If you cannot pay child support because of financial hardships, you should understand that falling behind on these obligations can lead to even greater challenges. For example, some non-custodial parents lose their driver’s license or have to spend time behind bars due to back child support. In fact, if you owe a certain amount of back support, this could affect your passport.
Parents who lose their passport privileges due to unpaid child support can face numerous problems, whether they have to cancel a vacation they planned for years or they cannot go on an important business trip.
Back child support can impact passport privileges
According to the U.S. Department of State, parents who owe more than $2,500 worth of unpaid child support cannot receive a U.S. passport. If you submit a passport application and you have back child support exceeding this amount, the government will reject your application. Moreover, the government revokes passports belonging to parents who owe more than $2,500 in unpaid child support. Whether you hand over your passport to change your name or add pages, you could lose your current passport if you owe unpaid child support.
Dealing with unpaid child support
The loss of passport privileges and other penalties associated with unpaid child support highlight the importance of staying current and addressing back support right away. It is extremely important to go over all options if you worry about paying child support, from establishing a payment plan that helps you pay on time to modify your child support order due to major financial changes in your life.
