Joshua was petitioned by his U.S. citizen spouse, Jessica, in 1994. After ten years of marriage, Joshua decided to file a divorce against Jessica. There were three children born from the relationship and all of them are minors. The court ordered that Joshua pay child support in the amount of $1,500 per month.
For one year, Joshua paid his child support regularly. However, Joshua was terminated from his employment and found it difficult to pay for his child support obligations. He filed for modification of his child support payments in court. The court reduced his monthly payment down to half but was ordered to make arrangements to pay off child support arrearages in the amount of $12,000. Instead of complying with the modified payment order and paying his arrearages, Joshua instead decided to ignore his obligations. In 2012, his unpaid child support increased to $25,000.
Meanwhile, depressed and unemployed, Joshua found solace in engaging in social media, where he found his long time girlfriend through Facebook. They started communicating and thereafter planned to live together and marry. Joshua’s girlfriend is in the Philippines and Joshua has not seen her in person for over 20 years. He decided to travel to the Philippines to meet her and then file a fiancé petition for her.
Joshua applied for a U.S. passport but was denied issuance by the State Department. While he was issued a U.S. passport in the past, he was told a renewal of his U.S. passport was problematic because he owes more than $25,000 in child support payments. Desperate to depart for the Philippines, Joshua, upon advice of his friends, applied for dual citizenship and was issued a Philippine passport. He traveled back to the Philippines and stayed with his long time sweetheart for more than three months. When he was about to return to the United States, he found himself with only a Philippine passport. He was told that a mere Philippine passport without a U.S. visa was an insufficient travel document to go back to the States. Joshua applied again for a U.S. passport. Will he be issued one by the State Department despite his child support arrearages?
Passport Denials
The U.S. Department of State has a Passport Denial Program, which is part of the Federal Offset Program. This program is designed to help states enforce delinquent child support obligations. Parents certified by a state as having arrearages exceeding $2,500 are submitted by the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) to the Department of State, which denies them U.S. passports upon application or the use of a passport service.
This program has been effective since October 1, 2006 as a penalty for deadbeats who owe court-ordered child support. It also serves as an incentive for passport applicants who wish to travel to first settle their child support arrearages before taking a trip outside the United States.
Reporting Child Support Arrearages
The restriction on the issuance of a passport applies only if there is previous court intervention in the child support matter and individuals representing the child are utilizing state support collections services. If there is no court order of child support, enforcement through this program is not available.
Each of the fifty states maintain a statewide child support enforcement agency for the purpose of obtaining, collecting, and enforcing child support orders. In the State of California, the agency is called the California Department of Child Support Service (CSS). The court order of arrears is reported by this agency to the Health and Human Services who then forwards the name of the individual to the U.S. Secretary of State. The Department of State Passport Services will then refuse issuance of a passport unless in 90 days, the applicant settles his child support arrearages.
Applying for Naturalization
In the context of a lawful permanent resident who is applying for U.S. citizenship, the immigration examiner will also inquire into the child support payment of the applicant who is a non-custodial parent. Unlike in the application for U.S. passport where a child support order from the court is a requirement in denying a passport’s issuance, the examiner in a naturalization application may deny the application outright if it is discovered that the applicant has child support arrearages. Failure to pay child support reflects negatively on the applicant’s moral character, a basis for the denial of the citizenship application.
Limited Passport
Applying for dual citizenship and obtaining the Philippine passport allowed Joshua’s travel back to the Philippines. His return to the U.S., even as a U.S. citizen, however, required possession of a valid travel document to be allowed inside the United States. This, he did not have. So what is Joshua to do? Under the regulations restricting issuance of passports to the likes of Joshua, an exception is provided: Joshua could secure a limited passport only for direct return to the United States. He could not use this passport for any other purpose.
The regulations that restrict issuance of passports to deadbeats withstood constitutional challenges because there is governmental interest in ensuring that those who do not pay child support obligations remain within the jurisdictional authority of the United States. The exception allowing Joshua a limited passport back to the U.S. ensures that he would be within the jurisdiction of the courts to face, own up to, and hopefully address his child support obligations.
(Tancinco may be reached at law@tancinco.com or at 887 71 77 or 721 1963)
