Expedited American Passport Card – It’s Simple To Apply For A US Passport Today

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 cannot be used for flying to any of the above mentioned countries. It is strictly for land or sea crossings only and the standard passport book is still the preferred means of identification for international travel. These passport cards each contain an electronic chip that stores a unique number, linking it to a secure government server containing the information of the holder.

What makes the difference in the passport card is the electronic coding and laser engraving that is featured as a security measure. While state ID’s have come a long way, they are simply not as secure as the process in which a passport card is created. These safety measures cannot be forged at this time and it is yet one more step to making sure that the borders are indeed secure.

When an applicant is ready to apply for a passport card, they will follow the same exact guidelines that are in place for a passport. A passport photo, valid government issued ID and proof of citizenship is required for the application to be passed through. The fee, however, is much less and there is also a small discount offered to those that want to get both a passport and a passport card.

When the documentation is being submitted, be sure to have originals and not copies or even certified copies. These will not be acceptable and will only slow the process while waiting on the correct ones. When sending the documents in, be sure to mail them through a trackable carrier such as FedEx or UPS so their progress may be monitored. This is sensitive, personal information and everything possible should be done to safeguard it.

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 USA Passport card services, that planned trip scan still go off without a hitch. You should have no trouble obtaining a passport.