U.S. Passport Card online application now available

January 23, 2012

The U.S. Department of State has announced that effective January 24, 2012 it is launching a 90-day pilot program allowing certain U.S. citizens living in the U.S. and Canada to apply online for a passport card. See Announcement. To this point, applicants had to mail in their current passport book and required forms, and this effort is intended to streamline that process. The Department of State plans to run the pilot program for 90 days, or until the point at which it receives 20,000 applications, whichever comes first.

As the announcement indicates, the passport card was introduced in 2008 as part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (“WHTI”). It is a wallet-sized laminated card designed as a lower cost alternative to the traditional passport book. An example from the U.S. Department of State website appears below.

Note that only those U.S. citizens with a valid passport book are eligible to use the online pilot application for a passport card. This diminishes the benefit of the pilot program to some extent, as the passport card is more limited than the passport book. It may only be used by U.S. citizens to reenter the U.S. after travel to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda at land-border crossings or sea ports-of-entry. This means that the document may not be as useful as the passport book, depending on the applicant’s travel needs. Accordingly, it may make sense to apply if the applicant does not typically travel by air and his or her passport book is otherwise due to expire.

The requirements for the online application are as follows. Applicants must:

• Be 16 years of age or older;
• Currently posses a valid 10-year U.S. passport book;
• Upload an acceptable digital photo;
• Be able to make an online payment;
• Have a U.S. or Canadian mailing address; and
• Have an email address.

Some Maine residents use a passport card in lieu of a passport book for travel to and from Canada by land or sea. The current cost of a passport card is $30 for current passport book holders. The Department of State’s FAQ regarding the pilot program may be found here and the first step in the online application pilot process may be found here. The Department of State indicates that total processing time will remain about the same, and it cannot expedite processing through the pilot program.

Traditional passport applications are currently handled by applying in person, often at the applicant’s local Post Office in Maine. A facility locator for passport applications may be found here.

Please contact Matt Raynes at our Bangor, Maine office with questions.

This alert is provided as general information, and is not a substitute for legal or other professional advice