Imagine having your only son taken by your spouse on a vacation to a foreign country, never to return. Then imagine your spouse divorcing you while they’re gone, remarrying, dying, and then finding yourself unable to bring your son home after all of that.

That’s the nightmare New Jersey man David Goldman is in. He has been fighting the Brazilian government for five years to bring his kidnapped son, Sean, back to the United States. His deceased ex-wife’s husband, lawyer Joao Paulo Lins e Silva, has had custody, and Goldman says the Brazilian family has been telling his son he abandoned him. Earlier this week, Goldman came very close to being able to bring his son home after a judge awarded him custody; everyone was thrilled that justice was finally being done. But one lone Brazilian Supreme Court judge reversed that decision and dealt Goldman yet another heart-wrenching blow. The father came back to New Jersey this morning without his nine-year-old — for the eleventh time. An appeal will be decided on June 10.

"Each time is a continuation of this tragedy and this nightmare. And it’s very lonely," Goldman told "Good Morning America." "I’m going to fight like I always have … There’s only one choice and that’s to keep going until my son comes home."

The case has sparked international outrage. Many of the Brazilian people have voiced support for Goldman, as have people here at home. An editorial in New Jersey’s Asbury Park Press reads:

It’s bad enough when a parent abducts a child. It’s worse when the crime is aided and abetted by a government, as Brazil has done. And it’s worse still when the government is influenced by a wealthy family that initiated the crime against Sean and his father. That’s clearly the case here.

Congress, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and even President Obama have called on Brazil to let Sean come home. New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith introduced legislation that would suspend trading benefits with Brazil until it honors an international treaty — the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction signed by 68 nations, including the U.S. and Brazil. Smith told CNN this morning that the [President] Lulu government "has been either incompetent, or worse — complicit — in kidnapping" not only Sean but other children who have been "wrongfully held" in Brazil.

"The American side has done everything we can possibly do … David has followed, painstakingly, the rules of the law … Enough is enough. It has been the government of Brazil, not the people of Brazil." Smith added that "without a doubt," Brazil is breaking international law by not complying with the Hague Convention agreement on child abductions. Smith traveled with Goldman to Brazil in February and said the dad is strong, even in the face of threats to his well-being for his fight. Goldman has been followed while in Brazil, had his hotel door pounded on other through the night, and been faced with other forms of intimidation. 

"Frankly, his love for his son, his tenacity, has overcome every other concern, including his own physical security," Smith said.

It’s an "egregious, egregious case" of the Brazilian government outrightly denying Goldman’s right to custody of his own child, Smith’s public policy director, Jeff Sagnip, told wOw today. "The most horrible part of this case was David was denied visitation for … close to five years."

Smith’s presence at Goldman’s side in Brazilian court helped Goldman finally being granted visitation earlier this year, and when the congressman couldn’t get down to Brazil this week because of missed flights and bad weather, Sean’s step-father tried to keep Goldman from seeing the little boy.

"The family tried to block the visit and we had to work through the embassy," Sagnip explained. "David was petrified that they wouldn’t [let him see his son] without Chris by his side, and with good cause."

The fear is now that Sean’s stepfather will try to argue that the boy doesn’t want to leave Brazil. "They’re playing very dirty right now and saying Sean wants to stay," Sagnip said.

Goldman says he won’t stop fighting for his son until he’s back in New Jersey where he belongs. We wish him the best of luck. Watch Goldman’s "GMA" interview here.