How Aussie tradie Dan Gaut secured citizenship for baby Ana

New details of a Sydney carpenter’s race to prevent his daughter from being adopted in the US have emerged.

A migration agent moved by the story of Aussie tradie Dan Gaut was able to secure citizenship for his baby daughter in the space of 48 hours as the new father put plans in motion to prevent her adoption.

But those efforts will now have little bearing on whether baby Ana will come to live in the care of Mr Gaut, after her mother reneged on their agreement at the 11th hour.

Mr Gaut has returned to work in Sydney after his mad dash to the US to prevent Ana’s mother putting the little girl up to be adopted

A deal was in place for the carpenter to bring his daughter back home if he could be in Texas soon after her birth, before Mr Gaut’s ex, Liv, decided to keep the baby.

The Sydney tradie flew to the US one month ago. Picture: Channel 9

His daughter Ana was born in Texas. Picture: Channel 9

Sydney migration agent Ahmad Shady from Longton Legal told news.com.au he messaged Mr Gaut on Facebook in February to offer his services pro bono upon seeing the viral story online.

At that point, the plan was for the tradie to bring Ana back to the Harbour City after his pregnant girlfriend had returned home to America and reconciled with a former partner.

The tale touched a nerve for Mr Shady, who had been through a similar ordeal when his ex-wife died overseas while caring for their two young daughters.

“Obviously his story resonated on a personal level,” he said.

“I personally had to go through the traumatic, bureaucratic maze of bringing children from overseas.

“I reached out and told him I could help.”

Ahmad Shady offered his services pro bono. Picture: Supplied

Dan Gaut has been delivered a crushing blow in his custody battle. Picture: Nine

Much like Mr Gaut’s dash to the US, the bid to secure Ana citizenship was also a race against the clock.

Australian citizenship is not automatic for children born to Aussies overseas, and half of applications take 78 days to process.

Ana’s mother consented to the citizenship application.

Mr Shady and his client had never met in person but lodged a decision-ready application which set out the circumstances of the situation on March 13, and received approval two days later.

It was communicated to Home Affairs that every day Mr Gaut spent in the US was another away from work and brought the possibility that Liv would change her mind.

“Unfortunately, that has happened,” Mr Shady said.

“I feel terrible for him of course.

“As a father of daughters, my heart would be absolutely broken.

“He’s back in Australia now and back to work.”

Sydney tradie Dan Gaut’s custody battle took a turn this week.

On Monday, Mr Gaut posted to Instagram to reveal his anguish at being “forced to leave America alone”.

“Liv has changed her mind and wants to keep Ana in the States and be her primary caregiver,” he wrote.

“I’d 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 to visit Ana as often as I can.

“I still hold strong the vision of Ana growing up in Australia in the not too distant future.”

Mr Shady believed the situation now was “very much up in the air” and any resolution would need to be ironed out by family lawyers in both countries.

Ana’s citizenship means she has an indefinite and automatic right to enter Australia, but it does not extend to influence any custody disputes.

She is also an automatic US citizen by birth.

The new father said his daughter was “picture perfect”. Picture: Channel 9

Mr Shady was sure Mr Gaut would be a “great dad”, pointing to how his client had dropped everything to fly 15 hours to see his newborn.

“I really hope that soon he is reunited with his baby,” he said.

Mr Gaut previously told A Current Affair he met his ex while holidaying in San Francisco in early 2023 and she followed him back to Australia.

The pair “were deeply in love and agreed to have a baby together”.

However, his ex flew to the US for a “visit” seeking her “support network” and told him she was considering handing the baby over for adoption.

“She was starting to send me adoption options for people that she knew in Texas, and she was sending me the links to the Instagram page,” he previously told A Current Affair.

“And I was like, ‘No, this is, stop, don’t promise her to anyone.”

He later said at the time Liv was supportive of him bringing Ana – short for Anata – to Australia but the mother has since had a change of heart.

A GoFundMe crowd-funding campaign was set up by Mr Gaut’s friends to help with travel and immigration costs.

Originally published as How Aussie tradie Dan Gaut secured citizenship for baby Ana