Yesterday I applied for US passport book, but clerk at the post office suggested that I also get Passport card (extra $20) because it is good to have proof of citizenship on you all the time.
Is that true that person have to have proof of citizenship all the time on him? And how this US Passport card physically looks? Is it plastic card that I will be able to put it in my wallet with my credit cards and DL? What size is it?
Sorry for somewhat naive questions.
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D/O : New York
03/03/2009 : N-400 Mailed to Lewisville, TX
03/09/2009 : Mail received
03/17/2009 : Notice Date.
03/17/2009 : NOA Received
03/20/2009 : FP Notice Received ( I-797C).
04/04/2009 : FP Done.
05/30/2009 : Interview Letter.
07/27/2009 : Interview Date. Garden City (Recommended for approval) PASSED!!!
08/05/2009 : Oath Date. Cadman Plaza, Brooklyn
08/06/2009 : Applied for Passport
00/00/2009 : Passport received
Check out this story about ICE illegally detaining and deporting U.S. citizens: http://www.startribune.com/nation/14456137.html
It is stuff like that which makes me think that carrying a proof of U.S. citizenship on you may be a sensible precaution in this day an age...
Actually, one of the main reasons I got a passport card was to have it with me when I travel abroad, so I have an extra original document proving U.S. citizenship., in addition to a passport book. If a passport book is lost or stolen while one is travelling abroad, technically the instructions on the websites of all U.S. consulates do require presenting an original (rather than a photocopy) document proving a U.S. citizenship in order to obtain a new passport. In practice they do actually accept copies, but, based on the recent experience of a friend of mine whose passport was stolen in France, the procedure is a bit more cumbersome if no original document proving U.S. citizenship is available.
But the guy claimed he is not U.S citizen and that he swam across ocean from a russian sub. And he was a drifter whos identity could not be verified easily. He didn't give authorities much room in a way of verifying. I am not suggesting authorities did the right thing.
Maybe because the EDL is not as convenient for travel as the passport card? EDL has to be renewed every 5 years, and it becomes invalid once you move to another state and get a new DL while the cost of the EDL is comparable to that of the passport card. In addition to that, in Washington you must appear in person at the certain DOL (aka DMV) offices to undergo rather a lengthy interview, and the entire process literally takes the whole day. In comparison, getting a passport card is much easier and it can hardly take more than 30 minutes to fill out a DS-11 or DS-82 and send it by mail (or appear in person at the local post office).In a way its debatable... Now that few states started teh Enhanced Drivers License which is only available for Citizens and has RFID embedded in it,, why do I need a separate card?
It is true that the only universally recognised identification in any foreign country is the passport book. However, if you lose it, it is still better to have something than nothing at all. Local police may or may not accept a passport card for identification purposes, but the US embassy WILL accept it as a proof of your citizenship. Having said that, I still have no intention to carry the passport card with me while traveling abroad. In case of an emergency and if the US embassy is giving me problems, I can always ask my friends/relatives to send it to me via FedEx or DHL.But really guys,, if you are oversease and lose your passport, convincing the local police officer that your card loking thing is actually is a passport wont be easy.. I know they will slap me if I said that in Indian Sub-continent!!