The passports of Americans convicted of sex offenses against a child will soon bear a mark of their crimes.
The State Department announced this week that a sentence noting their conviction would be added to the back inside cover of offenders’ passports.
Once the State Department receives their names from the Department of Homeland Security, it will begin notifying affected sex offenders that their passports were being revoked and reissued with the new language.
Smaller passport cards, which can be used only for very limited international travel, will not be issued to such offenders because they lack room for a similar message. It was not immediately clear how many passport holders would be affected.
The policy, which went into effect on Tuesday, was required under legislation passed in 2016 known as “International Megan’s Law.” It is named for Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old girl from New Jersey whose rape and murder in 1994 inspired a slew of namesake laws that allow neighbors to be notified when a sex offender moves to their community. Her attacker, a neighbor, had previous child sex offense convictions.
The new passport law, which is intended “to protect children and others from sexual abuse and exploitation, including sex trafficking and sex tourism,” has drawn criticism.
The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws, a nonprofit that fights for the civil rights of registered sex offenders, sued the government last year over the measure, arguing that it violated the constitutional rights of registered sex offenders.
Damn Janice made the New York times. Consider yourself on Trump’s enemy list haha. He’s gonna start tweeting soon. We’ve finally made it to the big time.
How does this even work if I don’t live in the country anymore???
Convictions? Not to jump on the “fake news” train, but these people must make this crap up as they go along. Like ALL RC laws, it’s a one-size-fits-all approach. Regardless of “conviction”, the exact same marking applies to all RC’s.
I am sure the law makers that write this garbage practice Voodoo in their closets.
So, how will this affect those with non child related offenses (expunged battery)? When I’ve travelled, I’ve had issues or been questioned when re-entering! I’ve visited Canada, PI, Costa Rica etc, but not for a while. Please only respond if you know something. Thanks
“Once the State Department receives their names from the Department of Homeland Security, it will begin notifying affected sex offenders that their passports were being revoked and reissued with the new language.”
Did the State Department actually issue this edict? Or have they indicated that they are applying the Mark for those newly issued Passports?
Okay so I just got an email back from the US embassy here and the said they couldn’t give me an answer on whether my passport had been revoked and that I had to request it from here https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/services/obtain-copies-of-passport-records.html
Which has you request it from the national archives as a privacy act request. And you have to contact them here
The National Archives and Records Administration maintain records for passport issuances prior to 1925. You may contact them at the following address:
National Archives and Records Administration
Archives 1
Reference Branch 8th & Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20408
Telephone: 1-866-325-7208 or 202-357-5411
Email: inquire@nara.gov
Which is such a pain in the ass. I have gone through 3 government agencies so far. Gonna email the national archives now.
Okay so I double checked with the US embassy. They told me the only way I could find out if my passport were revoked would be to fill out the request to the national archives. This process could take up to a month.
So it takes less than a day to revoke something but is a pain to figure out if it has been revoked. 🤔 what a headache.
If you could, it’s 85 degrees day and night. Most restaurants are 24 hours and have cable,wifi and cheap food. And it’s super common for people to just hang out and sleep outside. We had a problem with foreign beggars because they were making 2-3 times the average income of locals who work full time.
The people here are friendly and mind their own business but are willing to help out people who need it. (as long as you’re not Indian or Bengali or a Vietnamese woman.)
This is the email I just received from the national archives which basically led me full circle and back to where I started with the NPIC who told me they had no information
The information that you are looking for is not at the National Archives and Records Administration, but can be found at the the State Department. See the information below:
The National Archives has passport applications from October 1795 – March 31, 1925; the US Department of State has passport applications from April 1925 to the present. We only have the indexes, however, through 1923. For records after 1925 (or for indexes after 1923), please see the information below about State Department records.
PASSPORT APPLICATIONS IN THE STATE DEPARTMENT
The State Department Passport Services has passport applications from 1925 to the present. It also has the indexes for 1923-1925.
Passport Information from the State Department
http://travel.state.gov/passport/npic/npic_872.html
We hope this information is helpful.
This IML thing is confusing IE this part where it defines covered offenders
(1) the term “covered sex offender” means an individual who—
(A) is a sex offender, as defined in section 21503(f) of title 34; and
(B) is currently required to register under the sex offender registration program of any jurisdiction
This means it applies to all people on the registry does it not?
In another passage it says that they will determine it based on who is on the NSOR which it turns out other than the words “out of country.” I am not.
The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Attorney General, and their agencies, officers, employees, and agents, shall not be liable to any person for any action taken under this section.
This part got to me to saying that no one is held liable if it goes to shit
You’ve aroused my curiosity. It could be one of four or five places, offhand.