151–160 of 222 posts
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Isn’t that risky - what if you suddenly have to travel with business and there’s a delay getting a passport?
This is a feature. "Oh, sorry Mr. Boss, I can't go on that trip because I don't have a passport"
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This is a sincere question: what's your background that you have such a skewed perspective of US travel tendencies?
In the UK almost everyone gets a passport as a baby and never lets it lapse for the rest of their lives. Seems like a basic bit of freedom to have. I assumed Americans would want the same kind of basic freedom to move between countries? You'd get a really funny look if you were suddenly asked to go on a business trip to the US and you said you didn't have a passport yet. Not sure why it wouldn't be the same if you we…
If you're in the US, going to a different country is a major undertaking unless you happen to live near the Canadian or Mexican border, regardless of whether you have a passport or not. Casual international travel is just not a thing for most people.
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> Personally I rarely carry any ID at all I do usually carry ID, but (except for flying) I can't remember the last time I actually had to show it to anybody.
If you ever pass out and wake up in a hospital, its nice to have one on you.
My back of my phone has a label with my kid’s phone number on it.
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>Everyone already has a passport. I'm pretty sure most native born citizens don't get passports unless and until they make plans to travel internationally.
Isn’t that risky - what if you suddenly have to travel with business and there’s a delay getting a passport?
also worth noting: as a US citizen re-entering the country you do not have to present anything more to a customs agent than your passport. You are not required to answer any questions at all. Where youre from, where you were, what you did, nothing, however it may result in an inspection of your bags, so it depends on whether your interpretation of liberty is based on personal convenience. Disclosure: ive done this op…
> Legal precedents grant federal officers at ports of entry the power, without warrants, to require people to strip for a “visual inspection” of genitals and rectums, and to submit to a “monitored bowel movement” to check for secreted drugs.[1]
We did a deep-dive on court settlements by CBP for invasive searches and found quite a few extremely disturbing cases.[1]
> Some women were also handcuffed and transported to hospitals where, against their will, they underwent pelvic exams, X-rays and in one case, drugging via IV, according to suits. Invasive medical procedures require a detainee’s consent or a warrant. In two cases, women were billed for procedures
[1] "‘Shocked & Humiliated’: Lawsuits accuse Customs, Border Officers of invasive searches of minors, women." ( https://publicintegrity.org/immigration/shocked-and-humiliat... )
Am I the only one spooked by the fact that to opt out, you now need to have your passport with you? (and for _domestic travel_ no less) Given that the facial databases contain your data regardless, and the amount of in-airport surveillance (in that you're not gonna avoid being observed and logged), It's more of a, "we're gonna make you present your papers regardless, pick your poison"
The passport is to prove US citizenship. Otherwise you cannot reasonably distinguish between permanent residents and citizens. Both can have a driver's license. Visa holders can have a driver's license too but it mentions the expiration date of your visa.
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The passport is to prove US citizenship. Otherwise you cannot reasonably distinguish between permanent residents and citizens. Both can have a driver's license. Visa holders can have a driver's license too but it mentions the expiration date of your visa.
> The passport is to prove US citizenship. That's an incredibly flawed thing to ask for with domestic flights, though. Most US citizens don't have a passport at all.
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> The last few times I've returned to the states I haven't even had to talk to a customs agent - but signing up for Global Entry might be too much of a violation of privacy by some standards. You have to hand your receipt from the machines to an agent who may or may not decide to question you at that point. After baggage claim, you may or may not get stopped by a CBP agent who decides to question you based on their "…
Fair enough. I (20s white guy, mostly asleep) probably don't fit the 'needs to be questioned' profile all that much. (And I'm not certain I'd have remembered answering a basic question like 'why were you travelling' anyways...)
As a 20s non-white guy I'm never bothered, so maybe I'm just off-base here.
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Confused what the robustness of the passport has to do with this. I wasn't suggesting the physical flexibility of a passport makes it harder to carry it around or something. People generally just don't carry around passports for domestic travel in their own countries... people already have other IDs, this increases the chance you'll lose your passport, etc. for zero benefit.
>People generally just don't carry around passports for domestic travel in their own countries I certainly did in the UK, as well as to prove my age in a bar etc. Lots and lots of people "in their own countries" don't have a driver's license because public transport is enough.
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I don't know about everyone but I just looked and was shocked to learn 42% of Americans have passports, 10X the level 25 years ago. Personally I rarely carry any ID at all, and when I do it's a non-"real ID" driver's license, which I have though I don't own a car. Almost anywhere where ID is "required" (including air travel) it turns out that if you don't have any you can still do what you want (note I'm old enough t…
I would guesstimate that 90% of international travel done by Americans is to either Mexico or Canada, which didn't require a passport 25 years ago.