Travel Tips

The process of renewing passports is something that everyone that has one has to contend with at some point or another. The standard passport is good for 10 years and for minors 16 or younger, five years so they are good for a while but still do expire. The passport card can do the same basic job as the passport book and may be obtained at the same time a passport book is being renewed.

Premiering in 2008, the passport card quickly became a great alternative to those travelers that frequently crossed the border into Mexico, Canada, Bermuda or the Caribbean. This is a wallet-sized card that has no pages to stamp and is good for the same period of time a standard passport is. Current passport holders can receive the card as a renewal option for the low fee of $20.00.

The passport card is available to all U.S. citizens, whether they hold a passport or not. Current passport holders can get theirs by mail but will need to meet certain criteria in order to do so. These criteria can be found by going online and searching it out. Once the search is completed and it is found that an individual does not meet the requirements they can still apply for the passport card, it simply must be done in person.

Processing times for a passport are similar to those for passport books. Allow four to six weeks for standard processing or order expedited processing in order to receive the passport card within two to three weeks. An independent expediting service may be used for even faster processing. Passport cards must be shipped via first-class mail; they cannot be sent via overnight delivery.

Each card contains a radio frequency ID chip and these can only be scanned locally by a special reader. These chips do not actually contain any personal information from the cardholder but rather link the card to a central database. The Border Patrol agents can scan the card from a close distance then access all of the pertinent information about the cardholder such as the picture and physical data.

The card is designed to be as secure as physically possible by using state of the art laser engraving along with anti-counterfeit measures such as special colorings. The blocking sleeve that comes with each card prevents the card from being scanned or accessed when it is not in use. It is actually amazing the state-of-the-art security that is in place on this tiny card.

The $20.00 fee for the card, in addition to any others for the passport book when applying for a renewal, is an attractive feature in and of itself. Minors and adults alike are eligible to apply for this card when renewing their passports. The minors, however, have stricter guidelines when it comes to the card although the fee for theirs is lower than the one for the adults.

U.S. citizens Renewing United States Passports should consider obtaining a pasport card in addition to the traditional passport book. The passport card has quickly become popular, with over one million cards issued since its release. Though it is not intended to replace a passport book, the passport card is a convenient low-cost alternative for people who travel to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea.

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