COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA Present: Chief Judge Decker, Judges Humphreys and Huff Argued at Alexandria, Virginia UNPUBLISHED JUNG SUN PARK MEMORANDUM OPINION* BY v. Record No. 1134-18-4 JUDGE ROBERT J. HUMPHREYS FEBRUARY 5, 2019 DANIEL MINKYO CHONG FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF FAIRFAX COUNTY Randy I. Bellows,1 Judge Soyoung Lee (Sae W. Lee; The Lee Firm, PLLC, on briefs), for appellant. Jessica L. Leischner (Wade Grimes Friedman Meinken & Leischner, PLLC, on brief), for appellee. Jung Sun Park (“mother”) appeals the February 2, 2018 decision of the Circuit Court of Fairfax County (“circuit court”) granting Daniel Minkyo Chong (“father”) joint legal and sole physical custody of the couple’s children. Mother argues that the circuit court erred by imposing an affirmative duty on her to return the children to the United States, that the circuit court erred in finding mother had a valid green card, and that the circuit court erred in its application of the statutory factors in Code § 20-124.3. I. BACKGROUND Father and mother were married on April 18, 2013, in South Korea. Father is a naturalized U.S. citizen, allowing mother to obtain a two-year conditional green card based on * Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, this opinion is not designated for publication. 1 Judge Bellows issued the final decree of divorce, which incorporated the earlier custody order of Judge Brett A. Kassabian. their marriage. Following the marriage, the couple lived in Virginia and had two children. In 2016, the parties agreed that mother would take the children to South Korea to visit mother’s family for an extended visit. Mother departed July 24, 2016, with father planning to join the family on August 24, 2016. Mother and the children were expected to return to Virginia on November 20, 2016. Mother was expecting to receive a permanent green card during this trip, as the parties had petitioned to remove the conditions on her green card prior to her departure. During a phone call on August 16, 2016, the parties quarreled, causing father to cancel his plans to join the family in South Korea. The parties did not communicate following this incident until mother failed to return to Virginia as planned. On November 21, 2016, father texted mother inquiring why she had not returned to Virginia. Mother stated that she believed her green card was now invalid. In fact, while mother was on the trip, father had received notice that mother’s green card had been extended for another year but had not communicated this fact to mother. Mother did not return to Virginia following the phone call, and on December 6, 2016, father filed for divorce. On August 16, 2017, father filed a motion to return the children to Virginia. This motion caused the circuit court to expedite a planned custody hearing, which occurred on December 4 & 5, 2017. At the end of the hearing, the circuit court held that father and mother should have joint legal custody, with deference to father in case of a dispute, and ...
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