The Protocols Regarding International Travel And Child Custody
By Advisor. Filed in Florida |
It is certainly a sign of the times that U S passports for kids are being harder to get but this really isn’t all bad. The numbers of children who are being abducted by parents is on the rise as is the divorce rate in homes with kids. Passports can actually be used as a tool to create division between a parent and a child so in a difficult divorce, passports can become weapons. A law has been created to protect both parents as well as the child when child support is withheld and yet a pricey vacation is planned.
In Section 51.70 (a) (8) of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations, a parent who has been ordered to pay child support but is negligent to the tune of $2500 or more, application for the child’s passport will be withheld until restitution is made. With the number of single mothers and fathers struggling to support their children because child support payments are not being made, this regulation is certainly a welcome when.
In order to rectify this situation, a parent who owes child support needs to contact the local county probation agency in order to arrange for payment. The Say Child Support Enforcement Bureau then reports to the The US Department of Health and Human Services with proof that an acceptable form of payment has been made. The Department of Health and Human Services then removes the name of the parent from the list of overdue payments, and the Department of State then gets an updated list. Passport services must also receive this list from the Department of Health and Human Services. Passport Services must then validate and verify the fact that the parent’s name has been removed. Only after all of this has been completed can a passport application be processed for the parent.
This isn’t the only regulation that has been put into place in an attempt to protect children and parents when it comes to the buy of a child’s passport. In 2008, the Two Parent Consent Law become law and requires the consent of each parent before a passport for a child can be issued. The children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program or CPIAP is another organization dedicated to the notification of parents or guardians when a passport is requested for a child. Even those in foreign countries can be alerted through the Office of Children’s Issues whose mission is to locate parents who unlawfully abduct their kids.
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.
For more information about whether you are eligible for get a US passport, visit USPassportNow.com.
