Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

passport renewal denied

My brother is a licensed boat captain who depends on charters and deliveries for his living. The State of Washington is withholding his request for renewal of his passport because he was behind in his child support for a child out of wedlock. If they do not let him renew the passport, he can not maintain his business, and then would not be able to maintain any child support payments. He has a settlement with the child's mother and has made the revised payments on time and is current with them. What can he do to prove the need for the passport to continue his business, and any hope he has of being current with the payments?


Asked on 3/24/09, 6:49 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Amir John Showrai The Pacific Law Firm, PLLC

Re: passport renewal denied

He needs a court document that indicates that he is current on his support payments and then needs to get a certified copy of the document over to the state department with his passport renewal so they understand that he is current.

If the State Dept. does not accept that, then the only thing left is to go through the Dept. of Child Services to get them to contact the State Department to lift the hold on his renewal.

It can get complicated and you are going to want an attorney who deals in both immigration and family law as I do. If the support order originates in Washington, get local counsel here. If the order is from Florida, hire local counsel there.

Best of luck!

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Answered on 3/24/09, 7:32 pm


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