U.S. Expands Passport Revocation to Parents Owing Child Support

The U.S. State Department is intensifying its enforcement of a decades-old law that allows the revocation of passports for parents with significant unpaid child support. This move aims to ensure compliance with child support obligations and prevent individuals from neglecting their financial responsibilities to their children.

Under the expanded initiative, the first group targeted will be passport holders who owe more than $100,000 in past-due child support. Officials estimate fewer than 500 individuals currently meet this threshold. These individuals can avoid losing their passports by entering into a payment plan with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) upon notification of a pending revocation. However, plans to lower the threshold in the future could significantly increase the number of affected individuals.

The enforcement is based on the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which permits passport revocations for unpaid child support exceeding $2,500. Previously, the State Department acted only when individuals applied to renew their passports or sought consular services. Now, the department will proactively revoke passports using data shared by HHS.

Since the program’s inception, nearly $621 million in past-due child support payments have been collected, including individual payments exceeding $300,000. The State Department emphasized the importance of this initiative, stating, “It is simple: deadbeat parents need to pay their child support arrears.”

While the exact number of individuals who may be affected remains unclear, the expansion highlights the government’s intensified commitment to holding parents accountable for their financial obligations to their children.

U.S. Expands Passport Revocation for Parents Owing Child Support was originally published on rnbphilly.com