What do I do now?
So you just got the news that your passport has been revoked. It may be due to Back Taxes, Unpaid Child Support, or a Warrant for your arrest. It may be unexpected or it may be something you have feared. Nonetheless, you must deal with it or you cannot travel in the best case or be detained in the worst case.
What do you do now?
Without question, the best thing you can do is retain the services of an Immigration Attorney! This may not be apparent, after all you are not immigrating. But here are the reasons:
What do you do now?
Without question, the best thing you can do is retain the services of an Immigration Attorney! This may not be apparent, after all you are not immigrating. But here are the reasons:
Reasons to retain an Immigration Attorney:
- He knows your Rights.
- By federal statute, the Secretary of State may issue a U.S. passport only to United States citizens and nationals.
- Every United States citizen is entitled to a U.S. passport provided that they, or an adult acting on a child’s behalf, comply with all applicable requirements, and that there is no statutory or regulatory reason to deny the passport.
- A U.S. passport is issued to each eligible applicant.
- Children may acquire the citizenship of a non-U.S. citizen parent and potentially have a passport from both the U.S. and the country of the non-U.S. citizen parent’s citizenship at the same time.
- U.S. passport books and U.S. passport cards for adults are valid for 10 years.
- U.S. passport books or U.S. passport cards for minors under age 16 are valid for 5 years.
- You may apply for a U.S. passport within the United States and at U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad. Within the United States passport applications may be submitted at passport agencies or at more than 9,400 designated local applications acceptance facilities nationwide.
- All minors and most passport applicants (when submitting Form DS-11) must appear in person.
- A U.S. passport book or U.S. passport card is now required to return to the United States from Western Hemisphere countries. Learn more about on WHTI Travel requirements.
- He knows the applicable Passport Laws of the USA.
- He knows his way around the Embassy and likely the very officials you must work with.
- Who can you trust to connect you with the proper people? The Security Desk at the Embassy or an Immigration Attorney that has represented hundreds of people in your situation, who, where, how to best represent your rights and needs?
- He can represent you to a U.S. Attorney.
- If you need representation in the USA, an Immigration Attorney will have professional relationships with many corresponding attorney’s in the USA, this alone could save you a lot of effort and ensure you get the right qualifications.
- Save time and money by retaining someone that can help you best.
- Just knowing what you need to do will save you many hours of anguish.
- Knowing who you should talk to will save you many hours of trying to get answers to your questions.
- Having a network of qualified Attorneys will save you many hours and potentially many dollars in the search for the best suited experts in your situation.
Bottom Line - There is an old saying, “There is nothing more expensive than the cheapest.” This simply could not be more true when it comes to legal representation. Yes it will be cheaper if you do it yourself...cheaper in cash outflow, but much more expensive in your time and the errors you might make. What is your time worth? What are you risking by doing it yourself, what about the mistakes you might make that make things worse? Another old saying, "Pay me now or pay me later." The money you think you might save in doing it yourself could end up being just added expense to fix what you make worse, perhaps much worse on your own.
Article Disclaimer: This article is made available by the lawyer publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. Use of this article does not create an Attorney Client Relationship. This article does not offer or dispense legal advice. By using the article, the reader agrees that the information does not constitute legal or other professional advice and no attorney-client or other relationship is created. The article is not a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction. The information on the article may be changed without notice and is not guaranteed to be complete, correct or up-to-date. The opinions expressed at or through the article are the opinions of the individual author. The article should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your jurisdiction.