The U.S. State Department is set to begin revoking the passports of thousands of Americans who owe substantial unpaid child support, according to officials.
Revocations will begin Friday and will initially focus on parents who owe $100,000 or more in past-due child support. That group includes about 2,700 passport holders, according to figures supplied by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Under Federal law, anyone with more than $2,500 in unpaid, court-ordered child support can be denied a passport or have an existing one yanked, according to a release by the State Department Thursday. Officials said the department is expanding coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services to include parents above that threshold.
The enforcement push is intended to pressure delinquent parents to comply with court-ordered child support obligations, officials said.
Once a passport is revoked, it may no longer be used for travel, even if the debt is later paid, according to State Department guidance. The State Department advised any American with significant child support debt to contact the relevant state agency and arrange payment before any passport action is taken.
STATE DEPARTMENT TO PULL ADDITIONAL PASSPORTS FROM PARENTS WHO OWE CHILD SUPPORT
“Eligibility for a new passport will only be restored after child support debt is paid to the relevant state child support enforcement agency and the individual is no longer delinquent according to HHS records,” they said.
Affected individuals must work with the state child support enforcement agency where the debt is owed. HHS must then update its records before the State Department can process a new passport, a process the department says can take at least two to three weeks.
It was not clear on Thursday how many passport holders owe more than $2,500 because HHS is still collecting data from state agencies that track the figures, but it could encompass many more thousands of people, officials told the Associated Press.
A passport holder who is abroad at the time of revocation will need to contact the state where the debt is owed and may visit a U.S. embassy or consulate for passport application procedures. The State Department says such individuals may be eligible only for a limited-validity passport for direct return to the United States until HHS verifies repayment of the debt.
“The State Department is putting American families first through our passport process,” they said.
The passport denial program has existed for decades and is used by federal and state officials as a tool to enforce past-due child support obligations. The Administration for Children and Families says state child support agencies submit qualifying cases, and federal officials forward those records to the State Department.