Can a Felon Get a Passport in the United States

Traveling as a Felon

If you have a felony on your criminal record, you may be wondering can a felon get a passport? Contrary to popular belief, having a felony will non affect your power to travel away. Keep in mind, there are still other reasons the U.S. State Department could deny you a passport, such as the type of conviction you accept, open arrest warrants, and kid support status. There are too a few countries that restrict entry on travel visas for people with certain types of convictions. Overall, yous should be able to get a U.S. passport for travel in a few simple steps.

How Much Does a Passport Price?

The fees to getting a passport vary depending upon how onetime you are, how fast you demand it, and what type of passport you wish to become. For the purposes of this application, adults are defined every bit anyone over the age of 16. There is also an application execution fee to consider. You can opt for a full passport booklet, a passport card, or both. A passport booklet can exist used for travel past air, country, or sea to whatsoever country exterior of the United States, provided you possess any appropriate visa from the visiting land. A passport menu can only be used to travel by land or sea to and from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean area, and Bermuda.

As of 2020, U.Due south. passport fees are:

• Adult Passport Book – $110
• Adult Passport Card – $30
• Adult First Time Bidder Execution Fee – $35
• Child Passport Book – $fourscore
• Child Passport Card – $15
• Child First Fourth dimension Applicant Execution Fee – $35
• ii-iii Week Expedited Service Fee – $60
• 1-2 Twenty-four hours Delivery – $sixteen.48

Different payment methods are available depending upon the location you are applying at. If you submit your application at an official passport agency, you can pay your fees with whatever major credit or debit card, personal or cashier's bank check, money society, or greenbacks. If you're applying at a passport acceptance agency similar your local post office, you will simply be able to pay with a personal or cashier'south check, or money orders. The same goes if y'all're applying by mail. Luckily, you can purchase your money order with greenbacks correct at the postal window.

How to Get a Passport with a Felony Conviction

Applying for a U.Due south. passport as a felon is the same every bit someone without a criminal record. If yous're unfamiliar with the procedure, follow these steps to apply for and go your passport.

1. Find your local passport bureau or U.S. Post Office with passport service. At either location, you will notice paper passport applications (Form DS-11) with a listing of required documents you will need to bring with you when y'all turn it in. You tin can also impress the grade and bring it with you. These documents are different for every situation, but include:
   • Valid land-issued photo identification – You will besides demand to brand photocopies of the front and back to leave with your awarding.
   • Proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a certified nascence certificate – A certified nativity certificate volition have a raised seal stamped somewhere in the newspaper. If your birth certificate is former, tattered, or just missing the certification seal, you'll want to club a new one to avoid any delays with your passport application. You lot will need the original and a photocopy of the front end and back. They will mail service back your original birth certificate to you later they process your application.
2. You will need to take your passport fee in the acceptable form for the location y'all're visiting.
3. Review the form and complete information technology with accented honesty. Whatever discrepancies could cause your application to be denied and your awarding fee forfeited. The form will ask yous to fill out data about yourself and your parents, including date and identify of nascency. It is besides important that you do not sign the form until a passport agent tells y'all to. Signing it ahead of time will void the application, and you volition have to fill information technology out again.
4. Bring passport photos. These are forepart-facing photos of yous from the shoulders up taken inside the last vi months. If yous didn't bring proper passport photos with you, the passport office tin have them on site for a fee. This fee is ordinarily much more than than if you were to have them taken at your local 24-60 minutes photograph or taken them yourself.
5. Sign and submit your application. The passport agent volition ask you to swear under oath that the information on the application is truthful and sign the application in front of them.
6. Wait for your passport to come in the postal service. According to the U.S. Department of State website, regular processing times for a new passport awarding is six to eight weeks. For an added fee, you tin have your mailed awarding expedited to receive your passport inside ii to three weeks, or 8 business organization days if yous visit a local passport bureau. If you lot need it sooner than that, you may set an appointment to have a same day or next day passport service.

What to Exercise If Your Passport Application Is Delayed or Denied

After you apply for your passport, one of two things will happen. You will either receive your new passport or a letter explaining why your application was delayed or denied. Either way, they will return your certified birth document to yous immediately. Depending on the outcome, you may need to take additional steps to secure a new passport.

In that location are several reasons they may filibuster your passport awarding. The nigh mutual is having wrong information or an incomplete application. Your passport amanuensis will commonly double-check the application to ensure that it's complete before submitting it. Nevertheless, they can't know if the data is correct. It's important that you lot double check the information.

If you find your U.S. passport application was denied, yous yet take options. Kickoff is to determine the reason for deprival and piece of work to remedy the state of affairs.

Reasons your passport was denied include:

• You have a federal or state felony drug-trafficking confidence and are currently imprisoned or on parole.
• Yous have active arrest warrants.
• You owe more than $2,500 in child support payments.
• Y'all are a minor under the age of xvi without the consent of both custodial parents.
• You take unpaid federal taxes or loans.

Felony or Country Drug Trafficking Convictions

In that location is only one felony confidence that may hinder your power to become a passport and travel abroad. If you have been convicted of drug trafficking at either the federal or state level, the law places limits on your power to apply for and fifty-fifty possess a U.S. passport. According to U.South. Code 22 U.Due south. Code § 2714, whatever person who is convicted of a federal or state felony drug trafficking where they crossed an international border during the commission of the crime is ineligible to utilise for a passport. The menstruation of ineligibility begins one time the person is convicted and ends once they have been released and/or completed parole.

This code besides states that individuals who see these standards and were previously issued a passport shall have their valid passport revoked. This does not mean the Secretary of State will actively seek you out to have your passport back. Instead, if you lot do try to leave the country during this time, community agents will and then be instructed to have your passport from you. If you lot are on parole at the fourth dimension of the endeavour, yous will exist upwardly for immediate arrest.

However, there is hope. In one case a person bedevilled of felony drug trafficking has completed their prison or parole sentence, they will again be eligible. Felons who have had their passports revoked will also need to apply for a new passport.

Active Arrest Warrants

Probably the quickest way to have your application denied is by having active warrants out for your abort. The crusade for the arrest warrant is non a factor. Whether it's a bench warrant for traffic tickets or something more serious, whatever arrest warrant is plenty to deny your application.

If you lot know that you take active warrants out for your abort, it probably wouldn't exist a good idea to apply for a passport until yous go it taken care of. Applying anyway volition probably result in the loss of your application fee and more legal trouble than necessary.

If you're non certain that you take an arrest warrant, you may effort to contact your local police station to inquire. Keep in mind that most jurisdictions will not give you this information over the phone and insist that you lot come into the station to observe out. Worst case scenario, be prepared to handle a possible arrest warrant upon your arrival. If you're unsure of your warrant status and don't mind possibly losing your application fee, you may apply anyway and wait for an reply.

Attributable More than $2,500 in Child Support

The U.South. Section of State makes it very clear on their website that those owing more than than $2,500 in court-ordered child support payments are ineligible to apply for a U.Due south. passport. They also land that they take no data pertaining to the details of your kid support instance, only find of a runaway case. Therefore, contacting them regarding whatever money owed would be ineffective. Instead, they insist that y'all contact your state'due south child support section to settle your account earlier applying.

Minors Without Parental Permission

Because they legally cannot enter a binding contract, minors may non apply for a passport without the consent of all custodial parents or guardians. Both parents will need to be present at the time of application to swear an oath of truth and present land-issued photo identification in front of a passport agent.

This can get a little tricky if ii parents share custody or if one parent is out of land. To remedy this, the U.Due south. Department of State volition need the absent custodial parent to complete and notarize Passport Parental Consent class DS-3053. Once the applying parent receives the form, they tin bring information technology with the passport awarding and their ain photograph identification to apply for the minor'south passport. Under no circumstances tin a small apply for a passport on their own.

Unpaid Federal Taxes or Loans

While it'due south non set in rock, your U.South. passport application will accept a high probability of being denied if you owe coin to the federal authorities. This is their fashion of making certain that y'all settle your account before leaving the country. If you're unsure of whether you lot owe the federal government coin, you'll desire to contact the appropriate department to settle your business relationship earlier applying. Application fees for denied applications volition non exist refunded.

Getting a Travel Visa with a Felony

Once you lot go your new passport, you may need to apply for travel visas to enter your destination country. As mentioned briefly earlier, in that location are some restrictions on which countries you're able to travel to. This is all dependent upon your particular conviction and the country'southward current laws.

Most travel visa applications volition have a question asking nearly your criminal record. If they do, it is possible they will deny your travel visa application for having a felony conviction. Canada and the United Kingdom are both countries that have a history of denying travel visas to convicted felons. If the receiving country denies your travel visa application, y'all're welcome to apply once more at another time, but prepare for the same outcome.

When Does My Passport Expire?

Adult passports expire later on ten years, and child passports elapse afterward five. Fortunately, the application process to renew a passport isn't as elaborate for renewals as it is for first-time applicants. You will be able to renew your passport past mail and without the execution fees paid the first fourth dimension.

Using Your Passport as Identification

Did you know that your new passport tin can be used as government identification? Your passport booklet or card tin can now be used to consummate I-9 documents for employment, evidence your age when asked, and fifty-fifty lath domestic flights. However, it is unwise to carry your passport with you at all times as y'all would a commuter'south license because of the hassle yous'll go through trying to supervene upon information technology if it's lost.

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Source: https://felonies.org/can-i-get-a-passport-with-a-felony/

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