The United States Department of State has announced plans to begin revoking the passports of parents who owe significant amounts in unpaid child support.
According to the department, the process will commence on Friday and will initially target individuals owing $100,000 or more in outstanding child support payments.
Figures released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) indicate that about 2,700 Americans may be affected during the first phase of the policy implementation.
Authorities explained that the action forms part of a broader enforcement strategy that will eventually extend to parents owing more than $2,500 in unpaid child support, in accordance with a 1996 US law that officials say has not been fully enforced over the years.
Officials noted that it remains unclear how many passport holders currently owe above the $2,500 threshold because HHS is still compiling data from state agencies, although they expect the number to run into several thousands.
Previously, only individuals seeking passport renewals faced restrictions tied to unpaid child support obligations. Under the revised policy, however, HHS will submit the names of all parents owing more than $2,500 directly to the State Department for possible passport revocation.
Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Mora Namdar, said the move is intended to strengthen compliance with child support obligations.
“We are expanding a commonsense practice that has been proven effective at getting those who owe child support to pay their debt,” Namdar stated.
“Once these parents resolve their debts, they can once again enjoy the privilege of a US passport,” she added.
The State Department also disclosed that some parents had already begun settling their debts following reports earlier this year about the planned expansion of the policy.
“While we can’t 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 stated.
Officials further revealed that since the policy was introduced in 1998, states across the US have recovered approximately $657 million in unpaid child support, including over $156 million from more than 24,000 lump-sum payments made within the last five years.
Under the new arrangement, affected individuals whose passports are revoked will be formally notified and will no longer be permitted to use the documents for international travel.
The department added that Americans stranded abroad after passport revocation would be required to visit a US embassy or consulate to obtain emergency travel documents to return home.
