Credit Card Debt

I am looking to go back to the States for Christmas, as the job I am in now is the first job in my life that I get enough paid holiday days to do so. I am also trying to work a crap load of overtime to pay for my ticket and other things I need to pay over here. Here is my situation though... back home I have quite a bit of credit card debt I owe, I have no clue how much all together, but it's with different comapnies. I do know a few have been paid off by creditors and in turn I have no clue who I owe now as I wasn't getting my mail for a long period of time. By now my roommates back home have probably put it all through the paper shreder. The other thing I owe is my Student Loan, which is my priority when it comes to paying back any of my debt from the States. I haven't been able to pay anything yet because when I was in the States I was out of a job, when I came to the UK for the first 6 months I couldn't work and relaized I had to go back to OH to apply for my Visa. So I was over there and the job I had was enough to save up for the Visa, the flight back and food to live on, when I got back in the UK on my Visa it took till somewhere around the end of January/Feb to find a job which paid barely nothing. My husband has been off on sick leave since Feb and isn't bringing in any money, so atm I am paying for everything and can not afford to send anything to Creditors. My question is this...If I were to go back to the States for the holidays, is there any way that they can put me in jail or force me to stay in the US? I ask because my husband is freaking out, and won't leave me alone until I find out  Any information would be very appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Why don't you contact your creditors to provide them with your proper address and work out a payment plan with them?

I don't think so. I'm not sure how they would know you are in the US anyway, and it isn't like there are debtor's prisons. I mean I know a few people in the US with thousands in debt and it isn't like they are in jail for it.

Also as far as your loans go, are they federal or private? If they are federal sign up for IBR with your loan company. Your payments will be income sensitive and may be as low as $0 a month. Also, your debt will be forgiven after 25 years in the program. Bonus!

Good luck!

I think it's best to contact the companies you owe money to, as debts that are going unpaid could affect the decisions of future visas you apply for in the UK. Explain your situation and see if anything can be worked out in regards to a payment plan. It's best to show you're making the best effort you can to try to work something out, rather than let it seem that you're just skipping out on them with no intentions of ever paying these debts.

As far as I am aware the only debt that affects international travel is unpaid child support.

Even in those cases they just catch them when they go to renew their passports.

If I were to go back to the States for the holidays, is there any way that they can put me in jail or force me to stay in the US?

No.  Owing credit card debt is not a criminal offense.

You might find my advice on the following thread helpful to you as well:

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=71103.msg986004#msg986004