For fellow Americans living in cities where ICE is active, many people, especially those of Hispanic descent, are already carrying around passports on their persons at all times because they’re rightfully afraid of being forcibly disappeared or deported to some random South American country.

A passport card can be obtained for $30 from the Department of State. It is considered exactly equivalent to a passport within the US, but it’s the size of a credit card. It is a valid travel document for land and sea travel within North America and the Caribbean. It also counts as a Real ID. The card is good for ten years.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/need-passport/card.html

Do not do this if you are transgender or have an X gender marker. They will cancel your passport and tell you to apply for a new one with your sex assigned at birth.

  • NateNate60@lemmy.worldOP
    21·
    7 hours ago

    Yeah you know the system’s fucked when even a German is calling it complicated.

    It’s easy to explain when I phrase it like this:

    • The passport card has the same function as the German national ID card, proving both nationality and identity. It can be used for land travel within North America just like how as a German you can drive to the Netherlands or Poland with only your national ID card and no passport.
    • Driving licenses in the US also function as identity documents, but not proof of nationality. It is possible to obtain a non-driving license version that serves only as identification if you don’t drive.
    • The passport book is the same across both countries. It is used for travelling abroad and it proves both nationality and identity.

    Edit: In America, all three documents are technically optional. While you could choose to never apply for a State ID or passport book/card, or never renew your documents when they expire, and it wouldn’t technically be illegal, you would find it difficult to go through your daily life because you wouldn’t be able to do anything like get a job, open a bank account, buy train/plane tickets, get insurance, or register/drive a car without some form of ID.