From June on, the choice will be a) carry a passport or b) don't go. The smart ones (this describes you, right?) will brave the bureaucracy and get their passports right away before the system gets jammed with applicants. The first quarter of every year is always the smoothest time to get or renew a passport with a minimum of grief, with the average application taking only a couple of weeks. Don't wait longer than March, though, because by the spring, the paperwork logjam is sure to be extreme considering the twin demands of summer travel prep and the frenzied run-up to comply with the long-delayed rule.

Why the requirement? Lots of people think that the government just wants to make it easier to spy on our movements. I don't know if I agree with that (or if I did, should I say so in print?), but there is no doubt that security is driving the mandate. There are currently some 7,000 types of birth certificates in circulation right now, so presenting one of them, plus a passport, currently clearly presents some validation issues for border agents.

A representative of the Government Publishing Office (GPO) called into question parts of the story I posted earlier this week, based on a Washington Times story about the offshore outsourcing of American Passport production. After reading over the responses from the GPO to the Times story, I thought a follow-up was needed to clarify the issue.

The key element in the story, imho, is that the electronic components of the new American passport are produced by foreign companies. Gemalto from the Netherlands and Germany's Infineon produce the biometric chips in Singapore and Taipei, then send them to Thailand where the Dutch company SmartTac add the antennas and inserts the devices in blank American passport covers. The GPO acknowledges this, but asserts that--

• The companies in question have been thoroughly vetted for security and are carefully watched.
• No U.S. companies bid for the production of the computer chips and radio frequency I.D. antennas incorporated in the passport.
• For international homologation, the U.S. had to adopt technology compatible to that used in other countries, and was forced to look offshore to find this tech.
• The system incorporates many security features making it virtually impossible for hackers to access the information encoded in the chip.
• The chip is encoded with only that information that is also printed on the passport.
• Sophisticated inventory tracking will eliminate the risk of passports going missing.

The GPO explains that, after the government made the decision to incorporate electronics in the passport, (although it was under no international agreement requiring it) it was "shocked" to learn that no domestic sources were available to provide this tech. Don't you think that someone might have checked beforehand?

It also devotes a great deal of time to explaining how common it is for our government to shop internationally, missing the point that most Americans view the passport as a tangible symbol of their country, and the notion that we are incapable of provding for ourselves something so fundamental is wounding to our pride.

As far as security goes, the Washington Post recently ran an article about a security expert who claims to have created software that will allow a hacker to access and modify the data on the computer chip.

The GPO information makes for some good reading. I encourage you to check it out and draw your own conclusions.

The GPO Factsheet

GPO response to Washington Times story

GPO response to second Washington Times story

GPO response to Washington Times story about secure production facility

Well, here's a cool idea. I can't believe the federal government thought of it and actually made it happen.

For Americans who travel a lot across borders by land or sea, say to Canada, Mexico, or on Caribbean cruises, the State Department is now issuing zippy little Passport Cards, which are sized for wallets and contain the mandated (and controversial) RFID chip that makes crossing borders much breezier.

Makes sense to me. Booklet-size passports are vestiges of an earlier age, back when we traveled with steamer trunks and dollar notes were as big as hankies. Passports are also easy to lose, partly because they don't fit in wallets and partly because crooks can easily spot them. Having a high-level federal I.D. in your wallet at all times can also be mighty handy. Bouncers and postal clerks may quibble over accepting that gym membership card, but it's hard to argue with a passport.

According to the U.S. Department of State, you use the same supporting I.D. documentation for apply for a passport card as you do for a traditional passport, which means once you've got one, you're vetted, and you can use it to apply for a booklet passport later on if you want. You can even apply for both the booklet and the card at the same time without having to pay an extra execution fee or send more photos (just two will do the trick for both).