By Scott . . . I’m on the board of Illinois Voices for Reform and have been actively involved with the organization since 2012. I am on the registry for life as currently required by Illinois law due to an incident involving a minor back in 2008. I served two years of probation and successfully completed sex offender counseling in 2012. My wife and I love to travel, and we were fortunate to be able to travel to Europe for a week at the end of March. I gave the federally required 21 days international travel notice to my local police department. I had no problems traveling to Europe other than the usual hassle of being sent to secondary at O’Hare airport upon return to the U.S. which is typically a 5-10 minute inconvenience.
Approximately two weeks after I returned from Europe, the U.S. State Department sent out a passport revocation letter as required by International Megan’s Law. This letter arrived at my home via certified mail about a week after they sent it. The letter, as shown, requires me to immediately return my passport since under federal law my passport needs to contain words alerting countries that I was convicted of a sex offense against a minor. The government requires me to return my passport, and if I want a new one, I have to apply for one as if I have never had a passport. The expense will be around $200 for a new passport which includes obtaining a copy of my birth certificate ($26), another 10-year passport ($110) which, by the way, I had already renewed last year, and the execution fee ($35).
If the government requires this stamp on my passport, I can’t understand why they just don’t make me mail in the passport so that some overpaid government worker can stamp it and mail it back to me. Why does the government revoke my passport and make me go through the expense and hassle of renewing the passport?
Just keep in mind that people who support this harassment deserve to be punished. They are not Americans. They are not your neighbors. They are criminal, harassing terrorists who cannot mind their own business or leave other people alone. Their intent is to harm people, their spouses, and their children.
If this wasn’t punishment and harassment then the more effective way would be to e-mail the appropriate authorities at your destination. Why is allowing non-professionals at service desks who see your passport doing justice or protecting children? And what does the person at the airline counter do when they see your passport? They notify the appropriate authorities, which could have been done before the traveler left. No, this is clearly about public humiliation as a form of punishment. Otherwise a more effective and professional confidential means would be made. If a person is a drug smuggler it isn’t stamped on their passport, but you can be sure the authorities know they are coming to town.
And what happens if you simply refuse to send in your passport? If this happens to me, I fully intend to commit civil disobedience and hold onto my existing passport. The silver lining may be that registrants could appeal their underlying conviction on the grounds that had they known about this passport requirement, they would have pled not guilty and gone to trial. I certainly intend to challenge my underlying misdemeanor conviction if I receive such a letter regarding my passport. We should all, at the very least, bring litigation in these cases. If you lack funds, most states will waive the court fees if you make little to no income, but you will of course have to file it yourself.
I like your civil disobedience idea. I’m not sure how it would work, because all U.S. passports clearly state that they are the property of U.S. government and may be revoked at its discretion. Nonetheless, the fact that we are being singled out for persecution and others (i.e., drug dealers, bank robbers, etc) are not being so identified, certainly would be a good argument of unequal treatment. (In my own humble I-am-not-a-lawyer opinion.)
I am hoping that the lawsuit against IML will result in an injunction against D.O.S. revoking any more passports. I will be heading to Europe in the fall and, as things stand at the moment, I expect that I will receive a revocation letter upon my return to the U.S.
I would suggest Scott gets the best Lawyer that he can, or joins a class-action lawsuit if possible in any way. Suing the idiots in government is the only chance for justice.
Scott certainly made the ultimate mistake, and that was being honest with with his Government and giving that travel notice. You might as well have said you were Jewish to the Nazi Regime.
When people get it through their heads finally that this government does NOT, in ANY WAY, have your best intentions at heart, then maybe they will stand together and say ‘Uncle sam, please shove these laws up your a**s where they belong’.
FYI, in NY if you’re on parole or probation and intend on travelling abroad, the probation office will require you to submit your old passport and apply for and obtain a new IML passport before you travel.
They say “We’re just following what IML clearly states you need to do”.
Congress acts to protect non US constituency interests….sold out for sure. Blame the russians. Housed in Utah the Angel Watch programs in that pesky NSA facility used to gather metadata under sec. 702 on All American Citizens, Biometric data as well. Head on over to eff.org for details on that.
We are not experiencing a centralization of power are we?
I wonder if this falls under the Eighth Amendment (Amendment VIII) of the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments. You now are paying more for (because you are paying again) for the same privileges
I do NOT TRAVEL (just in the us) If im asked via letter… not happening, letter going in the TRASH SAME as the JURY NOTICE Letters do ! LOL
A passport is great as a second id (bank account or whatever) yea they MA?Y enter it into the bank system but they dont use it for anything other than
I used to reply convicted on such and such, and would return it UNSIGNED I got a reply saying SIGN Here, tossed it in the trash to ! haha
Recently traveled to Asia to visit family and also for business. My wife and child hold both US and foriegn passports. I gave the 21 day notice. Upon arrival at destination I was held in custody under guard in a “hotel” room that I was obliged to pay for. Ended up being given a mattress on the floor in the middle of the night between two strangers. Wasnt allowed to purchase water or food. Luckily one of my fellow “inmates” allowed me to have some of his water as I had medications that I needed to take. Come morning I called the US Embassy to plead my case. 25 years since completing treatment with perfect record. Many trips overseas no problems. I was able to call Embassy who talked to local immigration who’s response was that I had been flagged by the US, not anything in thier local system. My passport was held and I was put on a plane to my layover after 24 hours. On the plane I politely demanded my passport which they refused to return, saying it would be returned in the US. At my layover I continued to demand my passport which after much polite argument was returned to me. On arrival in the US I scanned my passport in the automated system and was routed to an agent. I presented not my valid passport but my expired passport to the agent out of fear that it would be confiscated or marked. This triggered 5 gaurds escorting me to inspection. After they assured me that my passport would not be marked, I finally presented my valid passport, and after inspection, and confiscating my expired passport I was allowed to leave. Now months later I recieve a letter saying my passport has been revoked and that I need to return it and apply for a Scarlet letter. Now my plans to retire on the property we own seems unachievable. I’ve already made my mind up as to my course of action, and the constitutionality in this matter, but thought it might be useful to get input and share my experience with others.
Is there an updated list of countries able 2 travel with the new stamped passport?
I would like to know if I have to pay my restatotion before i can get off prole I owe 198.00
Why hasn’t anyone raised an 8th amendment violation claim on this? There already seems to be precedence in rulings that specifically mention the idea of “public shaming” as being cruel and unusual. If having a special mark on your passport denoting you are a RC that, to me, is the very definition of public shaming as every official you hand that passport will automatically assume you are some sort of monster etc etc. First time posting, eagerly awaiting the outcome from the Colorado case, not a lawyer but from what I have read and what I think I understand IML (or at the very least the provision requiring special marks) would be unconstitutional.
And not to be “the crazy guy in the room” because I know it is “only” a mark on a passport.. but I think I remember what happened the last time a group of people were forced to wear (or present) a mark telling people “what they were” it ended pretty badly..
@Will Allen
I am going to live my life like that from now on because while I personally know quite a few RC’s who have never been harassed or messed with I will not take the chance. I was a marksman before and anything I did with a rifle can be done with a compound or crossbow. I will not take any chances. Even if it never actually happens I will always be prepared. You can do or say whatever you want about me. Come after my fiancee or our girls and I will put you in the ground. Not trying to sound macho, just plain facts. You don’t mess with someone I love because you read something online and without even knowing all the details make a decision that you will now be a secondary judge and enact your own punishment.
As to things expanding to include people that are not RC’s.. It can very well happen. Historically speaking the moment a society grants a government the power to abolish the rights of a certain group deemed to be “undesirable” things never just stop there. Not to draw overly cataclysmic comparisons but the Jews started off with simple things being taken away. Then it was wearing a mark on their shirts and having that mark on their “papers”.. then it was kristallnacht.. eventually it was systematic destruction. And it was not just Jews, contrary to popular belief. It was jews, gypsies, “mentally unfit”, Perverts (homosexuals), and political dissidents along with some Christians as well. My point is that any time that a government is allowed to abolish the rights of one group they never stop there. Maybe I’m catastrophizing but how many everyday people out there would be perfectly fine with any and all RC’s being shot, regardless of the nature or seriousness of their crime. How hard do you think it would be to get them to support the same treatment of another group of people they are told are dangerous?
@AO
Your assessment is correct, they have indeed twisted in ways that would make a contortionist squirm in order to ignore the facts. I am curious to see what would happen if the states that have their registries tied to criminal statutes are challenged on the basis that you cannot call something a civil action if there are criminal statutes tied to it. I’m not a lawyer of course but consider this.. If you fail to register it is a felony that will get you more prison time (sometimes more than you got for the actual offense) so how is it that you call it a civil action? Someone out there who is a legal beagle correct me if I’m wrong here but a “civil action” by definition is not a criminal proceeding right? Then how is it that you have criminal statutes attached to something that is defined as not being criminal in nature? Or am I missing something? Like I said, I’m new to all this. My skin crawls when I hear RSO and even though I paid my debt I know it wont truly be done until I’m off the registry. If then..
Despite the level of vitriol I see on the forums here (not that it isn’t justified mind you) I enjoy seeing that I’m not alone in this, that there are other people who have done and gone through what I’m going through now and they are still here. If they can do it so can I. I think the tide is indeed (slowly) turning. It’s not fast enough but it’s starting to. If we can just put this “frightening and high” BS and the static99 to bed once and for all we might stand a chance. As I said before I am eagerly awaiting the outcome in the Colorado ruling by judge Matsch. It may be limited scope at the moment but it has the potential of being big and every person who makes their living off our blood and by labeling us things we aren’t is in a panic. Good. Let the world see what vermin truly look like in the light of day. I pray to god that the (10th?) circuit upholds it. Typically I thought that unless the lower court “clearly erred in their ruling” the higher court would accept the outcome, barring any new revelations. Again, legal beagles out there, am I totally off base here?
I’m in the process of obtaining a visa to spend a length of time abroad. Once issued, the visa will be affixed to my US passport. Not wanting them to put this hard-earned visa into a passport that will be revoked, I renewed early with the intention of getting a new passport with the IML marker. The country issuing the visa won’t care about the marking since they already know about my status. I paid the money and got the new passport this week. It did NOT have the IML marking.
I made contact with the registration specialist here in SE Wisconsin looking for advice. She reached out to her contact with the US Marshal service about the passport issue.
Here’s the reply from the US Marshal agent I received through the registration specialist:
“I just got word on your guy that he is fine. The process to identify and mark all passports is going to be a slow process. Unless he is notified that he needs to get a new passport with the identifier, he is fine to utilize what he has. They are currently prioritizing the cases and doing those first. Hopefully this answers his question.”
In other words, my new (unmarked) passport is valid, for now. Great. My guess is that what makes someone a priority is when they actually make use of their passport and travel abroad, so I will probably be good for one trip out of the country, and then I’ll have my new passport revoked after I return. And then I’ll have to apply for a duplicate visa. Oy.
You’d think that sending ones passport in for renewal would get one prioritized, but apparently not. Looks like they’ll make this as difficult as possible, not necessarily intentionally but more likely due to their lack of ability to get the new system up to speed and to issue the proper passports.
If you are off registry, your passport is no longer marked.
As of Feb 2018, I completed a 8 year deferred probation for sexual assault (child 14). Technically, I am NOT a convicted felon. I applied for my passport in July 2018 and received it in August 2018. I noticed it did NOT come with any special marking. Am I missing something?
Just found out about this law since I live out side the us as an expat. How long are those new passports good for
Why is no one concerned about being flagged upon arrival at destination and being sent back to origin? The indentifier is problematic as it is, but to have scheduled and paid for a trip, only to be apprehended and forced to return to the US is my real fear in this unfair legislation. Am I correct in the assumption of this protocol? Thank you.
Lots of us are concerned. Patience seems to be the concept. Europe is one of our last places to travel in. My passport is now revoked. I will be applying for my stamped one soon. I am hoping to document enough travel to continue European travel when visa’s become the norm in 2021. I do not travel where I might be sent back. I document clearly my travel dates to be sorna compliant. I’ve donated several thousand to narsol & ACSOL. check out the get involved section of acsol/conference calls also int. travel section. lots of up to date info. Informative but travel seems to be eroding quickly.
I have just recieved my 7th, yes you read that crrectly, 7th passport now with NO marking. I am a RSO and this is what I feel is the latest ploy to be able to refuse rso’s from leaving the United States.
I have all 7 envelopes from the US State Department for all passports recieved.
The 7th passport with NO marking at all, even though I sent a letter each time informing that I was a registered sex offender.