Q&A

Can I leave the US if I owe child support?

Can I leave the US if I owe child support?

Answer: Unless there is a standing order preventing him/her to leave the United States, a citizen who owes over $2500 in child support may travel overseas as long as he/she has a valid passport.

Can you leave the US if you owe child support?

Because some parents who owe child support will intentionally leave the country to avoid having to make child support payments, the U.S. has a restriction regarding passports for anyone who owes past due child support.

How to enforce child support outside the US?

If there is no state or federal agreement, then a child support agreement can only be enforced by a local tribunal. Have your attorney check state laws to see if the state has established an agreement with that country. Find My Lawyer Now! How Can I Locate an Absent Parent Overseas?

Can you get a passport if you owe child support?

Getting a passport the first time or renewing a passport is when the government refuses to process the passport applications of persons owing child support… Because the child support enforcement via withholding of passports was so successful, in the past year or so, the federal government lowered the threshold amount to $2500.

Can a parent leave the country with a child support order?

Child support issues become more complicated if one parent moves out of the country, especially if the custodial parent and child are the ones to move. As of 2010, any parent who is delinquent on his child support payments may not receive a new passport to leave the United States.

Because some parents who owe child support will intentionally leave the country to avoid having to make child support payments, the U.S. has a restriction regarding passports for anyone who owes past due child support.

Do you have to be US citizen to get child support?

No. Residency or citizenship is not required for you to apply for child support services. How do I apply for child support services in the U.S.? To apply for child support services in the U.S., contact your state or local child support office and ask for an application.

In case you owe more than one state when it comes to child support, it can be possible for all these states to report your name to the passport agency where you can be denied a passport. If you are in this situation then you will have to negotiate with all of these states, before you can go ahead for a clearance so that you can receive a passport.

If there is no state or federal agreement, then a child support agreement can only be enforced by a local tribunal. Have your attorney check state laws to see if the state has established an agreement with that country. Find My Lawyer Now! How Can I Locate an Absent Parent Overseas?