The U.S. State Department says it is revoking passports of Americans with significant outstanding child support debt.
Passport revocations for unpaid child support of more than
$2,500 is allowed under a rarely-enforced 1996 federal law.
Previously, the consequence was only doled out when people
with such debt sought to renew their passports.
However, in a statement on Wednesday, the department said it
would coordinate with the Department of Health and Human Services to revoke the
passports of Americans who have racked up “significant” outstanding child
support debt.
A revoked passport may no longer be used for travel, even if
child support debt has been paid.
Citizens will only be eligible for a new US passport after
their debt has been paid to the state child support enforcement agency they
owe, the statement said.
Affected Americans outside the country would be only
eligible for a limited-validity passport for direct return to the US until HHS
verifies repayment of the debt, the statement added.
Last month, when the move was announced, the state
department said the action supports the welfare of American children by
“exacting real consequences for child support delinquency under existing
federal law”.
The department added that the measure would also prevent
those who owe substantial amounts of court-ordered child support from
neglecting their legal and moral obligations to their children.
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