The U.S. State Department denies a passport when an application isn't submitted correctly. The application must be filled out completely, and submitted with proper documentation, such as a birth certificate with both parents' names, marriage license, naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship, if necessary. You must also present legitimate photo identification like a driver's license or previously-issued passport. You must submit a passport-sized photograph with your application; if the photograph is the wrong size, your passport application will be denied.
Passport applicants are checked through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' list of arrears. Debtors who owe more than $2,500 aren't eligible to receive a U.S. passport. To rectify the situation, noncustodial parents owing child support must first pay their debts before U.S. Passport Services can issue their passports. This process can add two to three weeks to the passport application process.
Both parents must consent to having their child under the age of 18 apply for a passport. A passport can be denied to an minor under the age of 18 who's unmarried and not in the military unless the minor's custodian agrees to its conditions. A state court has the authority to revoke or deny a passport if it deems the child may not be removed from the United States, such as in the case of a custody battle. A child can't receive a passport if his name is in the Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program, a system to prevent international child abductions.
You can't obtain a passport if any of the following conditions apply: the federal government has an outstanding warrant for your arrest for a felony charge; there's a federal or state court order, condition of probation or condition of parole that forbids your departure from the United States; you're under an order of restraint from the U.S. Armed Forces; you're subject to be extracted to a foreign country; or your submitted application documents are fraudulent. If the U.S. State Department deems your abroad activities may be a threat to national security, you can't obtain a passport. Applicants who've been convicted of a felony for a federal or state drug offense during which they crossed an international border to traffic drugs will be denied passports if they're subject to imprisonment. All passport applicants are checked through the U.S. Marshal Service's database as a tool to apprehend fugitives.
If you have an unpaid loan to the United States, e.g., you received a loan to return from a foreign country, you can't receive a passport. If there's a court order committing you to a mental institution or if you're declared incompetent unless accompanied by a guardian, you can be denied a passport. If you're the subject of a subpoena for a matter involving a felony, you can't obtain a passport.
