When traveling outside of the United States, you will be required to carry a passport with you. This will also be important once you return to the US. You have a choice of two types of passports to use, depending on your type of travel: there’s the passport card and the passport book. Find out everything you need to know about passports here, including information on what a pasport card is. We’ll keep it straightforward and simple.
First off, a passport card is an affordable and lightweight alternative to your passport book. It is wallet-size, making it easier to store than the larger passport book, and is obviously a lot thinner as well. It is also a lot cheaper than a regular passport book, costing around half of the price of a passport book.
On the downside, the passport card has limited uses. You can only use this type of passport if you’re traveling to territories in the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) by land or sea. WHTI territories are Canada, Bermuda, Mexico, and the Caribbean. So when you’re traveling outside of those four destinations, you’ll need a passport book.
Once again, you can only use the passport card when traveling by sea or land to the destinations we already mentioned. So when you are traveling by air to any destination, WHTI territories included, you will need to have a passport book. Thus, it’s important to know where you’re heading and what the requirements are before applying for a passport.
If you regularly travel to WHTI countries as well as countries outside of the WHTI areas, then you have the option of applying for both types of pasports. It means that you can apply for both a passport card and a passport book. You will then have the option of what you’re going to use depending on your destination for a particular trip. It’s also advised that you apply for both at the same time rather than individually as you will get a huge discount if you do.
When applying for a passport card, you’ll need to determine if you’re already a previous passport holder. If you are, then you can apply for your passport card by mail. To do this, you’ll have to fill the Form DS-82, and provide other requirements that may be needed. You’ll also need to do this even if you’re getting your passport card for the first time. In case your passport card will be your first passport, then you’ll have to fill in the Form DS-11.
Having a passport card can be convenient when you’re traveling as it has a built-in radio frequency identification (RFID) chip. It enables the US Customs to verify your personal information wirelessly by simply scanning your passport card. It’s quick and it’s convenient, as all the information they need are quickly downloaded.
Hopefully you now have a good idea of the uses and limits of a pasport card. Just remember that when traveling to WHTI territories by land or sea, you can use your passport card. However, for international air travel even to WHTI areas, then you will be required to present a passport book.