Confused about birth certificate

[njhorseman]

What the US or any other government says (this year or this week) is not the issue. Somewhat like TWICs for personnel, passport cards were catalyzed by the need to accommodate workers. Mea Culpa in that I left out the word "primarily" for commuters.

 

Nonetheless, passports guard against most changes in, or misinterpretations of regulations by agencies one may encounter or, perhaps more stringent ID requirements by non-air transporters (including any cruise lines choosing to require it - today, tomorrow, next week or next year..

And if you don't think that the rules can change quickly, please know that in the latter part of the last decade, within 24 hours of the US requiring that all foreign merchant seamen now needed visas, the PRC enacted that very same requirement. In one case, that meant a US maritime academy ship headed to China with more than 350 aboard encountered a monumental disembarkation snafu.

Of course, a cruise ship is a different set of circumstances. But, if I was relying on any entity other than myself to get me across a border,, I'm taking the other kind of "trip insurance," a US passport.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Passport cards were first issued in July, 2008... almost six years ago, and the rules governing their use and validity have not changed .

 

The rules permitting US citizens to use a birth certificate and photo ID for closed loop Western Hemisphere cruises were introduced on June 1, 2009...almost 5 years ago, and have not changed.

 

Short of a national emergency, if the US wishes to change the rules governing passport cards the public will be informed well in advance.

 

It was your comment "don't trust all the "experts" on CC" that set me off the most. It's not the "experts" here (and that includes you) that decide what the rules are...it's the federal government, and when someone is citing the correct government regulations that advice should be respected, not dismissed.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Passport cards are not just for land crossings between the US and Canada and the US and Mexico. They are also good for sea ports of entry, including travel from the Caribbean and Bermuda. Here's the correct information from the State Department:

 

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/information/card.html

 

The U.S. Passport Card can be used to enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda at land border crossings or sea ports-of-entry and is more convenient and less expensive than a passport book. The passport card cannot be used for international travel by air.

 

 

Sorry that you'll be "set off" yet again. But, and with apologies for perhaps not articulating it well, you keep missing my main point: Rather than relying on what you or I or anyone on CC may say, the form of ID that is most useful and least open to misinterpretation is a passport.

 

BTW, as for the card being "... less expensive than a passport book," that is true only until you need a passport (maybe that next cruise with international air travel in the mix?)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[njhorseman]

Sorry that you'll be "set off" yet again. But, and with apologies for perhaps not articulating it well, you keep missing my main point: Rather than relying on what you or I or anyone on CC may say, the form of ID that is most useful and least open to misinterpretation is a passport.

 

BTW, as for the card being "... less expensive than a passport book," that is true only until you need a passport (maybe that next cruise with international air travel in the mix?)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

It wasn't a matter of not articulating well...in your first post you said absolutely nothing along the lines of what you now claim to be your "main point". If you had said anything close to what you claim your main point was I never would have posted a response.

 

Sounds like you're just backtracking in an attempt to cover the misinformation and snarky remark about "experts" you posted.

[sparks1093]

Sorry that you'll be "set off" yet again. But, and with apologies for perhaps not articulating it well, you keep missing my main point: Rather than relying on what you or I or anyone on CC may say, the form of ID that is most useful and least open to misinterpretation is a passport.

 

BTW, as for the card being "... less expensive than a passport book," that is true only until you need a passport (maybe that next cruise with international air travel in the mix?)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

And if someone wants to use a less expensive alternative to the passport they should perform their due diligence and research what those options are and how viable they are. That involves reading the government websites and maybe, just maybe, asking questions of those with experience in the matter.;)

[navybankerteacher]

If you do not want to get a passport, check out the passport card which costs just $30 (or $55 the first time).

 

In that case a family of 6 would cost $330 for ten years of having a great identification device.

 

Alternatively, that same family of 6 could buy a dozen eggs for a lot less money, which would be about as useful. Just what do you believe the passport card does for you that your birth certificate and ID ( both of which you must already possess before you can get a passport - or passport card) would not do?

[njhorseman]

Alternatively, that same family of 6 could buy a dozen eggs for a lot less money, which would be about as useful. Just what do you believe the passport card does for you that your birth certificate and ID ( both of which you must already possess before you can get a passport - or passport card) would not do?

 

A passport card has a couple of uses beyond what a BC and ID can be used for:

 

(1) A passport card is valid for open jaw Western Hemisphere cruises while a BC/ID is not. (Note that some cruise lines have a policy to require a passport for an open jaw cruise, but many only require the passport card, as permitted under the regulations. Always check with your cruise line.)

 

(2) A passport card can be used for land border crossings between the US and Canada and the US and Mexico, but the BC/ID combination can't be used for driving across these borders.

 

Also...if you have an emergency while traveling that requires your obtaining a passport in order to fly home or elsewhere, having a passport card should speed the issuance of an emergency passport because you have already filled out the same application in order to obtain the card. Your information is already in the State Department's passport issuance data base. They know who you are.

Edited April 14, 2014 by njhorseman

[Flatbush Flyer]

A passport card has a couple of uses beyond what a BC and ID can be used for:

 

(1) A passport card is valid for open jaw Western Hemisphere cruises while a BC/ID is not. (Note that some cruise lines have a policy to require a passport for an open jaw cruise, but many only require the passport card, as permitted under the regulations. Always check with your cruise line.)

 

(2) A passport card can be used for land border crossings between the US and Canada and the US and Mexico, but the BC/ID combination can't be used for driving across these borders.

 

Also...if you have an emergency while traveling that requires your obtaining a passport in order to fly home or elsewhere, having a passport card should speed the issuance of an emergency passport because you have already filled out the same application in order to obtain the card. Your information is already in the State Department's passport issuance data base. They know who you are.

 

 

OR.... you could just......

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[njhorseman]

OR.... you could just......

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

OR...what you could just do is reread the post I was responding to and hopefully the second time around you'll understand that I was correcting a misinformed poster who incorrectly stated that a passport card couldn't be used for anything more than a BC/ID could.

 

Your comment adds absolutely nothing to that discussion.