Can i be arrested if i have debt when i arrive to US?

[bryan001]

Kansas

I am a British Citizen. I was in the US from 2008-2011 for education purposes. But then i could not pay my fees due to financial crisis and i left US in 2011. Now, i am planning to go back to the US and i would like to know if court warrants can be issued if a student is unable to pay his tuition fees (even if he signed a payment plan statement with the university for installment payment plan). Can the University file a court order against me and can i be arrested on my arrival to the States?

 

[Proserpina]

Kansas

I am a British Citizen. I was in the US from 2008-2011 for education purposes. But then i could not pay my fees due to financial crisis and i left US in 2011. Now, i am planning to go back to the US and i would like to know if court warrants can be issued if a student is unable to pay his tuition fees (even if he signed a payment plan statement with the university for installment payment plan). Can the University file a court order against me and can i be arrested on my arrival to the States?

Nope. We don't have debtor's prisons unless there is fraud involved.

(Or a child support debt)

 

[single317dad]

There is a possibility that you were ordered to appear for a court hearing on your debt and failed to do so. In that case, if the court deemed you had been properly served the notice of the hearing (sometimes the standards are pretty loose), they may issue a warrant for your arrest for contempt. The purpose of that warrant would be to ensure your appearance at court, not to incarcerate you for any crime of indebtedness. The odds are low, but the possibility is there. You would not likely be "arrested upon arrival"; more likely a warrant would be revealed if you were stopped for a traffic violation in the same or nearby jurisdiction as the court case.

Do you know if the creditor actually sued you? If so, do you know if a civil judgment was awarded to them? Do you know if there were any supplementary hearings?

Here is general information from the Brooklyn Law School regarding civil contempt:

http://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1303&context=faculty

Here is more relevant information in a discussion specific to the state of Kansas:

https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/how-can-an-arrest-warrant-be-issued-in-a-civil-cas-1738865.html