Your debt is not discharged after you leave the country. Payday and other short-term debt do not go away. But you can manage debt by discontinuing automatic repayment and working out something you can afford. It is important to prioritize how you want to spend your money.
- If you have time before leaving the country, you should contact your lenders, notify them of the situation and provide a forwarding address in your home country. Be sure to contact them both by phone and by mail, and send your notification by certified mail, return receipt requested.
- If you are subject to immediate deportation, you should keep a record of each of your lender’s contact information accessible and, if you can, send a payment to the lender upon arriving in your home country. You should also attempt to contact the lender after being deported to provide an updated mailing address.
- If you have granted a lender an ACH authorization to allow them to automatically withdraw money from your bank account, you may want to cancel the authorization.
- You may be eligible for an Extended Payment Plan (EPP) for your loan, if your loan meets certain requirements described above. You may also be able to work with your lender to extend your payment schedule or renegotiate your payment amount. Any changes to your loan should be in writing.
- You cannot be arrested solely for failing to repay a payday loan. However, if you are sued or a court judgment has been entered against you and you ignore a court order to appear, a judge may issue a warrant for your arrest.
- Beware of scams. Do not share sensitive information, including account information or credit card numbers, with people you do not know. Fraudsters may pose as law firms or debt collectors to attempt to collect the debt.