In years past, the only true form of international identification was the passport. However, in the United States, a passport was not needed for border trips to Canada and Mexico. Today, laws are much more restrictive and passports are needed to cross in and out of the country regardless of how close the final destination is to the U.S. If a trip is coming up in the near future, an expedited passport card can be used in place of a regular passport.
The card allows for frequent land and sea border crossings in to the above mentioned countries. This means there is no longer the need to apply for addition pages for a passport when travel takes you over the border very frequently. This can be an ideal alternative for those business travelers that may go to Canada or Mexico on a very regular basis.
Applying for a passport card is much the same process as applying for a standard passport. Actually, all of the same forms are going to be used. The entire process can be handled at a regional office or a local post office that handles passport processing. Anyone not sure of where to go can do a local Internet search and find a location near them.
The card itself does have restrictions on it. It was made in place of a passport for areas that had never really required passport documentation from the United States before. Also, it cannot be used for air travel at all. This card is meant for cruise traveler and actual border crossings to places like Mexico. Now, instead of only needed a valid driver’s license, the passport card serves as the official accepted ID.
A passport card is extremely secure, using state of the art laser engraving and electronic coding to make it unique. The chip that is built in to the card contains absolutely no personal information that may be removed, should the wrong individual get their hands on the card. Each year the government looks to the technology sector in an attempt to make the cards even more secure.
In order to receive an expedited passport card, one must submit the same type of documentation as when applying for a standard passport. This will include items such as birth and naturalization papers along with two color photographs. There is a standard processing fee that is charged by the government along with the fees from the issuing agency being used to expedite the process.
When turning in all of the documentation and paperwork, make sure that everything is an original. It is also a safe bet to make additional copies of all of the forms of ID for your own records. If using a mail in service, it is always best to use a major carrier and use the overnight mailing. This ensures delivery and is much more secure than randomly mailing out the documents.
For years, people have been taking advantage of the ability to freely cross borders to places such as Canada without passports. Because of the horrible events of the past decade, the United States has had to shore up their border policies and this is one of the changes that have been made. By using expedited U S passport card services, that planned trip scan still go off without a hitch. You should have no trouble obtaining a pasport.