Us Student-Loan Default/Passport Renewal

[RichardLee]

I defaulted on my student loans stateside five years ago. Now my passport is up for renewal. How will that affect my application for renewal?

I'm not interested in discussing my financial situation that led to the default. It happened and that's that. We all fall on hard times occasionally, especially in recent years. But I would like to know what it means for my passport-renewal application. I've already talked to the embassy here in Bangkok -- I'm in Bangkok -- and they couldn't (or wouldn't) say. They can deny passports for missing child-support payments, I know that, but regarding student-loan defaults I can't find any information.

Thanks in advance.

[ajarnpot]

Thanks Richard, I am one of the debt collectors sent to track you down, now just give me an adress and I will help you return those tax dollars you spent but are refusing to return.

[GuestHouse]

When you decided to default on your student loan it (the loan debt ) will have been transferred from the lender to the Department of Education.

Your debt has therefore moved from a debt to a private/public lender to becoming a Federal Debt.,

I don't fancy your ofds.

[Gary A]

I had a friend who celebrated his last child support payment be giving it directly to his ex-wife. He then retired to Thailand. He went to the US Embassy to have extra pages put in his passport. His passport was confiscated because of failure to pay child support.

He made many phone calls and finally with the help of his daughter, he was able to get it back. I think you better kiss and make up with the government or stay home.

[Berkshire]

My guess/hope is that it would prevent you from renewing your passport (at some point). Would be a bad idea for the US government to allow deadbeats to simply leave the country to avoid making good on their loan commitments. Last I heard, the US GOV had something like a trillion dollars outstanding on student loans. The next bubble in the USA.

[robblok]

I never really understood people walking away from debts. I still don't but when banks loan money out to countries and it goes south they expect taxpayers from other countries to pay the piper.

I am against this just as much as i am against people skipping on debts but it seems quite normal to some people.

[Ulysses G.]

Don't worry. You are safe. There is no law in place that would prevent you from renewing your passport because of student loan debt and there probably will not be one as long as Obama is president.

It would be too politically unpopular on the left with Occupy Wall Street protesting against having to pay back student loans. In fact, Obama might grant you amnesty without consulting congress as he has done with illegal aliens.

[TommoPhysicist]

My guess/hope is that it would prevent you from renewing your passport (at some point). Would be a bad idea for the US government to allow deadbeats to simply leave the country to avoid making good on their loan commitments. Last I heard, the US GOV had something like a trillion dollars outstanding on student loans. The next bubble in the USA.

Maybe China or the UN ($1.5B) could do a similar sort of thing to the USA and it's outstanding debts?

Deadbeat country or deadbeat person ........... who will be the first to point the finger.

[TommoPhysicist]

I never really understood people walking away from debts. I still don't but when banks loan money out to countries and it goes south they expect taxpayers from other countries to pay the piper.

I am against this just as much as i am against people skipping on debts but it seems quite normal to some people.

It's what banks and other large financial institutions do.

Unsecured loans is a little bit like gambling, no guarantees, if you don't like the risk, don't lend the money.

[farang000999]

<deleted> is OP talking about, you can't default on US gov backed student loans. You can't get rid of them in bankruptcy. You have to pay them off if your income is over x dollars. If these were private loans from a non government authority, than I don't know, I guess you can get rid of them in bankruptcy. There is no debtors prison in the US. Loans between two private parties are considered a civil matter and have nothing to do with the government or getting a passport.

[ricklev]

It's amazingly easy to get out of default these days! Do a little research and you will find that getting back into the good graces of the US government and staying there is very reasonable, fairly painless and with many future deferments and forbearances available to all.

[submaniac]

OP, no they don't pull your passport (as of yet). One never knows for the future though. If you'd have asked me 20 years ago if they would pull someone's driver's license for failure to pay child support, I thought it wouldn't happen. But they're doing it. And they are pulling people's professional licenses (Doctors, lawyers) for child support.

And OP no, I don't judge you. I was in default for a while too. However, what another poster said is very true. The government and the lenders want you to get out of default and are willing to help. You may just qualify for a deferment without having to pay back anything yet if your income is low enough (which it probably is cuz you're in Thailand).

And for those from Europe, you don't really understand what it is like in the U.S. educational system. In European states, the tax dollars actually go to public welfare like education and medical care. In the United States, our tax dollars go to fighting wars for oil.

That is reason why there is a trillion dollars or whatever in student loans. Before I posted I just checked on google on what it costs for university in England and it was about 12,000 pounds per year. I just checked on what the yearly tuition fees were at my alma mater and it is $55,000 per year.

[bonobo]

This started out shaky with regards to being Thai-related, and it has abandoned even that tenuous thread and is now moving into US politics.

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