Child Support Arrearages Can Mean No Passport
Thursday / August 16, 2007
If you owe too much, you can't travel out of the
country.
The Associated Press published a recent story called
"Passport Rules Snag Child Support
Cash." The gist of the story is that child
support collections are up under the Office of
Child Support Enforcement's Passport Denial Program. Under
this program, the State Department must deny
issuance of a passport to a person who owes more
than $2,500 in back child support. If the person
already has a passport, then the person can't
use it.
Although the story talks about this program as though it were a new development, that's not correct. The Passport Denial Program has been in effect since 1998. Remember welfare reform - also known as the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996?" That's where it began.
The reason the Passport Denial Program is hitting the headlines now is the sharp rise in collections. This rise is fortuitous. Previously, a visit to Canada or to Mexico did not require a passport, but last year the State Department announced that this year travel to these countries by air would require a passport, and next year any travel to these countries will require a passport.
Child support collections are up because more people need passports than before. Child support collections under the Passport Denial Program have reached last year's totals by the middle of this year. Look for even higher collections next year when everyone needs a passport.
Although the story talks about this program as though it were a new development, that's not correct. The Passport Denial Program has been in effect since 1998. Remember welfare reform - also known as the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996?" That's where it began.
The reason the Passport Denial Program is hitting the headlines now is the sharp rise in collections. This rise is fortuitous. Previously, a visit to Canada or to Mexico did not require a passport, but last year the State Department announced that this year travel to these countries by air would require a passport, and next year any travel to these countries will require a passport.
Child support collections are up because more people need passports than before. Child support collections under the Passport Denial Program have reached last year's totals by the middle of this year. Look for even higher collections next year when everyone needs a passport.
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