Child Support Payments And U.S. Passports – What Are The Legal Issues That May Arise?
It is certainly a sign of the times that American passports for children are being harder to get but this really isn’t all bad. The numbers of children who are being abducted by parents is on the rise as is the divorce rate in homes with children. Passports can actually be used as a tool to create division between a parent and a child so in a difficult divorce, passports can become weapons. A law has been created to protect both parents as well as the child when child support is withheld and yet a costly vacation is planned.
In Section 51.70 (a) (8) of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations, a parent who has been ordered to pay child support but is negligent to the tune of $2500 or more, application for the child’s passport will be withheld until restitution is made. With the number of single moms and dads struggling to support their children because child support payments are not being made, this regulation is certainly a welcome when.
In order to rectify this situation, a parent who owes child support needs to contact the local county probation agency in order to arrange for payment. The State Child Support Enforcement Agency then reports to the The US Department of Health and Human Services with proof that an acceptable form of payment has been made. The Department of Health and Human Services then removes the name of the parent from the list of overdue payments, and the Department of State then gets an updated list. Passport services must also receive this list from the Department of Health and Human Services. Passport Services must then validate and verify the fact that the parent’s name has been removed. Only after all of this has been completed can a passport application be processed for the parent.
There are many other laws concerning safety when an attempt is made to purchase passports for children. The Two Parent Consent Law was enacted in 2008 and requires both parents consent before a child’s passport can be applied for. Another service whose intention is to protect children is the Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program or CPIAP. This organization provides the service of alerting parents or guardians when a passport has been applied for their child. Information is also provided to foreign countries from the Office of Children’s Issues who also promote programs and policies to locate parents who abduct their children.
These programs, policies, and laws combine to create a powerful tool of justice against parents who are negligent of their children. Hopefully, other areas of American life can follow suit and find ways to further crack down on parents who refuse to support their children. Also, the parent who supports her child can rest easy that the neglectful parent won’t be able to skip town in order to head to Cancun with his new girlfriend. Because the parent won’t be able to obtain a United States passport, he will be forced to pay the child support he has been ignoring, down to every cent.
For more information about whether you are eligible for get a passport, visit www.uspassportnow.com.
