Thread: New Credit Card Size Passports

State Department Prepares for Onslaught of Applications for Credit Card-Sized Passports


PHOENIX — The government has introduced passport cards designed to speed border crossings by U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, and the State Department is preparing to handle an onslaught of up to 30 million applications as the deadline nears when Americans won't be able enter the country from Mexico or Canada without a passport.

The government approved the wallet-size cards as a cheap and convenient alternative to passport books. They may be used only by citizens returning to the United States through land or seaports from Mexico, Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean. Air travelers must carry full passports.

The cards emit a radio signal picked up by Customs and Border Protection officers at checkpoints. The signal provides inspectors with a file number linked to passport data on each cardholder.

The cards are handy for frequent border crossers, and cost just $45 for a first-time adult applicant, rather than the $100 fee for a passport book. The cards cost $20 for adults who already have a regular passport.

Brenda Sprague, deputy assistant secretary of State for passport services, said the cards contain information identical to what is found in a standard passport, and are just as secure. About 850,000 cards have been issued nationally.


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You can apply for them NOW.

Prices: $45 for adults and $35 for children; Adults already holding a regular passport - $20

They are acceptable for land and sea crossings between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, but not for flights.

Very interesting. The cost isn't that bad either.

The cards emit a radio signal picked up by Customs and Border Protection officers at checkpoints. The signal provides inspectors with a file number linked to passport data on each cardholder

interesting technology!

Sort of like rfd's for people

And if you place them in a microwave for 10 seconds, it will fry the electronics so that they government cannot use them to track you except by doing a manual scan of the cards.


Just an FYI

So if you're going on a nearby cruise (like a Baja cruise or Canada/NE one), it may be fine, as you can get back over the border pretty quickly and then catch a flight if you have an emergency.

Sounds like they are intended for quicker crossings ...