Can You Be Arrested for Credit Card Debt When You Return to the US?

You will not be arrested for your unpaid debts entering or leaving the US.

That holds even if you were sued without your knowledge, and a judgment was entered in the courts.

Can a creditor come after you while you live abroad?

I have worked with many people to resolve debts that originated in the United States while they were abroad long term, for employment, for missions, or on a move they thought would be permanent. Some of those files had judgments where garnishment, bank levy, and property liens were real risks. But those typically apply in the state the judgment is issued.

Being sued abroad for debt originated in the USA is highly unlikely. In all of the files where I worked with people overseas, including the ones where judgments were involved, never has there been one where a risk to money or property in another country was part of the motivation for resolving the debts. It just does not happen with debts like credit cards.

Is it possible in theory? I suppose. Possible in the realm of reality today, not so much. And there would be many early warning signs that would let you plan and prevent it.

If you stop paying and are out of the country for a long stretch, or permanently, the normal collection cycles will start, but there is not much that will occur. I doubt you would even get collection calls.

Being sued without knowing it

There has been a big problem with people being sued for debts without proper legal notice being given. It is a concern, though not as high a one as it has been in the past.

You can change your address to a mail drop service that scans all of your mail and emails it to you, which prevents some of this concern. You can also put your creditors on notice that you are moving abroad, and have your address changed to your new one. That makes it hard for the bank, or a debt buyer that may later end up with the account, to say they legitimately served you at an address where you no longer live.

Finding out what happened to your old accounts

Start by pulling a copy of your credit reports. You are entitled to free copies from each of the three major credit bureaus at annualcreditreport.com, and you can also buy a copy directly from any of them. If the online request hits a snag because you do not have a US address, you can make the request through the mail, or purchase a 3 in 1 report directly from one of the bureaus.

Look at how each account shows the balance currently owed. If there is a zero balance owed, the account was likely sold to a debt collector. If there is a balance reported as owed today, you may still have to work with a collection agency to resolve it, if the creditor has placed your account with one.

The simplest thing to do is call the original creditor to find out the status of your account.

Settling from outside the US

Given how old debts like these are, I would encourage settling with them in order to resolve the debts, while saving as much money as you can.

You do not need to be in the US to do it. You can settle with a debt collector later, and from wherever it is you land. For anyone reading this, who is having to leave the US with unmanageable debt, consider setting up a mail scanning service. It will help you track creditor and collector communications sent to a previous address, which will keep you organized.

If you are still in the US and planning to leave, know that you generally need to have missed a few monthly payments before a legitimate settlement negotiation can occur. With most major credit card lenders, your best opportunities will come between 150 and 180 days late. I cover that timeline in why settling credit card debt is like running a race, and what to expect once an account is placed for collection in settling credit card accounts with a collection agency after charge off.