United States passport

Cover of a Biometric United States passport issued in 2007.

United States passport 1930

United States passport 1976

Cover of a non-electronic United States passport

United States passports are issued to citizens and nationals of the United States of America for the purpose of international travel. They entitle the bearer to the protection of U.S. consular officials overseas. Responsibility for their issuance lies with the Passport Services of the Bureau of Consular Affairs within the U.S. Department of State, which has numerous acceptance agencies and agents. For citizens abroad, passport applications are forwarded back to a passport center by the local U.S. embassy or consulate.

History

American consular officials issued travel documents to some citizens of some of the thirteen states during the War for Independence (1775-1783). The Department of Foreign Affairs of the war period did so as well, and the department continued to issue passports while the Articles of Confederation were in effect. Passports were simple one-sided sheets with a description of the holder, and were valid for three to six months. The minister to France, Benjamin Franklin, based the design of passports issued by his mission on that of the French passport (Lloyd, pp. 71-72).

In July, 1789, the Department of Foreign Affairs was carried over by the government established under the Constitution. In September of that year, the name of the department was changed to Department of State. The department handled foreign relations and issued passports, and, until the mid-nineteenth century, had various domestic duties.

From 1789 and for decades thereafter, passports were issued not only by the Department of State, but also by states and cities, and by notaries public. Passports issued by American authorities other than the Department of State breached propriety and caused confusion abroad. Some European countries refused to recognize passports not issued by the Department of State, unless United States consular officials endorsed them. The problems led the Congress in 1856 to give to the Department of State sole authority to issue passports (Lloyd, pp 80-81).

The League of Nations held conferences to standardise passports, but nothing came of them. The United Nations also tried to do so. Passport standardisation was accomplished in 1980 under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization.

In 1926, the United States, which was not a member state of the League of Nations, introduced the type III passport. This had a stiff red cover, with a window cutout through which the passport number was visible. That style of passport contained a total of 32 pages (Lloyd, p. 130).

Passports had green covers from 1941 until 1976, when the cover was changed to blue, as part of the U.S. bicentennial celebration.

In 1981, the United States became the first country to introduce a machine-readable passport (Lloyd, p. 155).

Green covers were again issued from April, 1993, until March, 1994, and included a special one-page tribute to Benjamin Franklin in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the United States Consular Service.

In 2001, the Department of State started issuing passports with digital photos.

In fiscal year 2005, the Department of State issued 10,123,424 passports.[1]

On August 14, 2006, the Department of State began issuing electronic passports, which contain RFID (radio-frequency identification) chips. A chip stores an electronic version of passport data (name, date of birth, etc.) about a passport holder, and a digitized picture of the passport holder. Chips have capacity to store additional data (e.g., fingerprints; iris scans).

Chip data are scanable by readers, a process which is intended to speed up immigration processing. A privacy concern is that there could be illicit reading of chip data, in that a chip does not have to plugged into a reader in order for data therein to be read. In the manner of toll-road chips, passport chips can be read when they are proximate to readers. This characteristic opens the possiblity of surreptitious reading of a chip by a government tracking a person's movements, or by a criminal intending identity theft.

Though passports have shielded covers which make it difficult to read chips when passport covers are closed, and though chips have access-control and encryption mechanisms, those features are ineffective when a passport is open, such as when a passport is presented at a hotel, a bank, or an Internet cafe.

The Department of State says that, by the end of 2006, all newly-issued regular passports will contain chips. Other sources expect it will be mid-2007 before all newly-issued passports will have chips. [2] [3] [4] [5] Non-electronic passports will remain valid until they expire, whether issued before or during the transition.

Types of passports

Cover of a biometric official United States passport.

Diplomatic (black cover)

Issued to American diplomats accredited overseas, or to those who reside in the United States but frequently travel abroad for diplomatic work. Valid for a maximum of five years from date of issue.

Official (maroon cover)

Available to U.S. citizen employees of the Federal government assigned overseas (either permanent or temporary) and their dependents, and to members of Congress who are traveling on official business. Valid for a maximum of five years from date of issue.

Tourist/Regular (blue cover)

Ordinary travel passports issued to citizens and nationals. Valid for ten years for those aged 16 and over. Valid for five years for those aged 15 and under. A variation is the "no-fee" passport issued to U.S. citizen dependents of military personnel stationed overseas. Such passports contain an appropriate endorsement and are subject to the same restrictions on personal travel as official passports. [6] Also, passports issued as "no-fee" have a reduced validity, normally for a maximum of five years rather than ten.

Emergency

Issued to travelers overseas whose document was stolen, misplaced or mutilated. Usually valid for one re-entry into the United States. Can be issued at a nearby United States Embassy or Consulate.

No "lookalike" U.S. passports

Unlike British passports, there are no "lookalike" U.S. passports; all persons of U.S. nationality receive the same passport, regardless of where they live. By acts of Congress, born or naturalized residents of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands are full U.S. citizens with the exact same legal rights as other citizens, including the right to request a standard U.S. passport. (The inability of citizens living in these territories to vote for Congress or President is based solely on where they live; territorial citizens who move to the mainland can vote, while mainland citizens who move to the territories cannot.)

Born or naturalized residents of American Samoa and Swains Island are nationals, but not citizens, of the U.S.; although they do not have voting rights, they have the same rights to enter, live and work in the U.S. as U.S. citizens, so they receive the same passports as citizens. Indeed, non-citizen nationals are so unusual in the U.S. that the State Department has chosen for cost and security reasons to issue them standard U.S. passports as proof of their status, rather than the "certificate of non-citizen nationality" allowed by U.S. law. [7] However, these passports are endorsed with the text "the bearer of this passport is a U.S. national, not a U.S. citizen."

Second passport

It is a long-standing policy of the Department of State that no person should be in possession of more than one valid U.S. passport. Nonetheless, as an exception to the regulations, the Department may issue a second passport under limited circumstances such as prolonged visa processing delays, or for safety/security reasons such as, for example, travel between Israel and nations that refuse to grant entry to persons with evidence of travel to Israel. Second passports are valid for two years. [8] In addition, holders of diplomatic, official, and other "no-fee" passports may simultaneously hold a tourist passport as well.

Physical appearance

U.S. passports are dark blue (except as noted above), with the Great Seal of the United States emblazoned in the center of the front cover. The word "PASSPORT" is inscribed above the national seal and "United States of America" is inscribed below. however, the “e-passport” cover will have the biometric symbol at the bottom, as in other countries. U.S. e-passport The standard U.S. passport contains 24 pages; 48-page passports for business and other classes of frequent travellers are no longer available, though extra visa pages may be added.[9]

Identity Information Page

The first two pages of a non-electronic U.S. passport

• Photo of Passport Holder
• Type (P)
• Code (USA)
• Passport No.
• Surname
• Given Names
• Nationality
• Date of Birth
• Place of Birth
• Sex
• Date of Issue
• Authority
• Date of Expiration
• Endorsement

The information page ends with the Machine Readable Zone.

Passport Note

The passports contain a note from the issuing country that is addressed to the authorities of all other countries, identifying the bearer as a citizen of that country and requesting that he or she be allowed to pass and be treated according to international norms, first in English, then repeated in French, and in more recent passports in Spanish as well. The note inside of U.S. passports states:

In English:

The Secretary of State of the United States of America hereby requests all whom it may concern to permit the citizen/national of the United States named herein to pass without delay or hindrance and in case of need to give all lawful aid and protection.

in French:

Le Secrétaire d'Etat des Etats-Unis d'Amérique prie par les présentes toutes autorités compétentes de laisser passer le citoyen ou ressortissant des Etats-Unis titulaire du présent passeport, sans délai ni difficulté et, en cas de besoin, de lui accorder toute aide et protection légitimes.

and in Spanish:

El Secretario de Estado de los Estados Unidos de América por el presente solicita a las autoridades competentes permitir el paso del ciudadano o nacional de los Estados Unidos aqui nombrados, sin demora ni dificultades, y en caso de necesidad, prestarle toda la ayuda y protección licitas.

The term "citizen/national" is used in the note because residents of American Samoa and Swains Island (who are nationals but not citizens) receive the same passports as U.S. citizens. Due to these translations, as of May 2007, all passports incidentally identify Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State (January 26, 2005 - present) as a man. For instance, "El Secretario de Estado" (The [male] Secretary of State) would otherwise be expected "La Secretaria de Estado" (The [female] Secretary of State).

Languages

The data page's field names, the note requesting entry, the warning on the second page that the bearer is responsible for obtaining visas, the "entries" and "departures" notes on the visa pages, and the title "amendments and endorsements" on the back pages are currently printed in English, French and Spanish. These were only printed in English and French on older passports; U.S. passport procedures issued in 1996 (see "The U.S. Passport" under "Sources" below) only refer to English and French.

English has always been used as it is the de facto national language of the United States; French (the historic language of international diplomacy) is also used as required by international passport standards. Spanish was added during the second Clinton administration in recognition of Spanish-speaking Puerto Rico; the change also indirectly recognizes the growing number of Spanish-speaking U.S. citizens.

United States biometric passports

The U.S. version of the biometric passport (which is also referred to as an "Electronic Passport") will only have digital imaging placed onto the contactless chip. This still provides an increased level of security, but not as complex as the European version. However, the chip used in the U.S. passport will be large enough (64 kilobytes) to allow it to contain additional biometric identifiers should the government decide to require them. The U.S. Department of State began issuing biometric passports to government officials and diplomats in early 2006. The Department began issuing regular biometric passports at its Colorado Passport Agency on August 14, 2006. [10] [11] [12] [13]

A high level of security became a top priority in late 2001 for the United States. This tightened security required border control to take steps in cracking down on counterfeit paper passports. In October 2004, the production stages of this high-tech passport commenced as the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) issued awards to the lowest bidders of the program. The awards totaled to roughly $1,000,000 for startup, development, and testing. The driving force of the initiative is the U.S. Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 (also known as the "Border Security Act"), which states that such smart card IDs will be able to replace visas. As for foreigners traveling to the U.S., if they wish to enter U.S. visa-free under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), they are now are required to possess machine-readable passports that comply with international standards. Additionally, for travelers holding a valid passport issued on or after October 26, 2006, such a passport must be a biometric passport if used to enter the U.S. visa-free under the VWP.

A number of products are available on the market that will allow a concerned carrier of RFID-enabled passports to shield their data.

Visa-free access for U.S. passport holders

According to a study done by Henley & Partners, the United States has a Henley Visa Restrictions Index of 130, which means that U.S. citizens enjoy visa-free access to 130 countries and territories. The U.S. is ranked 1st in the study in terms of international travel freedom together with Finland and Denmark. [14]

It is estimated that 187 countries and territories granted visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to ordinary U.S. passport holders. 151 countries and territories are visa-free accessible. (visa on arrival for free counted) Visa prior to arrival or pre-arrangement required for countries or territories not mentioned below. [15]

Africa

Countries and Territories	Conditions of access
Botswana	90 days [16]
British Indian Ocean Territory	visa-free access
Comoros	visa issued upon arrival [17]
Côte d'Ivoire	90 days [18]
Djibouti	30-day visa issued upon arrival for DJF5,000 [19]
Egypt	30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$15 [20]
Equatorial Guinea	visa-free access [21]
Ethiopia	3-month visa issued upon arrival for US$40 [22][23]
Kenya	3-month visa issued upon arrival for US$50 [24][25]
Lesotho	14 days [26][27]
Madagascar	90-day visa issued upon arrival for MGA28,000 [28]
Malawi	90 days [29]
Mauritius	6 months per year (tourist), 90 days per year (business) [30][31]
Mayotte	1 month [32]
Morocco	3 months [33][34]
Mozambique	30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$25 [35]
Namibia	90 days [36]
Niger	1-month issued upon arrival for XOF20,000 [37]
Réunion	3 months [38]
Rwanda	90 days [39]
Saint Helena	visa-free access
São Tomé and Príncipe	1-month visa issued upon arrival for US$50 [40]
Senegal	3 months [41]
Seychelles	1 month [42]
South Africa	90 days [43]
Swaziland	60 days [44]
Tanzania	visa issued upon arrival for US$50 [45][46]
Togo	1-month visa issued upon arrival for XOF10,000 ~ XOF35,000 [47]
Tunisia	4 months [48]
Uganda	6-month visa issued upon arrival for US$50 [49][50]
Zambia	visa issued upon arrival for US$25 (single), US$80 (multiple) [51][52]
Zimbabwe	3-month visa issued upon arrival for US$30 ~ 55 [53]

Americas

Countries and Territories	Conditions of access
Anguilla	3 months [54][55]
Antigua and Barbuda	1 month [56][57]
Argentina	90 days [58]
Aruba	3 months [59]
Bahamas	3 months [60]
Barbados	6 months [61][62]
Belize	90 days [63][64]
Bermuda	6 months [65][66]
Bolivia	90 days [67][68]
Canada	6 months [69][70]
Cayman Islands	30 days [71]
Chile	90-day passport validity long multiple entry visa issued upon arrival for US$100 [72]
Colombia	90 days [73][74]
Costa Rica	90 days [75]
Dominica	6 months [76]
Dominican Republic	30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$10 [77][78]
Ecuador	90 days [79][80]
El Salvador	90 days [81]
Falkland Islands	3 months [82]
French Guiana	3 months [83]
Greenland	3 months [84]
Grenada	3 months [85][86]
Guadeloupe	3 months [87]
Guatemala	90 days [88]
Guyana	3 months [89]
Haiti	3 months [90]
Honduras	3 months [91]
Jamaica	30 days [92][93]
Martinique	3 months [94]
Mexico	180 days [95][96]
Montserrat	3 months [97]
Netherlands Antilles	3 months [98]
Nicaragua	90 days [99]
Panama	30-day Tourist Card issued upon arrival for US$5 [100][101]
Peru	90 days [102]
Saint Barthélemy	3 months [103]
Saint Kitts and Nevis	14 days [104]
Saint Lucia	6 weeks [105][106]
Saint Martin	3 months [107]
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	3 months [108]
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1 month [109]
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	visa-free access [110]
Trinidad and Tobago	3 months [111]
Turks and Caicos Islands	30 days [112]
Uruguay	3 months [113][114]
Venezuela	3 months [115][116]
British Virgin Islands	30 days [117]

Asia

Countries and Territories	Conditions of access
Armenia	21-day visa issued upon arrival for US$30 [118]
Azerbaijan	30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$100 [119]
Bahrain	14-day visa issued upon arrival for BHD5 [120][121]
Bangladesh	15-day visa issued upon arrival for US$50 [122][123]
Brunei Darussalam	90 days [124]
Cambodia	30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$20 (tourist), US$25 (business) [125]
Republic of China (Taiwan)	30 days [126]
Georgia	90 days [127]
Hong Kong	90 days [128]
Indonesia	30-day visa issued upon arrival [129]
Iraq	visa issued upon arrival (free of charge) [130]
Israel	3 months [131]
Japan	90 days [132]
Jordan	visa issued upon arrival for JOD10 [133][134]
South Korea	90 days [135][136]
Kuwait	3-month visa issued upon arrival for KWD5 [137][138]
Kyrgyzstan	1-month visa issued upon arrival for US$36 ~ 70 (business),US$35 (single tourist),US$55 (multiple tourist) [139][140]
Laos	15-day visa issued upon arrival for US$30 [141]
Lebanon	1-month visa issued upon arrival(free of charge) [142][143]
Macau	30 days [144]
Malaysia	3 months [145]
Maldives	30 days [146]
Mongolia	90 days [147]
Nepal	60-day visa issued upon arrival for US$30 [148]
Oman	1-month visa issued upon arrival for OMR6 [149]
Philippines	21 days [150]
Qatar	21-day visa issued upon arrival for QAR55 [151][152]
Singapore	90 days (VWP) [153]
Sri Lanka	30 days [154]
Thailand	30 days [155]
Timor-Leste	30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$30 [156]
Turkey	3-month visa issued upon arrival for US$20, €15 [157]
United Arab Emirates	60 days [158]
Yemen	1-month visa issued upon arrival for YER10,500 [159]

Europe

Countries and Territories	Conditions of access
European Union
Austria	3 months in a half year [160][161]
Belgium	3 months in a half year [162][163]
Bulgaria	3 months in a half year [164][165]
Cyprus	3 months in a half year [166][167]
Czech Republic	3 months in a half year [168][169]
Denmark	3 months in a half year [170][171]
Estonia	3 months in a half year [172][173]
Finland	3 months in a half year [174][175]
France	3 months in a half year [176][177]
Germany	3 months in a half year [178][179]
Greece	3 months in a half year [180][181]
Hungary	3 months in a half year [182][183]
Republic of Ireland	3 months in a half year [184][185]
Italy	3 months in a half year [186][187]
Latvia	3 months in a half year [188][189]
Lithuania	3 months in a half year [190][191]
Luxembourg	3 months in a half year [192][193]
Malta	3 months in a half year [194][195]
Netherlands	3 months in a half year [196][197]
Poland	3 months in a half year [198][199]
Portugal	3 months in a half year [200][201]
Romania	3 months in a half year [202][203]
Slovakia	3 months in a half year [204][205]
Slovenia	3 months in a half year [206][207]
Spain	3 months in a half year [208][209]
Sweden	3 months in a half year [210][211]
United Kingdom	6 months [212]
Non-EU
Åland Islands	3 months
Albania	1 month with entry tax : €10 [213][214]
Andorra	3 months (same as France and Spain) [215]
Bosnia and Herzegovina	90 days [216]
Croatia	90 days [217][218]
Faroe Islands	3 months (same as Denmark) [219]
Gibraltar	visa-free access [220]
Guernsey	visa-free access [221]
Iceland	3 months in a half year [222]
Isle of Man	visa-free access[223]
Jersey	6 months [224]
Liechtenstein	3 months in half a year (same as Switzerland) [225]
Macedonia	3 months [226]
Moldova	90 days [227]
Monaco	3 months (same as France and Spain) [228]
Montenegro	90 days [229]
Norway	3 months in half a year [230]
San Marino	90 days (same as Italy) [231]
Serbia	90 days [232][233]
Switzerland	3 months in half a year [234]
Ukraine	[235][236]
Vatican City	3 months in half a year (same as Italy) [237]

Oceania

Countries and Territories	Conditions of access
American Samoa	visa-free access [238]
British Antarctic Territory	visa-free access
Cook Islands	31 days [239]
Fiji	4 months [240]
Guam	unlimited access [241]
Marshall Islands	visa-free access [242]
Federated States of Micronesia	30 days[243][244]
New Caledonia	3 months [245]
New Zealand	3 months [246]
Niue	30 days [247]
Northern Mariana Islands	unlimited access [248]
Palau	1 year [249][250]
Papua New Guinea	60-day visa issued upon arrival for PGK100 (tourist), PGK500 (business) [251]
Pitcairn Islands	visa-free access
French Polynesia	1 month [252]
Samoa	60 days [253]
Solomon Islands	3-month visitor permit issued upon arrival [254]
French Southern and Antarctic Lands	3 months [255]
Tokelau	free cruising permit can be obtain in Apia, Samoa [256]
Tonga	31-day visa issued upon arrival (free of charge) [257]
Tuvalu	1 month [258]
Vanuatu	30 days [259][260]
Wallis and Futuna	3 months [261]
Australia	pre-arrival Electronic Travel Authority required [262]
Norfolk Island	same as Australia [263]

Note that travel involving diplomatic and official passports normally requires the issuance of a visa, even if the destination country grants visa-free travel to holders of personal (blue) passports.

References

• Krueger, Stephen. Krueger on United States Passport Law (Hong Kong: Crossbow Corporation, 1999 and supplements) (2nd ed.).
• Lloyd, Martin. The Passport: The History of Man’s Most Travelled Document (England: Sutton Press, 2003). ISBN 0-7509-2964-2
• Passport information from Bureau of Consular Affairs website
• The U.S. Passport - Department of State (PDF)
• The U.S. Electronic Passport