The majority of convicted felons will not face any obstacles in receiving a United States passport. Because it is simply a form of identification, the application process does not delve into character assessments or evaluate whether or not you will commit another crime.
Some felony convictions call for compulsory denial. Convicted international drug traffickers and those under supervised release programs for controlled substances will be denied. Those with loans accrued during incarceration abroad will be denied. If you have been forbidden by the court to leave, if you have an outstanding federal warrant or if you have been deemed a flight risk in an impending trial, your application will be denied. Lastly, if you are deemed by the U.S. Secretary of State to be a threat to national or international security, you will not be able to acquire a passport.
There are other instances that are up to the State Department to decide on a case by case basis. If you have been declared legally incompetent, have unpaid repatriation loans to the government or owe more than $5,000 in child support, your passport application could possibly be denied.
