*notcot in travel , 09:27

Passport Card- 01.31.08

passportcard.jpgPassport Cards ~ primarily for “border resident communities” since you can use it only for travel by land and sea between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean region, and Bermuda, according to the State Department. I guess this will be the new must-have for all the socal kids hopping down to TJ now. Applications for these cards start Feb 1 (tomorrow!). “The card will have the same validity period as a passport book: 10 years for an adult, five for children 15 and younger. For adults who already have a passport book, they may apply for the card as a passport renewal and pay only $20. First-time applicants will pay $45 for adult cards and $35 for children. To facilitate the frequent travel of U.S. citizens living in border communities and to meet DHS’s operational needs at land borders, the passport card will contain a vicinity-read radio frequency identification (RFID) chip. This chip will link the card to a stored record in secure government databases. There will be no personal information written to the RFID chip itself.” I’m not sure how i feel about this… also note that the back of the card says “Your passport card should be kept in its protective sleeve when not in use.” So it doesn’t just go in your wallet? It has a special sleeve?

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14 Notes

This card will get you 20% off pussy in TJ!

----- BIG MIKE 02.10.08 13:10

Better to heed their advice about keeping the passport card in its sleeve. It likely serves as a Faraday’s Cage - preventing someone from walking by with an RFID reader and snatching up your ID #.

----- Passport 08.05.08 15:46

Way to copy the EU id/passport card.. only it’s not as cool unless one regularly visits Mexico or Canada and et cetera. I wish it worked as an overseas passport as well. too bad.

oh and, this makes me feel like big brother is a little too omnipresent..

----- expat 04.02.08 21:45

this is nothing compared to the RealID which is going to be instituted soon..

----- jenat 01.02.08 18:58

Those designs look too good. If they have the same design team as those that did the new 10’s and 20’s you’ll have to add a lot more imagery, poor color choices, and “top secret” hidden pictures to avoid fraud/ID theft.

----- tom studer 01.02.08 08:22

:)
dear James, are you try to tell my that i dont know what i have in my walet?
the only chip in europe is digital signature on Lithuanian id, from 2002, and its made for citizens comfort (biznes mainly), for crosing borders and spying its unusles

----- MIKolas 01.02.08 07:13

Joshua, how does this protect you from illegals? Illegals sneak in; they don’t go through border control. This is just another way for the the government to track its tax payers.

----- Mike 01.02.08 02:47

Mikolas: Poland already uses a form of chip just like the US.

This protects from illegal immigrants and other unauthorized border crossing. I’m all for individual rights and personal freedoms, but why is an advanced form of identification that’s been available for years causing such a stir?

:)

----- Joshua 31.01.08 17:45

So what do people think of the design? I think it’s a bit on the banal side, and I have to admit, the font used for “Passport Card” and “United States Department of State” is what I call the “police state” font. It’s cold and very unfriendly and given the controversy of this document, a much better font could have been chosen.

----- James 31.01.08 16:20

hahhahaha
“american freedom”
hahahah

in eorope we have the same since 1998 or 99, but without spy
hahahha

i read this blog and sometimes i laugh, mainly of american ecology (2 ton trak as family car, but hybryd (lexus, and prius) :)

but this pastport :]
im from Poland, in 1989 we have Rusian komunizm, and belive me even soviets who wants to control all people don’t have this kind of idea
matabene, as you probably know in eu you dont need pastport or id.
why you dont have same betwin canada and usa, i have no idea

----- MIKolas 31.01.08 14:49

RFID technology has been used on Passports across the world including the US standard “book” passport for some time now- it’s certainly nothing new. If anything this is MORE secure- the standard passport chips display your personal info while the passport card only has a code that identifies you in the US database.

And regarding the special sleeve- it’s either for physical protection so it doesn’t get worn out, or (unlikely) it could be magnetically shielded to prevent the info from being read when not desired. Either way it’ll still fit in a wallet.

----- Joshua 31.01.08 13:17

Between this, and watching John McCain stumble through debates, I’m starting to think the US might be doomed.

----- Andrew Benson 31.01.08 11:10

Bingo, found it!

From the website -

“Is there a threat from skimming personal information or tracking American citizens?

The RFID technology used in the passport card will enable the card to be read at a distance by an authorized CBP reader mounted alongside the traffic lane. The chip contains no biographic data as is the case with the e-passport. The chip will have a unique number linking the card to a secure database maintained by DHS and State. However, to address concerns that passport card bearers can be tracked by this technology, we are requiring that the vendor provide a sleeve that will prevent the card from being read while inside it.”

----- Lucky 31.01.08 10:55

That’s pretty intense but I’ll be needing one pretty soon. I think the sleeve is just an overprotective measure. The bank will even give you a protective sleeve for your credit card if you ask. Something about magnetic forces wiping your strip.

----- Lucky 31.01.08 10:50


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