The new passport card takes the place of the PASS card, previously known as the People-Access-Security-Service Card. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, in search of more suitable forms of identification, called for a change in requirements. Applications were first offered in February, 2008.

February of 2008 was when applications for the passport “license” or card started. The cards were then made available to the public the following July. The US State Department has estimated that over one million cards were issued.

Potential applicants to obtain the new passport card should be aware that it’s not suitable for all sorts of international travel. This is because the CAO fails to recognize this card to be used for such purposes. Too, the new passport card is available to citizens and nationals only who are living in the country legally with documentation.

The United States Department of State decided to issue this card in response to border community residents’ needs for a more portable alternative to the traditional booklet form. The card also includes a vicinity-read radio frequency identification chip with a one of a kind identifying number tied to government databases. The chip is designed to be readable at a further distance.

Also, the card is being issued in a sleeve that prevents the chip being read when it’s not being used. This card will be valid for entering the US from Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and also Bermuda. This will be valid at land or border crossings and sea ports. It won’t be valid for air travel. The TSA has announced that it will honor the card, as identity, at security checkpoints at airports. It can also be used within the United States for air travel and to enter federal buildings. This could be an option for people who are settled in the United States possessing driver’s licenses that aren’t compliant.

This ‘passport card’ may be used with the I-9 form which verifies eligibility for prospective employees as authorized by the U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The card is considered a List A document. It can be presented when new employees are verified during the eligibility process for employment. The List A documents are those used by employees to prove both identification and work authorization while completing the I-9 form. So employment eligibility will be in the handy and convenient for of a card for prospective employees.

The renewed card will be valid for a period of ten years for adults 16 and over and five years for children under 16 years of age. The renewal fee is $20. The initial first-time applicant fee will include an additional $25 processing fee. First time applicants as adults need to pay $120.00. First time applicants as minors will pay $95.00.

Any US citizen or national may hold both the United States passport card and booklet. Adults who possess a valid pasport pay $20 to obtain the card. Now passports are convenient – in a card! Makes things flow a lot more smoothly. Traveling out of the nation has just become easier.