It is likely you have been following the heart wrenching (and ultimately heart-warming) story of Daniel Gaut, the Sydney tradesman who was on holidays in the United States when he met Olivia who - after a whirlwind romance – he thought would ultimately become his life partner.

Dan and his Texan girlfriend soon decided to relocate to Australia and things were rosy until the call to return home proved too much for Olivia after discovering her and Dan were expecting a child together. The visit back to Austin was initially meant to be temporary, but all of that changed when Dan received a call from Liv where she announced she would not be coming back to Australia and had reconciled with her ex-partner. What’s more, she told Dan that she planned to give up their child for adoption.

The story quickly went viral, and a fundraiser page was created for Dan’s mercy dash to America to reclaim his newborn daughter, little Ananta.

The story caught the eye of our Practice Manager, Ahmad Shady, and Ahmad reached out to Dan to render assistance in helping to bring Ananta home.

Ahmad is another proud member of the “girls’ dad” club, who himself had to go through the struggles of bringing his own daughters to Australia a few years ago shortly after the passing of their mother, which made Dan’s case resonate with Ahmad.

We are thrilled to announce that through Ahmad’s pro-bono representation, baby Ana has now been granted Australian Citizenship in a record time (~48 hours from application), and plans are afoot for her to return to Australia accompanied by her doting, and truly remarkable father.

We are extremely proud of Ahmad’s efforts and wish Dan and his little one every success and support as they embark on their life’s greatest adventure together.

*Disclaimer: This is intended as general information only and not to be construed as legal advice. The above information is subject to changes over time. You should always seek professional advice before taking any course of action.*