revoked passport due to owing child support

[malgp 0]

I have a question and wondering if anyone could provide some answers.

My ex husband who is an American citizen (as well as I) owes back child support totaling over $30,000.00 He currently resides and works in the UK and is married to a British citizen and they have two children together born in the UK. Sept. 2010 his US passport was revoked at the US Embassy and he was given a temp passport to return to the US. We held a hearing in the State of Hawaii in Oct. concerning the support owed and another hearing was scheduled in Nov. During this hiring his attorney reported he has returned to the UK and had UK documents he could use to travel back and forth with. The Child Support Office in Hawaii has reported his US passport is currently still revoked as he has not paid anything towards his owing balance. My question is what papers would allow him to travel? Does him being married to a British citizen allow him to return so easily?

[pushbrk 12,882]

I have a question and wondering if anyone could provide some answers.

My ex husband who is an American citizen (as well as I) owes back child support totaling over $30,000.00 He currently resides and works in the UK and is married to a British citizen and they have two children together born in the UK. Sept. 2010 his US passport was revoked at the US Embassy and he was given a temp passport to return to the US. We held a hearing in the State of Hawaii in Oct. concerning the support owed and another hearing was scheduled in Nov. During this hiring his attorney reported he has returned to the UK and had UK documents he could use to travel back and forth with. The Child Support Office in Hawaii has reported his US passport is currently still revoked as he has not paid anything towards his owing balance. My question is what papers would allow him to travel? Does him being married to a British citizen allow him to return so easily?

To my knowledge, he would need a passport to travel internationally. If he doesn't have one from some other country, he'll be staying in the USA until he pays his child support. The whole point of this law is to keep those who owe child support from leaving the USA.

[malgp 0]

I have a question and wondering if anyone could provide some answers.

My ex husband who is an American citizen (as well as I) owes back child support totaling over $30,000.00 He currently resides and works in the UK and is married to a British citizen and they have two children together born in the UK. Sept. 2010 his US passport was revoked at the US Embassy and he was given a temp passport to return to the US. We held a hearing in the State of Hawaii in Oct. concerning the support owed and another hearing was scheduled in Nov. During this hiring his attorney reported he has returned to the UK and had UK documents he could use to travel back and forth with. The Child Support Office in Hawaii has reported his US passport is currently still revoked as he has not paid anything towards his owing balance. My question is what papers would allow him to travel? Does him being married to a British citizen allow him to return so easily?

Would he been able to apply for a British passport while his US one was revoked?

[amykathleen2005 441]

Is it possible he became a British citizen in that time and is using a British passport to travel under?

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

Does he have British citizenship? You can only obtain a passport of a country that you have citizenship in.

[malgp 0]

Is it possible he became a British citizen in that time and is using a British passport to travel under?

I'm not sure if he is a British citizen but I am also wondering if he became one when his US passport was revoked. Is there a way I could find out if he is a British citizen?

[amykathleen2005 441]

I have no idea, but possibly if you tip off the US government that you suspect he is avoiding payment in this way they would find out pretty quickly.....

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

I'm not sure if he is a British citizen but I am also wondering if he became one when his US passport was revoked. Is there a way I could find out if he is a British citizen?

If he is a British citizen why did he even come back to the US for the court date. For some reason he didn't want to avoid the court date. The US can always put a warrant out on him and the British will serve it and send him back to the US.

[pushbrk 12,882]

I'm not sure if he is a British citizen but I am also wondering if he became one when his US passport was revoked. Is there a way I could find out if he is a British citizen?

If he's a British citizen, he'll know it. Ask him. It's not something that happens without applying for it.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I could be wrong, but even with a British passport, unless he gave up his US citizenship, it was my understand the the US was VERY strict about USC's or LPRs leaving on their US passport or greencards. So if he left the US or entered the US on a passport other than US, wouldn't he be in all sorts of other trouble?

8 USC 1185(b) states: "Except as otherwise provided by the President and subject to such limitations and exceptions as the President may authorize and prescribe, it shall be unlawful for any citizen of the United States to depart from or enter, or attempt to depart from or enter, the United States unless he bears a valid United States passport."

I can't seem to find the penalty though. I've seen references to a fine but no reference to the amount or anything.

[pushbrk 12,882]

I could be wrong, but even with a British passport, unless he gave up his US citizenship, it was my understand the the US was VERY strict about USC's or LPRs leaving on their US passport or greencards. So if he left the US or entered the US on a passport other than US, wouldn't he be in all sorts of other trouble?

8 USC 1185(b) states: "Except as otherwise provided by the President and subject to such limitations and exceptions as the President may authorize and prescribe, it shall be unlawful for any citizen of the United States to depart from or enter, or attempt to depart from or enter, the United States unless he bears a valid United States passport."

I can't seem to find the penalty though. I've seen references to a fine but no reference to the amount or anything.

To my knowledge this is not enforced and there is no penalty. Lots of naturalized US citizens retain their foreign passports. For instance, if my wife became a US Citizen, she would enter China with a Chinese passport and enter the USA with a US passport. The US government makes no decision about who gets to leave the USA but an airline employee would make sure any passenger had a passport and any required visa before boarding a flight to another country.

Nothing said has indicated any reason to believe the subject of this thread bears any other passport but USA. Comments to that effect were pure speculation.

Edited January 19, 2011 by pushbrk

[bobbyA 20]

To my knowledge this is not enforced and there is no penalty. Lots of naturalized US citizens retain their foreign passports. For instance, if my wife became a US Citizen, she would enter China with a Chinese passport and enter the USA with a US passport. The US government makes no decision about who gets to leave the USA but an airline employee would make sure any passenger had a passport and any required visa before boarding a flight to another country.

pushbrk,

I agree that an airline will let a person with Chinese passport board a flight to China, but coming back to the US is a different story.

I would really like to see a real life case of using 2 passports to travel. I assume your wife has not become a US Citizen yet, so you couldn't say for sure that it is trouble free. I can see your wife entering the US with a Chinese passport and US green card without any trouble.

It is one thing to retain a foreign passport, but it is another to use the foreign passport once the person becomes a US citizen and surrenders the green card.

When I, a US Citizen enters the US, the POE immigration officer always asks where I went. If I told him I went to China for 10 days and he doesn't see a Chinese stamp on my US passport, he may give me some trouble. I vaguely remember a story about a friend of a friend having trouble at a POE for going to Taiwan on a Taiwanese passport then entering the US with a US passport. The lady was allowed entry to the US eventually after quite a bit of questioning, and it was many years before 9/11.

With that life incident in mind, I would advice people to play by the rules and travel with a US passport if the person has one.

My 2 cents

[Krikit 1,164]

Moving from K-3 Process to General Immigration Discussion as it doesn't really fit anywhere specific.

[pushbrk 12,882]

pushbrk,

I agree that an airline will let a person with Chinese passport board a flight to China, but coming back to the US is a different story.

I would really like to see a real life case of using 2 passports to travel. I assume your wife has not become a US Citizen yet, so you couldn't say for sure that it is trouble free. I can see your wife entering the US with a Chinese passport and US green card without any trouble.

It is one thing to retain a foreign passport, but it is another to use the foreign passport once the person becomes a US citizen and surrenders the green card.

When I, a US Citizen enters the US, the POE immigration officer always asks where I went. If I told him I went to China for 10 days and he doesn't see a Chinese stamp on my US passport, he may give me some trouble. I vaguely remember a story about a friend of a friend having trouble at a POE for going to Taiwan on a Taiwanese passport then entering the US with a US passport. The lady was allowed entry to the US eventually after quite a bit of questioning, and it was many years before 9/11.

With that life incident in mind, I would advice people to play by the rules and travel with a US passport if the person has one.

My 2 cents

No, I can't say for sure about my wife's personal experience but know and know of many who have done exactly as I've described. Some of them have posted those experiences her. I'm absolutely certain that any US Citizen who presents a valid US passport will both be allowed to board a flight to the USA and be admitted to the USA upon arrival.

Again, there's no indication this discussion applies to the situation at hand as there has been no reason to even think he holds citizenship other than USA.

[Y&E 12]

pushbrk,

I agree that an airline will let a person with Chinese passport board a flight to China, but coming back to the US is a different story.

I would really like to see a real life case of using 2 passports to travel. I assume your wife has not become a US Citizen yet, so you couldn't say for sure that it is trouble free. I can see your wife entering the US with a Chinese passport and US green card without any trouble.

It is one thing to retain a foreign passport, but it is another to use the foreign passport once the person becomes a US citizen and surrenders the green card.

When I, a US Citizen enters the US, the POE immigration officer always asks where I went. If I told him I went to China for 10 days and he doesn't see a Chinese stamp on my US passport, he may give me some trouble. I vaguely remember a story about a friend of a friend having trouble at a POE for going to Taiwan on a Taiwanese passport then entering the US with a US passport. The lady was allowed entry to the US eventually after quite a bit of questioning, and it was many years before 9/11.

With that life incident in mind, I would advice people to play by the rules and travel with a US passport if the person has one.

My 2 cents

Off topic, but I a UK and New Zealand Citizen have entered and departed the UK using my NZ passport a few times when I only intended to be there for short periods of time. No questions at either end about why there were no stamps in my passport. As long as one enters and leaves a country using the same passport then there is nothing illegal in that. Things get sticky if one uses different passports on entering and leaving. It would be very difficult for any immigration officer anywhere to know if a person holds dual citizenship and is entering on the other passport; many people have the same name and many would have the same birthdate.

To answer the OP, taking out british citizenship and carrying a british passport is the only way that your ex would be able to travel to / from the US if his US passport has been revoked. He could have entered on such a passport allowing him to then leave on it. However, why would he bother to enter on a UK passport and attend the court date if he had no intention of paying / staying? Also, how long has he lived there? I believe that there are residency requirements similar to those here before one can become a citizen.