Why The US Government is Canceling "Our" PASSPORTS..

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:01]Well, friends, if you are an American citizen or who is living outside the US or if you're an American citizen who is thinking about traveling outside the US, I want you to sit down. Give me 10 minutes. I'm going to share with you some information that you need to know that could cost you dearly. Meaning, there's a possibility the US government is going to take away your passport.

[00:00:24]Now, some of the uh examples I'm going to share with you are not new, but one of those that has really garnered attention lately has to do with child support. And again, this is not new.

[00:00:36]What is actually shocking most people is the realization of the threshold, how low the threshold is in terms of how much you owe and what that could mean for them to take away your passport.

[00:00:49]And I think maybe in the last week or so there's been a lot of articles about uh uh the US government renewed efforts to actually cancel people's uh passport because of things like this. So this morning I just want to walk you through some of the reasons that could actually end up with your passport gone. So you may be fine in all kinds of ways. You are citizen but you will not be able to leave the US. Or if you're currently outside the US and you have a passport, you may not even realize that the current person you have has already been invalidated. You cannot travel with it.

[00:01:21]In fact, the only thing they can do for you is to let you travel back to the US.

[00:01:25]You can't use it to travel to a third country.

[00:01:28]So if you know this may not be new, but if you don't, there are some figures that even for me I'm finding shocking based on what I've recently run. So sit down, let's have a conversation, and I'll walk you through what I've learned.

[00:01:41]Good morning, friends. Welcome to Kisumu, my friends. Um, somewhere within Kisumu, I'm checking out one of my sites. Uh, basically, they're installing uh the AC system and we are doing waterproofing uh upstairs and I'll show you all of that. Now, this this is actually a very beautiful building and it's only on one level, but Kisumu can be fairly hot, especially if you're closer to uh the city. And so this client decided to ask for AC and so we're actually installing central air which is what you're looking at right now. Now what I will always recommend if you're ever thinking about things like this or if you're building anywhere in Africa, please make sure that your designers ensure you have very high walls. I always recommend don't do anything less than 3 m. Uh but I love 3.2. 3.2 3 m somewhere around there is wonderful because then it allows us to do these things. Now the design of this house was somebody else. I I got it after they had started and so we just uh finishing the rest and what I found out that this this house was so poorly designed in terms of the height of the wall. So now that we're doing the AC, it's become quite a bit of a headache.

[00:02:53]But one way or the other, it's going to work. So make sure you do high walls.

[00:02:57]Now, because this is a flat roof, one of the many options, the roof, flat roof, concrete, uh this is probably one of the most expensive type of roofs you can do if you're doing concrete, but it works really well for folks who want to have a chill spot on top. The problem with that is make sure you're working with people who know what they're doing when it comes to waterproofing.

[00:03:16]So, today is actually we are starting the final step in terms of waterproofing. They've done a lot of screening. There's so much work that has already gone up there. I'll show you when we go upstairs. Uh, but the final step would be Terazzo as a final layer to do that. So anyway, friends, if you enjoy what we do, support us. All I'm asking is subscribe. Check and subscribe. And if you need help with things of this sort, my number is right here. I'm happy to link you up with people who know what they're doing. My job as a consultant is simply to link you up with the right people and to help you uh negotiate the logistics required to pull off such topics. I mean such such uh projects. So, with this client, we actually doing uh water suppression system, which is what you're looking at on the roof, and then you do the AC. By the time this is all done, you will not be able to see any of that stuff.

[00:04:04]So, anyway, friends, let's talk about uh what potentially could happen to American citizens when it comes to passports. Now, and I suppose some of these rules might be different for people who hold different passports. Uh I I don't know what Canada does. I don't know what the UK does. I don't know what Australia or the other folks does, but for specifically United States citizen, here are some restrictions you want to be aware of. Number one, it turns out that if you owe child support to the tune of uh $2,500, that seems to be enough for them to actually cancel your passport. In my mind, I always thought it must have been some kind of astronomical amount for them to do that. But it turns out as little as 2,500, that's enough for them to take away your passport. And so that means if you're African, I don't know how that work. If you're dual citizen, I wonder whether you can travel on a Kenyan passport, which I mean technically I think you still can, but on your way back, you're going to need to show that you have the legal right to come back to the US. And I don't know how you do that without a US passport. So yes, as an African or as a person who lives in diaspora, $2,500 in child support back child support uh areas can cost you your passport. Number two, uh when you owe debt to the IRS, which typically happens, nothing really unusual, especially people who do business, people who uh are not formally employed. This is a very typical thing because you pay your own taxes, you manage all of that. Whenever you do your taxes at the end of the year, it is possible for folks to owe money. I always owe something, but there's ways to manage that. So, number one, I say make sure you have a good bookkeeper who will help you address that so that you're taking advantage of all the legal ways to minimize your tax obligation.

[00:05:54]But even after all that, sometimes you still end up owing money. And for the most part, my experience has been that the IRS is generally okay if you're doing the right thing and trying trying to make it right. like you owe something but you're making payments. Yes, there'll be there'll be fees and things like that added to it, but if you're paying for the most part the uh their response isn't overly aggressive, but from what I'm gathering, if you owe like $59,000, that is enough for them to take away your passport.

[00:06:25]And I'm wondering what how this works, especially for people who do business that require travel. Like if you work for an airline or if you do business that requires crossber traveling and and you owe either child support or IRS and they yank away your passport. I don't even know how that works. But I'm not surprised either because the US has certain systems that are intentionally built uh to really really make life difficult. Like when somebody's arrested and convicted and all that, sometimes they get them out on parole. But if you look at the conditions for parole, it's uh it it's almost designed to guarantee that these folks are going to go back to jail. Uh so some of these processes are quite counter counter uh uh productive to the point where I always say that uh for the most part you you you want to make sure that you don't owe anything or if you do like many people owe just make sure you do uh some kind of a scheduled payment where you can actually show that you're doing something about it because again my experience is limited but one thing I know for sure is that when you were doing your part even if you still owe money but you're doing your part you're contributing often times you you they may be able to work out a deal with you. So keep that in mind. Now besides that unfortunately sometimes uh people end up getting caught up in some uh criminal issues and some of those things uh can still end up taking away your ability to move. And by the way I I suspect a passport is just like a driver's license. It's not a right. I think it's a privilege. But I could be wrong on that. For people who are more educated you can tell us. And if it is a privilege that means you don't have to have it. The government can choose to take it. That document actually belongs to them. So they can always take it away. So for people who say for example have an active arrest warrant. Uh you may not even know it. If you do, yes, but some people may not even know it.

[00:08:22]You only find out when you're heading out, you're crossing the border and somebody scans your name and they realize, oh, you're needed somewhere.

[00:08:28]They'll take you.

[00:08:30]or for people who are either on probation or parole. Some of those uh uh uh parole or probation restrictions even make it difficult for you to even leave your county. Forget about leaving your state. Uh I've seen cases where folks are can are not even allowed to if if they have to leave their city, they have to ask for permission. So that can certainly mess up with your with your uh ability to move around. And relatedly also when there are court orders uh that may be a problem for you uh especially when there's an on ongoing case that requires you to be around then you may not be able to travel. I've seen cases where uh because they know that many of us are dual citizen one of the first things they will do is to ask you to deliver your passports with them cuz as a dual citizen you could easily take off and I've seen people do that where something happens you know a case is coming you just buy a ticket and then you take off people do that and so if they determine that you're a flight risk they one of the first things they'll do is to take away your passports to make sure you're not going anywhere now can you leave the US? Absolutely. Will it be legal? Of course not. And so if you're caught, then that's a whole different story altogether. Cuz then you have to respond to the legal questions around you living without permission. Uh now sometimes even bail conditions, you may get bail and then the bail conditions include travel restrictions. So those kinds of things can mess people up. But for the most part, the majority of people I know from Africa, the criminal part is less of a concern. A few people may have that, but it's not usually a big deal. Now, sometimes uh there may be immigration issues that may impact your passport as well. So, just you want to make sure that you're okay with it, especially when it comes to things like names. I've had people get messed up when your name matches somebody else and then uh it looks like there's there's issues that need to be resolved with your immigration status. So, make sure you have none of that. And this this moves us to reason number four, the no-fly list.

[00:10:41]Now, people get on the no-fly list based on all kinds of reasons. And and you can look it up. If you want to learn more about it, you can look it up. And by the way, what you're looking at is just the initial stage for setting up a Terzo flooring. Dazzo is actually one of the best ways to prevent uh water from seeping into your concrete roof. The main challenge I have with Terzo in Kenya is that I I they don't seem to do high quality terazzo. I mean I live in Long Beach uh and when I travel around I see the terazzo that folks do here in the US. It's like it's like night and day. So back at home I have not found very good terazzo guys who do a clean job. They do it but it's not it doesn't come out as best as I would like it to be. So anyway, when it comes to the no-fly list, the biggest headache for many immigrants or for many Africans has always been a mix in names where your name matches somebody's name, a name that is on the no-fly list. And this is more of a risk particularly for people who have names like uh Abdul, Kamis, Fatma, you know what I'm talking about.

[00:11:48]If you have names that are Arabic sounding or names that are Muslim sounding, it's there's a high chance that your name might match somebody else that is not you. Uh and and those things happen. The challenge with this particular problem is that resolving them is very difficult and you don't know about it until you at the counter you're trying to leave the US cuz often they don't even tell you you're on the no-fly list. uh you you buy your ticket, you're all set up, you get to the counter, you're trying to uh print a boarding pass, then you realize, oh, you're not getting a boarding pass, and then often times the airlines are also not very forthcoming as to what's going on. So, by the time you find out what's going on, your plane has already left.

[00:12:30]So, you miss your flight and you think you can make a few phone calls and sort it out. Before you know it, it's a year and you still can't leave. Uh so, the no fly list fiasco is one of the worst to be involved with. I don't know anybody who's gone through it personally, but I've seen countless stories of people going to the airport and finding their on the no-fly list for simply because of a mix in dips, but it's one of those things that is not easy to resolve. Now, that said, there's other reasons why you may not be able to use your passport, and that may have nothing to do with the US, but everything to do with the country that you're going to. cuz I don't think uh Canada maybe Canada, UK and a few other countries if you have a felony in your record uh or maybe certain types of fellow if you have them on your record you may not be allowed to enter those countries and again I I don't know anybody personally who has had that issue but I know especially some of these celebrities who've had a very uh shady past some of them have had difficulty going to these countries to perform so yes your passport may be fine the US may have no issue with you But based on your record, some third countries may not let you in. So in general, all I say is that the one thing about child support, like I said, I I I cannot judge anybody because when you listen to people's stories, you'll find out that there are few people who are being reckless when it comes to paying child support. I know that. But the vast majority of people I know in my circles find themselves in that spot for reasons beyond their control. So I don't judge anybody. these things happen. But if you ever get caught up with child support alimony and all that, even if you're not capable of paying whatever you owe, just show that you're doing something. Uh that that can give you at least a legs to stand on if you're asking for somebody to at least show you lenency.

[00:14:22]Don't just sit there and ignore it. When it comes to taxes, especially for people, I see this a lot with my friends who do tracking or self-employment, uh where you go for years without filing taxes, those things can really mess you up. So anyway friends, uh that's all I wanted to share with you. Thank you for listening and I will see you tomorrow.

[00:14:41]Bye.