable person – negligent and selfish beyond comprehension. IMO his decision to move to the USA was unwise, and not in Zahra's best interests from a health perspective. It also took her a long distance away from her beloved family (I'm certain they were), on whom they had been very dependent in the past.
When an Australian travels abroad they are required to: 1) have a valid passport; 2) have a visa to that country (certainly in the case of the USA) and on that visa they need to declare the location they are to be staying at. A child must travel to the USA with a guardian (there is process to follow in order to be permitted into the country if a parent is not present – ie a guardian must be nominated).
So my opinion (and that is all it is, as I have no access to government archives) is that the Australian government would have known that Zahra was accompanying Adam to the USA and of the location of their initial stay (Elisa's father's home?). I have no idea what type of visa they obtained. The government will know this though. And they will also know if Adam and Zahra returned (which they presumably did not) through Australian customs at any time. So this will be evidence of any breach of visa, and will also indicate exactly what US laws he has broken with regard to being in the country.
Whether he was required to inform the Child Support Agency would depend on whether in fact there was an arrangement through them for child support. I am not certain that there was. The government agencies all operate together, so cross-referencing of information would have provided any relevant government agency with Zahra's location if it was required. Also the taxation department would have been tracking Adam and his bank accounts (as I say it is all cross-referenced) if there was any question relating to him.
An example of how these things operate here is: there's currently a scam where people's credit cards are being used at Walmarts across the USA. Sometimes thousands of $ being charged. The Australian banks were immediately onto it. They knew the locations of the cardholders, they noticed impossible timeframe debits (ie one debit in Australia, two hours later a debit in the USA) and this set off the alarm bells. If we make a purchase online to a foreign country, our bank rings us immediately to confirm it is us making the purchase – ie they know where we are now, they know where the purchase is being made and need to ensure it is legit.
So, given this level of efficiency, if Adam was to have a bank account in Australia operating but all debits were being made in the USA then this would have been tagged. They would freeze his account if he had not made arrangements. Also the taxation department would have access to this information, and in turn all other agencies that require information would know his location was no longer Australia.
Australian bank credit cards and debit accounts can be accessed through ATMs in the USA (with a $2 charge or thereabouts) so there would be no need for transfers from an Aussie account to a US one. Most Australians use netbanking now too. Both would be a fully traceable trail of Adam's activities. The government agencies can access your bank account – they can also freeze it (eg to take out child support payments if you're failing to meet your obligations to pay the agency). On our tax returns we must declare our banking account numbers, our interest earned, etc. They can cross reference these and look for unusual transactions in case we're hiding income.
Re: Adam's income tax in the US. Would his employer be taking tax out of his earnings automatically? If not, wouldn't his employer have to complete forms with Adam that declare the employer is free from the responsibility of withholding tax and that Adam must do so? Or Adam would be invoicing the employer (ie trackable records of outgoing from the employer to Adam would be submitted to the tax dept)? Or was Adam working for cash in hand – which is illegal? In Australia there's cross referencing of records from companies and individuals/businesses – all trackable by the taxation dept.
Also, other things I haven't been able to understand: 1) how was Adam's household receiving payments from the government if he was not legal, and 2) how was Zahra enrolled in public schools if she wasn't legal. These two things, plus that he was able to get a job, have always made me wonder what the
real facts are regarding Adam and Zahra's residency in the USA (terms of visa, etc).