United States Department of State says it will begin revoking the passports of thousands of Americans with significant unpaid child support obligations.
The department said the enforcement would initially target passport holders owing 100,000 dollars or more in unpaid child support.
According to figures provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), about 2,700 American passport holders fall within that category.
The Associated Press reported that the passport revocations were scheduled to begin on Friday.
The State Department said the programme would later be expanded to include parents owing more than 2,500 dollars in child support arrears, in line with a 1996 federal law that has been minimally enforced.
Officials said HHS was still compiling data from state agencies to determine the total number of passport holders who owe more than the 2,500-dollar threshold.
They noted that the expanded enforcement could affect several thousands more Americans.
Prior to the policy change, only individuals applying to renew their passports were subject to child support-related restrictions.
Under the revised policy, HHS will now notify the State Department of all individuals with overdue child support payments exceeding 2,500 dollars, allowing authorities to proactively revoke existing passports.
Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Mora Namdar, described the move as a practical enforcement measure.
“We are expanding a commonsense practice that has been proven effective at getting those who owe child support to pay their debt.
“Once these parents resolve their debts, they can once again enjoy the privilege of a U.S. passport,” Namdar said.
The department said since reports of the planned expansion emerged in February, hundreds of affected parents had already taken steps to clear their debts with state authorities.
According to the State Department, the passport restriction programme has proven effective since its launch in 1998.
It said states had recovered approximately 657 million dollars in child support arrears through the initiative, including more than 156 million dollars from over 24,000 lump-sum payments within the last five years.
The department explained that individuals whose passports are revoked would be formally notified and barred from using the documents for travel until their debts are settled.
It added that affected passport holders currently outside the United States would be required to visit a U.S. embassy or consulate to obtain emergency travel documents to return home.
