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The Relationship Between Child Support Payments And U.S. Passports

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Getting U S passports for children is becoming stricter, but, contrary to what you might think at first, this is a good thing. Child abductions by parents have been steadily increasing, along with the divorce rate between parents. In bitter custody battles, a passport can be used as a weapon of alienation from the other parent, which is never fair, for both the child and the other parent. This law was enacted to protect both parties involved. This also protects children whose parents refuse to pay child support and decide they want to indulge in a lavish vacation.

In Section 51.70 (a) (8) of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations, you will find outlined that if a parent owing more than $2500 is prohibited from purchasing a passport. With numerous parents unable to collect rightly owed child support, this law can certainly be a benefit when getting passports is involved.

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If a parent wants to purchase a passport but owes child support, they must first contact the local county probation agency and arrange to make payment. Before the passport process can proceed, the US Department of Health and Human Services must receive proof from the State Child Support Enforcement Agency proving that acceptable payment has been made. The Department of Health and Human Services then advises the Department of State to remove the payer from its list of those prohibited from receiving a passport and the Department of State updates its list accordingly.

Many other laws exist that aim to help enforce safety when it comes to children getting passports. One of these is the Two Parent Consent Law. This law, enacted in 2008, requires that both parents give their consent when applying for a passport. The Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program, or CPIAP, is another service established to protect children. This program lets the parents or guardians know that a passport has been filed for their child before the passport is actually issued. The Office of Children's Issues charges itself with providing information to foreign countries and creates programs and policies in order to track down parents who have abducted their child.

As you can see, several agencies and programs have been put into place to aid in the protection of children and their parents when it comes to the acquisition of passports for children. Perhaps these laws will lead to other legislation to help enforce the payment of court ordered child support making it harder for the neglectful payer to leave town or even the country.

To find out more about US passport eligibility requirements, visit http://www.uspassportnow.com.