When You Are Paying Off Your Arrears Are You Eligible for a Passport

My question involves child support in the State of: NJ

Hello everyone,

I recently booked a trip to the carribbean and my fiance and i applied to get passports for the first time. We both applied on the same day from the same location at the same time and i recieved my passport about 3 weeks later. He did not recieve his at all at least not yet and it has been 5 weeks now. Everytime i call the passport center to find out why it is being held up they tell us that it is still being processed and they do not know anything. Our trip is in 3 weeks and i need to cancel 2 weeks prior to the date we are leaving. We have thought about all the reasons why he might not get his passport and came up with only one, child support. He has been paying child support since his child was born and also he ahs joint custody and takes her 2 days out of the week. At one point he was jobless for about 6 months or so nad fell behind on his payments (which was a few years back). In that time he aquired close to 4K in arrears. Once he got a new job he started paying off his arrears slowly but surely. He now probably owes around 2K in arrears. He pays about $20 a week for his arrears and also is paying his regular child support every week. I was wondering if anyone might know how it would work with the passport. Is the 2k he owes still considered delinquent even though he has been paying every week for 2 years with out missing one payment? Is there anythign we can do to fight it if he does get denied for a passport? I am looking for any kind of information so please feel free to respond with any bit of info you may have.

Thanks

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Quoting GG124

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My question involves child support in the State of: NJ

Hello everyone,

I recently booked a trip to the carribbean and my fiance and i applied to get passports for the first time. We both applied on the same day from the same location at the same time and i recieved my passport about 3 weeks later. He did not recieve his at all at least not yet and it has been 5 weeks now. Everytime i call the passport center to find out why it is being held up they tell us that it is still being processed and they do not know anything. Our trip is in 3 weeks and i need to cancel 2 weeks prior to the date we are leaving. We have thought about all the reasons why he might not get his passport and came up with only one, child support. He has been paying child support since his child was born and also he ahs joint custody and takes her 2 days out of the week. At one point he was jobless for about 6 months or so nad fell behind on his payments (which was a few years back). In that time he aquired close to 4K in arrears. Once he got a new job he started paying off his arrears slowly but surely. He now probably owes around 2K in arrears. He pays about $20 a week for his arrears and also is paying his regular child support every week. I was wondering if anyone might know how it would work with the passport. Is the 2k he owes still considered delinquent even though he has been paying every week for 2 years with out missing one payment? Is there anythign we can do to fight it if he does get denied for a passport? I am looking for any kind of information so please feel free to respond with any bit of info you may have.

Thanks

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The only thing he can do will be to pay off the arrears. Until then even if the balance is down to $1.00 he would still be in arrears.

Thank you for your response i understand what you are saying. If this is the reason why his passport is being held up why wouldnt they just deny him instead of it still being processed?

Perhaps they are in the process of denying it. I'm sure that requires them to get in touch with the CSE office to verify the arrears and neither one of those two entities have just one person to deal with. Things take time.

Well i checked my fiance's child support arrears and it is def. over 2500. I was wondering if in the state of NJ if we pay it down below 2500 if he then would be eligible for a passport?

Read this information.

Thank you for that link. I have read that before but i am so confused because even though it says that i was told that NJ doesn't go by that. I am under the impression that the state of NJ has a zero balance policy that even if you are $1 in arrears you will not be issued a passport. I am now wondering if there is anything else other than pay off the amount in full that we can do. Does anyone know the chances of a judge over ruling this and if so should we get an attorny? I am willing to try anything.

The chances of a judge overturning it? Very slim to none. Here's the argument you want your boyfriend to go into court and make....

Your honor, I know that I have neglected to support my child in the way that I was court ordered to do, but my girlfriend and I would like to go galavanting around the caribbean instead of me taking care of my responsibilities in full. PLEASE allow me to have play time with my girlfriend, instead of paying back the mother of my child (who I am legally responsible for) for raising my child when I was unable to or unwilling to do so.

He has no just LEGAL reason to need his passport. If he wants to go on a trip, I guess he will pay his back child support. If you want him to go that bad, then I guess you'll be paying it for him, just don't get pregnant by him... lest you be in the same position one day. I sure hope he's not putting as much as a priority on this trip as you are.

I understand what you are saying but in all honesty there is no need for it. You dont know him and you dont know the situation. I do understand the law and i feel like its not fair for the people who wark hard and try to handle their responsibilities. For your information he has a 4yr old whom he spends lots of time with he help out the mother of his child on the side if she ever needs anything and is also paying his child support and arrears. He has not missed one payment in the last 2 years and the only reason he ever missed a payment was becuase he was out of work. When he lost his job 2 years ago he went to court to try and lower the child suport but the judge wouldnt do that. Now he is paying what he can afford so he can still afford to have a roof over his head. I am also the one who booked and is paying for htis vacation if it were up to him he wouldnt be going becuase he knows he can not afford it. He works very hard to suport himself and his daughter and he deserves a vacation. I am not saying that its right or ok that he has arrears but there was nothing he could do. He was out of work for 6 month thats it. Why does NJ have to be the only state that has this zero balance law?

Because NJ takes the support of minor children seriously. Now you have a decision to make. Either take a friend who isn't behind on their support obligation and able to obtain a passport to the caribbean with you, cancel the trip or postpone it until he is able to go. His responsibility is towards his child, REGARDLESS of the circumstance that led him into arrears.