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Trump Administration Announces Plans To Revoke Passports Of Parents Behind On Child Support

Unpaid child support isn’t like any other debt. It is a priority debt, but it has even more protections and methods of enforcement than priority debts like student loans and recent tax debts. When a parent doesn’t pay their child support, they can be subject to a wage garnishment, have payments like tax refunds and lottery winnings intercepted, face contempt of court charges, and even have their driver’s license suspended or their passport revoked. A passport is necessary to travel out of the country, and a parent who owes a significant amount of child support is a risk to never come back, likely leaving financial support of their child to taxpayers. Additionally, someone who is significantly behind on child support should be focusing their funds on catching up, not international travel. The U.S. government has the right to revoke the passport of anyone who has fallen behind more than $2,500 on child support payments. Starting Friday, May 8, 2026, the government will begin revoking the passports of any parents who are $100,000 or more behind on child support payments. This applies to about 2,700 current U.S. passport holders.

How does one accrue $100,000 in child support debt? This is a huge sum to accrue, even for the biggest of deadbeats. There are a few answers to how someone might rack up such a large child support balance in arrears. One is by having a high income, because child support payments are partially based on the parents’ respective incomes. Another is by having several children, especially with more than one partner. The sum could also get that high because the parent ignored it and let it accrue interest for a long time. Regardless of how it was accrued, parents who owe more than $100,000 in child support can expect to lose their passports in the coming days. The Trump administration plans on reducing that figure towards the $2,500 statutory amount after dealing with parents with six-figure child support debt.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act of 1996

The law that gives the Trump Administration the authority to revoke the passports of parents who are behind on child support is the Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act of 1996. This law addresses numerous issues, but most notable is the instruction for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create a list of parents who are more than $2,500 behind on child support and provide it to the Secretary of State. It is the Secretary of State’s responsibility to deny or revoke that parent’s passport. When the law was first passed, the threshold was $5,000, but that was eventually lowered to $2,500 in 2006.

Arizona Child Support Wage Garnishments

Some parents set up their child support payments to automatically be garnished from their paychecks just for simplicity’s sake. Others have their wages garnished because of failure to pay their child support obligations. If you are at risk of having your wages garnished due to unpaid child support, it’s crucial to understand just how high that wage garnishment might be, especially if you still have a chance to remedy the situation without a wage garnishment.

The limits for child support wage garnishments depend on the paying parent’s familial situation and whether they are more than 12 weeks behind on payments. Being more than 12 weeks behind on payments adds an extra 5% to the maximum wage garnishment. For a parent with other dependents, the maximum wage garnishment is 50%, or 55% if they are 12 weeks or more behind on payments. For a parent without other dependents, the maximum wage garnishment is 60%, or 65% if they are 12 weeks or more behind on payments. Most of us have a hard enough time as it is making it from payday to payday. Unless you can afford to lose 2/3 of each of your paychecks, you should address your child support issues as soon as possible.

Other Methods of Child Support Enforcement

When a passport is revoked, it is not a temporary loss- the parent must apply for a new passport after resolving their child support balance in arrears (which may never happen for the parents who owe more than $100,000). This differs from a driver’s license suspension, because the current license can become active again if the parent pays off back child support. There are several other methods of child support enforcement that can be used to force a parent to pay obligations they have been neglecting, such as:

Placing a lien on the parent’s house, car, etc.
Intercepting tax refunds of $150 or more
Child support delinquency remaining on the parent’s credit report for 7 years
Interest accruing at 10% per annum in Arizona
Withholding from Social Security retirement and disability insurance (SSDI, does not apply to SSI)
Charging the parent with contempt of court, which can come with jail time, fines, etc. Federally, this is a misdemeanor offense for a child support balance of more than $5,000, and a felony offense for a child support balance of more than $10,000

Modifying Child Support Payments

Child support can’t be modified retroactively, meaning you can’t go back and change how much you already owe. It can only be modified going forward. If you’re one of the 2,700 U.S. parents who are about to have their passport revoked for having six figures in child support debt, a modification will come too little, too late. In Arizona, a parent can request to modify child support if at least 12 months have passed since the last child support orders were issued. For the modification to be granted, there must be a substantial and continuing change in circumstances. Arizona family law courts generally find that a change in income must be of about 10% or more to be considered substantial. Continuing means that the situation is likely to remain stable for the foreseeable future.

Should I File for Bankruptcy to Stop My Passport Revocation?

Filing for bankruptcy can be a lengthy process, and the Trump Administration only gave one day’s notice for its plan to revoke passports of parents with hefty child support debts. Parents can request payment plans with their enforcement agencies to avoid the passport revocation, but many of these agencies require a significant up-front payment to enter into such a plan. Some parents use chapter 13 bankruptcy to catch up on back child support payments. Filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy does not clear child support debt, nor does it stop a child support wage garnishment. Filing for chapter 13 bankruptcy can stop a child support wage garnishment if the plan arranges for full repayment. Chapter 13 payment plans last either 3 or 5 years, depending on the debtor’s income level. If a parent wants to file for chapter 13 bankruptcy to address a passport revocation, it is vital that they stay up-to-date to keep their case in good standing.

Arizona Family Law Attorneys for Child Support, Child Custody, and More

Hopefully you aren’t one of the 2,700 U.S. parents who are more than $100,000 behind on child support payments. Even if you owe far less, you should be on notice that the Trump Administration is about to start cracking down on parents in arrears for their child support obligations. It may be time to request a child support modification, or even file for chapter 13 bankruptcy to resolve your child support and other financial issues. Want to walk through your options with a top rated Arizona law office? My AZ Lawyers offers free consultations by phone to get started. Get scheduled today by calling 480-470-1504.