US to revoke passports of parents with child support debt – How many Americans will be affected?

Seeking to strengthen a decades-old federal law, the US State Department said that the law requires Americans to comply with child support obligations to receive a US passport.

At the same time, it also highlighted that the government is allowed to revoke the benefits of those who owe more than $2,500 in child support. The threshold was set by a 1996 law. The State Department is joining forces with the Department of Health and Human Services in efforts to “ensure the welfare of American children by exacting real consequences for child support delinquency under existing federal law.”

Issuing a statement on the official government website, the State Department said the agency is “issuing commonsense tools to support American families and compliance with US laws.”

The agency also asserted that the decision has been backed by its “America First” approach to prevent those who owe substantial amounts of court-ordered child support from neglecting their legal and moral obligations to their children. “Once these parents resolve their debts, they can once again enjoy the privilege of a U.S. passport,” said Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar.

How many Americans could be affected by US Passport revocations?

Affirming to The Associated Press that the revocations would begin Friday, May 8 (US time), the department said that they would target those who owe $100,000 or more. And so, the move is likely to apply to about 2,700 American passport holders, as per figures shared with the State Department by the Department of Health and Human Services, and as cited by AP.

As for how many people owe more than $2,500 in child support, officials told AP on Thursday that HHS is still collecting data from state agencies that track the numbers. Nonetheless, they still estimated that the figures could include many more thousands of Americans.

More information will be added.