From this Friday, May 8, parents with child support debts exceeding $2,500 risk having their passports revoked by the administration.
It is a radical and surprising decision! The United States has implemented a new law stating that divorced parents with child support debt may now have their passport revoked. This would effectively prevent them from traveling abroad. “This measure contributes to the well-being of American children by imposing serious consequences for late child support payments,” said the U.S. State Department in a statement to the Associated Press.
Specifically, this measure targets parents with child support debts exceeding $2,500, or 1,844 euros. While emphasizing that child support is a “legal and moral obligation of parents to their children,” the State Department assures that the services will prioritize “significant” debts. It promises that the passport will be returned to the “deadbeat parent” as soon as they have paid their child support. The first to be affected will be those who owe over $100,000 in child support arrears, which are nearly 500!
In effect starting today, the American law has included this provision since 1996, but until now, authorities could simply deny passport renewal to delinquent parents. The new aspect is that they can now be deprived of their right to travel at any time, starting from this Friday, May 8, based on data provided by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Since 1996, this law has helped recover over $621 million in child support arrears, with nine recoveries exceeding $300,000.
