The United States says it will step up efforts to revoke the passports of parents who owe more than $2,500 in child support.

The US Department of State announced on Thursday that the action is being carried out by the Donald Trump administration in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

According to the department, the measure is meant to guarantee that parents who fail to satisfy their financial responsibilities to their children face “real consequences.”

“U.S. law requires Americans to comply with child support obligations in order to receive a U.S. passport and allows the Department of State to revoke the passport of an individual who owes more than $2,500 in child support,” the statement reads.

The state department announced that it is now collaborating with HHS “on an unprecedented scale” to identify and penalise individuals with high overdue child support debt.

According to the statement, affected persons risk losing the right to travel internationally once their passports are revoked.

The agency advised parents with unpaid child support to pay their arrears as soon as possible to avoid consequences.

“Once a passport is revoked, it may no longer be used for travel,” the department said.

“Any American with significant child support debt should arrange payment to the relevant state or states now to prevent passport revocation.”

The department explained that passport eligibility would be restored only once outstanding debts were paid to the appropriate state child support enforcement agency and the applicant was no longer listed as overdue in HHS records.

“The State Department is putting American families first through our passport process,” the statement reads.