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American Warrants and Passport Issuance Abroad

By Ben Hart

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 01Jul2010 Word count: 475 Viewed: 640 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

The following article discusses the ways in which a pending warrant from a jurisdiction in the United States can impact one's ability to obtain a US passport from an American Embassy or Consulate abroad.

Those in the United States who find themselves the subject of a validly issued arrest warrant, bench warrant, or fugitive warrant are well advised not to flee the jurisdiction. Instead, individuals in this position should retain a competent attorney and deal with the matter pursuant to the rule of law. However, in some instances, an individual will find themselves outside of the USA when a warrant is issued for their arrest in an American jurisdiction. In this position, the warrant can act as something of a barrier impeding further travel. For example, if an American warrant is issued, then the subject of the warrant will find it difficult, if not impossible, to renew their US passport overseas. American Consular Officers at American Citizen Services Sections of US Consulates and Embassies abroad are required to confiscate an individual's US passport if the Officer discovers a pending US warrant on the subject's record.

In some cases, a Consulate may be willing to issue a travel document for the purpose of allowing the subject to return to the United States, but a passport for international travel is unlikely to be issued under these circumstances. Oftentimes, a warrant is issued and the American subject is unaware of the issuance of the warrant as they are abroad at the time of issuance. This commonly occurs where child support is concerned as an individual may fall behind on their child support payments and become subject to an arrest warrant for non-payment. Until the matter is resolved, the warrant will remain.

The issue of US warrants in the context of US passports is becoming increasingly concerning to individuals working outside of the United States, especially as international authorities are sharing more and more data with American agencies. Furthermore, many countries have begun tying their Immigration databases into the criminal and terrorist databases of the United States in order to ascertain a traveler's legal and factual history. For instance, the Kingdom of Thailand recently announced their intention to begin integrating their Immigration database with that of the United States. Whether or not the two countries will share information regarding outstanding warrants remains to be seen, but many speculate of just such a possibility particularly as Thailand has an Extradition Treaty with the United States of America. It seems likely that this scenario will play out on a global level as more countries are taking an increasingly hard line against foreign fugitives.

Coping with an American Criminal matter can be daunting, but for those willing to deal with their legal problems a competent American attorney can provide advice and counsel regarding one's options and rights.

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