H, a citizen of Cyprus, W, a citizen of the United States, in a civil ceremony in Virginia in 1996, and again in a religious ceremony in Cyprus in 1998. They resided in Cyprus since December 1997, save for a few months in 2004 during which W and H briefly separated, and W returned on her own to her parents' home in Maine. They have two children: N.C., born in 2002, and A.C., born in 2008. W, N.C. and A.C. departed Cyprus for a summer visit to W's family in Maine. H came to believe W would not return to Cyprus with the children as planned, based on her failure to provide the children opportunities to speak to H, the infrequent nature of her communications with him, and what she said when she did communicate. H filed an application for return of his children under The Hague Convention with the Central Authority in Cyprus. H then filed a petition in the District of Maine on September 3, 2010, alleging that W had wrongfully retained N.C. and A.C. in the United States, and seeking the return of the children to Cyprus pursuant to The Hague Convention and ICARA. The court held a hearing and ordered the children returned to the custody of H by October 20, 2010. W appealed.