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Ice on Immigration: New Passport Card for border residents
 

By L. Patricia Ice, Featured Columnist 

Question: What can you tell me about the new Passport Card for United States citizens?

Answer:  The United States Department of State (DOS) has created a new U.S. Passport Card for U.S. citizens.  U.S. citizens may begin to apply for the Card on or after February 1, 2008.  Cards will be mailed to applicants beginning in the spring of 2008.  This Card is being issued in response to the needs of border resident communities for a less expensive and more portable alternative to the traditional U.S. passport book.  The Card will have the same validity period as a passport book:  ten years for an adult, five years for children 15 and younger.  For adults who already have a passport book, they may apply for the card as a passport renewal and pay only $20.  First-time applicants will pay $45 for adult cards and $35 for children.  The Passport Card will contain a vicinity-read radio frequency identification chip.  This chip will link the card to a stored record in secure government databases.  No personal information will be written to the chip itself.  The new Passport Card cannot be used to travel by air, but will otherwise carry the same rights and privileges of the U.S. passport book and will be adjudicated to the exact same standards.  For more information about applying for the new U.S. Passport Card or U.S. Passport, please visit http://travel.state.gov.