Over the past 30 years, Texas family lawyers have seen the overwhelming increase in cases involving foreign nationals. There are millions of Mexican citizens with permanent visas residing in the United States and it goes without saying there are many undocumented immigrants that live in the United States. Many of those people, live and work in this country and many continue to maintain significant personal relationships in other countries and often provide financial support for wives, children, or common law spouses remaining in their home country. These relationships frequently become the subject of litigation in United States courts. Texas family lawyers are faced every day with issues relating to the use of foreign law in court proceedings in Texas, use of foreign depositions, service of process on foreign nationals, the admission into evidence of foreign records, the implementation of discovery from foreign countries, the recognition and effect of foreign decrees and judgments, how to enforce those decrees and judgments, the resolution of conflict of laws, and a myriad of other issues relating to cases that involve foreign nationals. This paper will attempt to address some of those issues in a way that will assist the lawyer in dealing with those issues and to at least give the lawyer a start in the right direction.
