Wallet passport

In article
,
cruisemates wrote:

FYI: kids under 16 will still be able to use the old "two-document
option" even after 2009; a picture ID and a certifed birth
certificate. The irony of that is, how many kids under 16 have a
driver's license?

Indiana, anyway, will give out a state ID (non-DL) to anyone who
wants it at any age. Just have to be an Indiana resident.

[Default] Thus spake Marsha :

Nonnymus wrote:
Nonnymus wrote:

Perhaps this is old news, but it sure sounds like a good thing to me.
The Gummint is now issuing a wallet-sized version of the passport for
$20 if you already have one. It sure would simplify ID at airports
and Immigration and Naturalization ports.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...t_N.htm?csp=34

Can anyone identify any drawbacks that aren't apparent?


I just visited the official Gummint site and found:

The passport card will facilitate entry and expedite document processing
at U.S. land and sea ports-of-entry when arriving from Canada, Mexico,
the Caribbean and Bermuda. The card may not be used to travel by air.
It will otherwise carry the rights and privileges of the U.S. passport
book and will be adjudicated to the exact same standards.

Why not OK for travel by air?


Dunno. Why do you need a passport now for air travel to Canada, but not
by land or sea? Gummint doesn't do things logically - that would make
too much sense.

As of June of next year, if not sooner, you WILL need a passport for
land or sea travel to Canada. It's just that the PASS card (or
whatever it's being called) is an acceptable sub.

What's stupid is that it's good for 5 years and costs half as much as
a passport (not the $20 quoted above). You need proof of citizenship
(birth certificate or naturalization papers) and it will probably take
2 to 3 weeks to process.


Marsha/Ohio

[Default] Thus spake "Gregory C. Read"
:

"Nonnymus" wrote in message
...

Yup, after reading the fine print and the responses here, I see it more
like a National ID card, than a passport. Since I have enough crud in my
wallet now, I don't need another card.
--
Nonny

But I would have been very happy to be able to carry a real passport in my
wallet. Always a pain to have to carry the passport book.

This may come about in the next 5 years. The UK has a national ID in
the works or implemented (Crown Subjects please help me on this one).
It's "optional" but not having one becomes extremely painful.
Whitehall has proposed it as a standard to the EU to replace the book
passport. It has biometrics and is "forgery proof" (ha ha ha). We'll
see.

[Default] Thus spake Jack Hamilton :

On Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:45:13 -0500, Dillon Pyron
wrote:

What's stupid is that it's good for 5 years and costs half as much as
a passport (not the $20 quoted above). You need proof of citizenship
(birth certificate or naturalization papers) and it will probably take
2 to 3 weeks to process.

The passport card is valid for 10 years for adults, 5 years for
children under 16.

If you order it by mail, using an existing valid or recently expired
passport book as your proof of citizenship, it costs $20.

If you do not order it by mail, there is a $25 execution fee (for
adults), bring the total to $45 - still less than half the cost of a
passport.

The current backlog is 2 months. They claim that production started
on July 14.



Okay, this is a change from January.

350000? Wow.

But it's still almost worthless for any real travel.

On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:18:25 -0500, Dillon Pyron
wrote:

[Default] Thus spake Jack Hamilton :

On Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:45:13 -0500, Dillon Pyron
wrote:

What's stupid is that it's good for 5 years and costs half as much as
a passport (not the $20 quoted above). You need proof of citizenship
(birth certificate or naturalization papers) and it will probably take
2 to 3 weeks to process.

The passport card is valid for 10 years for adults, 5 years for
children under 16.

If you order it by mail, using an existing valid or recently expired
passport book as your proof of citizenship, it costs $20.

If you do not order it by mail, there is a $25 execution fee (for
adults), bring the total to $45 - still less than half the cost of a
passport.

The current backlog is 2 months. They claim that production started
on July 14.



Okay, this is a change from January.

350000? Wow.

But it's still almost worthless for any real travel.

For example, can it be used for sea entry into St. Pierre and
Miquelon? I don't know.