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Passport Card Available For Travel by Land and Sea Between U.S. and Adjacent Nations
The U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the new U.S. Passport Card is in full production. The Passport Card is a convenient, wallet-sized document for land and sea travel between the United States and Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. It is not valid for international travel by air.
Beginning in June 2009, travelers will be required to present a single Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) compliant document denoting both citizenship and identity when entering the United States through a land or sea border. The Passport Card fulfills that requirement.
More than 350,000 Americans pre-ordered the U.S. Passport Cards since the State Department began taking orders on Feb. 1, 2008. Over 7,600 cards have already been mailed to advance customers, and all pre-orders are expected to be filled by Sept. 30, 2008. After that initial distribution, expect the processing time for passport cards to be the same as for passport books—less than four weeks. Customers will be able to track the progress of their passport card application online beginning in mid-August.
The State Department is issuing this passport card in response to the needs of border resident communities for a less expensive and more portable alternative to the traditional passport book. The card has the same period of validity as a passport book: 10 years for an adult, five for children 15 and younger. The Passport Card is available for $45 for first-time adult applicants and $35 for children under 16. Adults who currently have valid passports can apply for the passport card by mail for $20.
The passport card will facilitate the frequent travel of Americans living in border communities by utilizing a vicinity-read radio frequency identification (RFID) chip. With this technology, DHS’ U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers will be able to access photographs and other biographical information stored in secure government databases before the traveler reaches the inspection booth so that inspection can be facilitated. For privacy protection, no personal information is stored on the electronic chip itself. The chip will have only a unique number pointing to a stored record contained in secure government databases.
For information on how to apply for a U.S. Passport Card or the traditional passport book please visit travel.state.gov.