Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: passport hit

The passport office can deny you a passport only if there is an outstanding federal warrant. Of course, applying for the passport could trigger execution of the warrant. State warrants would be no problem in most cases. Access to the federal warrant information is by law restricted to law enforcement officials and agencies. So, unless you know a law enforcement official who will check for you and who won't arrest you if he finds one, there really is no reliable source. There are services on the internet who claim they can get this information for a fee, but it appears the information is largely gathered collaterally, or even through piracy, so is likely not 100% reliable.

If you really need to get out of the country in a hurry, consider the well-travelled approach of going to mexico. They do not require a passport or visa to enter, and you can return to the US with just a drivers' license or birth certificate. Keep those documents on you at all times. You could also go to a country like Belize, that does not require US citizens to have a passport to enter, and have fairly liberal permanent residency rules. It is also an english speaking country if you are not spanish fluent. In fact, most central american and carribean countries do not require a US passport to enter. But, depending on the country, problems could arise returning to the US unless you come overland via the mexican border.

Good luck.

Re: passport hit

Oh, a final suggestion. If you do leave without a passport and later try to return to the US overland through mexico, it is best to be a passenger in the car, not the driver. US customs rarely asks passengers much more than their citizenship and if you don't seem to be a foreigner, they ask no more. They do, however, spot check drivers licenses of the driver against the federal and state warrant database. So, find somebody in mexico who will drive you across and you're pretty sure of safe re-entry.

Going into mexico is a breeze. Officers get special training in how to wave vehicles through. I lived near mexico for years and crossed the border frequently, and was never once asked anything.

Re: passport hit

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