Actually, the cynic in me suspects that this is to drum up business for the counties, who will now get to collect a lot more fees from people getting copies of birth certificates and marriage licenses and divorce decrees.
That’s funny because the passport is literally an alternate for real id when flying…
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To get a Real ID, you have to prove three things:
- US Citizenship or legal residence
- SSN Number
- State of Residency
1 is usually a passport, birth certificate, or green card.
2 is usually a tax form or SSN card
3 is usually 2 of the following: a drivers license, bills with your name and address on them, a lease/mortgage with your name/address.
Yes, but it’s much easier to get than real id, due to the requirements having been written in an age when lots of people had little documentation.
Yeah, I understand the requirements of the real id, I guess my point is, you can use a passport wherever a real id is (or will be) required, right? Entering federal buildings, flying, etc.
Is there any situation where the passport is not an acceptable substitute for real id? If there isn’t, what’s the actual point of the real id? And if they are interchangeable in practice, why is a passport not sufficient to GET a real id?
I get that it isn’t. I simply don’t understand why. Seems like a waste to me.
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Right. And passports last ten years, versus only four (in my state anyway) for the real id. And are more useful for things like flying internationally, not only domestically. Why should I get real id at all?
If you are an American citizen, sure.
I had a Real ID once and I’m quite certain that all I brought with me was my passport and my old driver’s license. (Both unexpired)
It’s just more convenient to not have to fuss with your passport, that’s all. I basically always have my driver’s license with me, whereas I only carry my passport when I’m traveling internationally (or close enough to the Canadian or Mexican border that I want the option) or starting a new job.
But I don’t have a Real ID at the moment, so I’ll have to fly with my passport if the deadline for Real ID happens before my driver’s license is up for renewal.
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I got a passport card the last time I renewed my passport, mostly for the convenience when flying domestically and not having to get real id.
It’s the same size as my drivers license so it fits nicely in my wallet, although I only really carry it when I’m traveling and in the future will also carry it when I need to go to the post office close to my office (which is in a federal building so has the federal screening requirements).
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I also needed something like a W2 or something that showed my SSN
Back in the day (in my state at least) you had to apply for a marriage license (before my time you needed a blood test to get license- I think it was for std screening) in order to get married. Once married, officiant filed record of marriage, and you got a marriage certificate. Marriage cert gave you a “free legal name change”, since it was common for the wife to change her last name.
I can also justify ~$364.50, but that would suggest a large drop in income from 2019 to 2020 and a batty way of doing things by the IRS. So ~294 seems more likely.
Sad to say it’s not winter yet. Still another 5 weeks.
My wife and I went to the Bahamas in 2006. I needed a passport for that.
First and last time I used it. Just been sitting in a drawer since then, and expired over 5 years ago.
I think it’s nice to always have one just in case.
In my family this has come up a couple of times.
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Uncle had a medical emergency overseas and was hospitalized for 6 weeks before dying. He was projected to be hospitalized for 3-4 months. Aunt couldn’t pull their kid out of school for 3-4 months but didn’t want to leave Uncle alone in a foreign hospital (that she didn’t trust to administer appropriate care… for good reason) so the rest of the family tag-teamed being over there with him.
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Grandma & Grandpa had booked a nice non-refundable trip and then Grandpa had a medical issue come up preventing travel. Hey kids… who wants a fabulous free trip leaving in 4 days? Must have a passport to be eligible.
Anyway, you just never know what will come up where you’ll need it.
I don’t have any family overseas. (Or north or south of the border either.)
My business has no overseas clients.
I have zero travel plans (much to my wife’s dismay)
Unless I’m suddenly some sort of refugee, I’m good being passport-less.
When I last renewed my PP, the nice guy at Walgreen’s who took my picture asked if I had any travel plans/where are you planning to go. I told him I had none. It was just in case I needed to leave the country quickly.
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Do you have family that travels out of the country? My uncle was a US resident, but in the UK on business when he was hit by a truck coming out of a roundabout.
Your line of thinking was my Dad’s reasoning too. But he ended up driving 5 hours each way to the nearest passport processing place to get a same day passport in order to spend some time in the hospital with his brother, and relieve his sister-in-law.
Plus the time he was actually IN the passport place. Made for a very long day in an already very stressful situation.
And I don’t know if that’s even an option any more, although it’s possible that you can still do it. Not sure.