On Behalf of Palacios Law Group
If you plan on heading overseas, back child support could prevent you from leaving the country. Whether you need to travel for business or you have planned an international vacation for years, you could lose your passport privileges if you owe a certain amount of unpaid child support.
It is pivotal to understand when child support obligations can impact your eligibility to receive a U.S. passport. If you worry about falling behind or already owe back support, make sure you familiarize yourself with your options and take action.
Passport denial due to $2,500 in back child support
The U.S. Department of State says that parents who owe more than $2,500 in unpaid child support cannot receive U.S. passports. In addition to applying for a passport, the government could also reject your request to add pages or replace an existing passport if you owe unpaid child support. This underlines the importance of staying current on your child support obligations.
Paying back child support to restore your passport privileges
If you already owe more than $2,500 in unpaid child support, you need to pay arrears prior to submitting your passport application. Once you have made suitable payment arrangements, the child support agency in your state will inform the government and they will remove your name from their passport denial list. However, this can take as long as three weeks.
In addition to paying back support, you could benefit from looking into child support modification if you recently lost your job and need to lower your monthly payments. Whether you need to apply for a passport or worry about other consequences, it is pivotal to get caught up on unpaid child support and understand all of the options in front of you.