There already exists a national ID card. It’s called a passport card and costs $30 to apply for. You can apply by post but it’s cumbersome because you need proof of citizenship, a passport photo, and it takes several weeks to receive.
It’s called a “passport card” because it’s also valid for international travel by land or sea within North America and the Caribbean.
Yep. The passport card is the American national identity card.
Americans have several forms of identity cards. There’s the famous green card for non-citizen permanent residents, passports and passport cards, military IDs for military personnel, school and university ID cards, and ID cards issued by states.
Passport books in America work the same as passports in every other country. You apply for one and it’s a little booklet that lets you travel internationally.
A passport card is a national identity card that is legally identical to a passport book for identity and citizenship verification purposes.
Green cards are cards issued to immigrants who have been granted permanent residency.
The most popular form of identification card is an identification card issued by a state’s motor vehicle agency. These function as identification cards only and are not proof of nationality or immigration status. If the holder is also licensed to drive, the words “identification card” are replaced with the words “driving license”. The card is otherwise the same.
Military ID cards are issued by the military to soldiers and civilian staff members.
Student ID cards are issued by educational institutions to their pupils.
All of these documents are valid identity documents and can be used for any purpose (except that student ID cards are generally not valid for voting, buying alcohol, opening bank accounts, admission into casinos, or anything that requires the holder to be of adult age). Domestic airplane flights require a “REAL ID”-compliant identity card, which includes everything except student ID cards old state-issued identity cards, because those cards generally are valid for 10 years or more, and some are very old and lack security features present in newer cards.
The passport book and passport card can be used for land and sea travel within North America. The other documents cannot.
The disgusting thing is that other than university and school ID cards and military ID cards, none of these documents are issued for free. All of them require a fee to be paid before they are issued, which is why voter ID laws are controversial in the USA; they discriminate against those who cannot afford to pay the fees for an identity card and the offices where people can apply for them generally aren’t located in the poorer areas of cities. Applying for a state-issued ID card is also generally an all-day affair as queues at the motor vehicle agency offices are very, very long.
The passport card is legally equivalent to a passport book within the United States. It’s also conclusive proof of citizenship (rather than presumptive proof, like a birth certificate).
It’s popular in the border regions because it’s cheaper than a passport book and can be used to enter Canada or Mexico by car.
There already exists a national ID card. It’s called a passport card and costs $30 to apply for. You can apply by post but it’s cumbersome because you need proof of citizenship, a passport photo, and it takes several weeks to receive.
It’s called a “passport card” because it’s also valid for international travel by land or sea within North America and the Caribbean.
That is exactly the same as an I.D. in Germany for example
Yep. The passport card is the American national identity card.
Americans have several forms of identity cards. There’s the famous green card for non-citizen permanent residents, passports and passport cards, military IDs for military personnel, school and university ID cards, and ID cards issued by states.
Passport books in America work the same as passports in every other country. You apply for one and it’s a little booklet that lets you travel internationally.
A passport card is a national identity card that is legally identical to a passport book for identity and citizenship verification purposes.
Green cards are cards issued to immigrants who have been granted permanent residency.
The most popular form of identification card is an identification card issued by a state’s motor vehicle agency. These function as identification cards only and are not proof of nationality or immigration status. If the holder is also licensed to drive, the words “identification card” are replaced with the words “driving license”. The card is otherwise the same.
Military ID cards are issued by the military to soldiers and civilian staff members.
Student ID cards are issued by educational institutions to their pupils.
All of these documents are valid identity documents and can be used for any purpose (except that student ID cards are generally not valid for voting, buying alcohol, opening bank accounts, admission into casinos, or anything that requires the holder to be of adult age). Domestic airplane flights require a “REAL ID”-compliant identity card, which includes everything except student ID cards old state-issued identity cards, because those cards generally are valid for 10 years or more, and some are very old and lack security features present in newer cards.
The passport book and passport card can be used for land and sea travel within North America. The other documents cannot.
The disgusting thing is that other than university and school ID cards and military ID cards, none of these documents are issued for free. All of them require a fee to be paid before they are issued, which is why voter ID laws are controversial in the USA; they discriminate against those who cannot afford to pay the fees for an identity card and the offices where people can apply for them generally aren’t located in the poorer areas of cities. Applying for a state-issued ID card is also generally an all-day affair as queues at the motor vehicle agency offices are very, very long.
Literally never heard of this! I’m pretty sure a conservative would shoot you for trying to use it to vote.
The passport card is legally equivalent to a passport book within the United States. It’s also conclusive proof of citizenship (rather than presumptive proof, like a birth certificate).
It’s popular in the border regions because it’s cheaper than a passport book and can be used to enter Canada or Mexico by car.