For clients facing criminal charges regrading child support or even those without charges pending, there is a significant new consequence of “arrears” (money owed but not paid).

In May 2026, the State Department announced it begun a new enforcement initiative to actively revoke the passports of parents who owe back support.

Previously, arrears usually only blocked you from renewing a passport. Now, the government is proactively canceling existing ones. They are starting with those who owe $100k+, but the threshold will soon drop to just $2,500.

If your passport is revoked while you’re out of the country, you’ll be limited to an emergency “return-only” document to get back to the U.S.

Read the full details here in this gift link to the New York Times: here