AN INCENTIVE now exists for parents with child support arrears who want to travel but were placed on the Passport Denial Program.
In celebration of Child Support Awareness Month, the Child Support Enforcement Division of the Attorney General's Office yesterday announced the launch of the “Buy To Fly” child support amnesty program which will be available for application up until Aug. 31.
The way the program works is non-custodial parents who wish to be removed from the Passport Denial Program can now apply for this incentive in order to be eligible to apply for or recover their passport.
According to the AGO, last year, 25 parents who wished to get their passports released collectively paid $96,460. During the same period, there were more than 2,470 passport cases submitted, totaling over $54 million in owed child support arrears.
“As an enforcement tool, passport denial is highly effective; it brought in a lot of money for our children, and that was just 25 parents!” Attorney General Lenny Rapadas stated in a press release. “You can imagine how wonderful it would be to assist all 2,470 cases and get that money to the children who need and deserve it.”
The Passport Denial Program is designed to help enforce delinquent child support obligations. Non-custodial parents with child support arrears over $2,500 are submitted by the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement to the Department of State, which denies them U.S. passports upon application or the use of a passport service.
Those who are eligible for the “Buy To Fly” program must first set up a payment plan with the AGO’s Child Support Enforcement Division before their passport is released to them. If terms in the agreement are broken, the AGO may revoke the amnesty, and the individual’s passport denial terms go back into effect.
For more information or to apply for the program, visit the Child Support Office in Hagåtña; click here; or call 475-3360 ext. 1020.
AG is offering amnesty for child support arrears
- Friday, 10 Aug 2012 03:30am
- BY GERALDINE CASTILLO | VARIETY NEWS STAFF
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