US passport revocation policy targets unpaid child support debts, starting at USD 100,000

The US State Department was set to start cancelling the passports of parents with major child support debts. Officials said the first wave began on Friday. It targeted people owing at least USD 100,000 in unpaid support. The plan expanded a penalty that mostly hit people renewing passports before.

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The department told The Associated Press on Thursday that about 2,700 US passport holders met the USD 100,000 mark. Those figures came from the Department of Health and Human Services. The State Department said the plan was first reported by the AP in February. Officials said the new approach was more proactive.

US passports revocation plan and unpaid child support threshold

The department said the programme soon widened to include debts above USD 2,500. That amount matched a 1996 law that was rarely enforced. On Thursday, officials said the full count was still unknown. HHS was collecting more data from state agencies. Officials said the lower threshold could include many more thousands.

Under the new policy, HHS informed the State Department about past-due support above USD 2,500. Parents in that category who already had passports faced revocation. The department said earlier enforcement focused on renewal applications. It said this week’s move applied to existing passport holders too. Officials framed it as a wider use of an existing tool.

"We are expanding a commonsense practice that has been proven effective at getting those who owe child support to pay their debt,\" Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar said. \"Once these parents resolve their debts, they can once again enjoy the privilege of a US passport.\"

US passports revocation programme results and child support collections

After the AP report on February 10, the department reviewed new data trends. It said hundreds of parents acted to clear arrears with state authorities. The department did not link every case to the news report. Still, officials said the policy aimed to raise compliance with child support rules. The department stressed that enforcement followed US law.

\"While we cant confirm the causation in all of those cases, we are taking this action precisely to impel these parents to do the right thing by their children and by US law,\" the department said. The department also said the programme worked even before this expansion. Officials presented it as an established measure used for years.

The State Department said the effort began in earnest in 1998. It said states collected about USD 657 million in arrears through the programme. Over the past five years, it cited more than USD 156 million. That came from over 24,000 lump-sum payments. Officials said these numbers showed steady collections through the system.

Parents whose passports were cancelled were told they could not use them for travel. The department said affected people must apply again after arrears were confirmed as paid. A passport holder abroad during revocation needed to visit a US embassy. The embassy or consulate issued an emergency document. That allowed return travel to the United States.

With inputs from PTI