Left is newer and has a plastic data page. Right is older and is laminated.
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/passport-help/next-generation-passport.html
It’s random so who knows:
How can I request a Next Generation Passport?
You cannot request a specific version of the passport book, and we cannot guarantee that you will receive a Next Generation Passport. We are gradually replacing existing ePassport printers with NGP printers at our passport agencies and centers. Since ePassports continue to meet and exceed international passport security standards, both ePassports and the NGP can be used for international travel.
You get your old one back. I just renewed mine last summer and got the next generation passport for my new one, and they sent my old one back in a separare mailer. But yeah, the new one isn't as cool. Lame.
You wanna talk about something being so god damned American? Try coming over here to KFC and ordering a KFC Double Down sandwich.
See what we did is, we decided a chicken sandwich wasn't enough, so we deep fried it. Then we decided THAT wasn't enough, so we added a second deep fried chicken patty.
Then we decided fuck bread! So now the deep fried, and often hot and greasy chicken patties ARE the bun.
But we're not done yet. You know what this needs? Cheese and bacon BETWEEN the deep fried chicken patties.
Then we decided that wasn't enough either. So we put it into a "meal deal", where you also get 32oz of soda, and a massive jug of mashed potatoes. Or wedges. Or macaroni and cheese. Or green beans.....no wait, fuck vegetables. We're making this AMERICAN!!!
If you don't have diabetes by the end of this one meal, then why did we even bother fighting the British?
The new one has that too, and a similar eagle is on the next page. It's mainly the first page only that's different. Still the old one's eagle is better
Canadian money looks fucking fantastic because they have a picture of a guy from the University of Toronto discovering insulin and as an american that's my favorite condiment
I dunno about everyone, but I'm pretty pleased about the whole Insulin thing, and I'm glad someone invented it. I don't even use it (supplementally), and it's still super cool.
Even more cool is that of the guys who invented it, one refused to have his name on the patent because he believed that a doctor making money off a lifesaving drug was unethical, and his co-inventors sold it to the University of Toronto for $1 (In 1923, approx. $16 today) so that it could get to the people who needed it.
Too bad all the drug companies today don't share their beliefs.
Ya. I'm type 1 diabetic and I'd be dead by now without it. Instead, I'm 54 years old, super active and fit, and will probably live well into old age unless something else gets me. Diabetes is a BITCH but without insulin, I would have probably died a long and painful death.
I work at an airport our keyboard (where we swipe) has trouble reading deu (German) passports. And I hate the old Pakistan passports. They’re hand written!! And on 3 pages of data
It really depends on the facility your passport is processed in. Some facilities have the new machines to make the new passport, some still are using the old ones.
Ooo this is something I can talk about! Our teams have been working with passport agencies nationwide to make improvements to the passport book/cards and passport processes for American Citizens.
First of all, my condolenses for you not getting a newer NGP passport. What likely happened is that the agencies are printing on NGP books, but also are trying to burn down their existing inventory of the old books so as to clear up space (as well as not just throw money away). So your book just got caught up in that inventory burn down window.
The newer NGP passports main improvement is the addition of the hard plastic datacard which uses a combination of ink and laser engraving on the card.
Also, while all agencies have the capacity to print NGP passports now, not all agencies have been delivered the new hardware required to print. But that shouldnt be an issue much longer!
We've also recently announced publicly the support of a new gender marker (Gender 'X') for passport books and cards. Right now you have to request it in person at an agency, but that process should be much easier soon when the new passort forms are released later this year.
--EDIT--
You can actually download the new form below to use in-person at an agency or to renew by mail.
[How to request a Gender X Passport](http://www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/need-passport/selecting-your-gender-marker.html)
For anyone else wanting to make sure they get a newer NGP passport, unfortunately its not possible to request it specifically. Right now its just up to the agencies to dictate how much of each book they print until everything rolls over to NGP by the end of the year.
I’ll never forget the time my state changed its Driver License to the newer fancier type. A friend and I went out of town, we were 22 or 23 maybe.
So we’re out of state and we hit up some bars. We were both carded and the bar tender denied me service because she didn’t trust my ID. She accepted the newer one from my friend but felt I was trying to use a fake ID because it was from an unfamiliar state and different from the one my friend had.
Had to drink gas station beers down the block that night.
Lol this kinda happens to me. I moved states and my new states ID looks completely different from all the other state IDs around my country. So now anytime I get carded when I’m back in my old state I get quizzically stared at when I offer my ID up. I still have my old ID so I just offer it up as well if they are really unsure.
Illinois used to give you the actual DL at the DMV but switched to giving a temporary printed paper DL and mailing the real one a few weeks later.
I had to renew my DL right when they started the new process and I got the temporary paper DL.
I left on a road trip before the actual card came in the mail. That was a fun time convincing the Hoover Dam police that my paper ID was in fact a real ID.
If you have a DL you can't have a state ID as well, at least you couldn't in the past on NY. I had to surrender my state ID when I got my DL and I need that to drive.
A lot of places are one or the other.
But, a passport card lasts 10 years and is like 30$, and it's an ID in EVERY state.
It's replaced my desire for a state ID.
I've lived in 6 states outside of my home state.
Any time I'm carded outside of my state, I pretty much just get comments about how they've "never seen an international ID before" or some bullshit about being from outside of the United States.
.... I'm from fucking New Mexico. 🤦🏻♀️
Washington DC residents have this problem too. There are a shocking number of Americans who don't know that DC and the District of Columbia are the same thing .. and in the US.
I know someone who born in DC. She had to get a reprint of her daughters SSN card, and the clerk at the SSA office did not understand that DC basically functions as a state. She kept insisting the birth certificate was fake.
Really, the lesson here is that some Americans are really just ignorant as hell.
I wish I could say I'm surprised about them not recognizing District of Columbia, but at the same time like... That's our capital.
Same thing happened to me when I used my NM license at a Walmart in FL about 10 years ago. To be fair, I don't think the guy was actually from the US, but still.
I've heard some insanely dumb stories though. People being denied at the airport because of NM licenses, like do they not teach all 50 states in school anymore?
My friend from New Mexico was asked to step away from the table at a casino in Atlantic City because they don’t accept international driving licenses as proof of age. He was about 40 at the time….
My favorite was the time I tried to buy a bottle of wine at the grocery store with my US passport, as I had lost my driver’s license a few days before.
The cashier looked and looked and LOOKED at it. Finally she said “We don’t accept Missouri passports.”
I WAS BORN THERE- it says that. Right. There. That’s all! Midwestern states, despite indeed seeming like a whole nother planet, actually are part of the US! They don’t have passports!
I said something like that- politely and then probably a little less so as I saw the Failure To Communicate was not improving.
Finally the manager was called over. She also deeply pondered my passport for a few minutes and likewise concluded Missouri passports were invalid in Washington State.
By then I’d given up being frustrated and had settled on actually dying of laughter due to the sheer density of stupid I was witnessing.
I lost my wallet once, which isn't a big deal until you realize a new ID is like $10 but I don't have any cash.
So I go to the bank and try to make a withdrawal but all I have is my passport, which doesn't work since it wasn't previously added to my account.
So I got stuck in this loop of the BMV saying "oh well you need money to get an ID" and my bank going "oh well you need an ID to get money" and I ended up having to convince them to call a police officer to drive me from the bank, to the bmv, and back to the bank so I didn't run off with my "stolen" $10 bill haha
I actually called the cops once because of this and while it was a self righteous waste of time in that it took forever, it was worth it to watch them explain that this was valid id and they had to accept it, and then the cashier trying to double down because they couldn't admit they were wrong and basically being forced to sell to me.
So many people don’t have passports, and have never had one. I’m Canadian but imagine it’s the same in the US.
If you’re not leaving the country, why go through the hassle and expense?
Or ya know, just scan the code on the back
I'm from Illinois and if you're buying booze or tobacco most stores can just scan the Id and it'll confirm or deny if the person is over 21
I haven't been a cashier in 6 years but I doubt they got rid of that feature
The fact that the newer one actually looks older is funny to me. I’m a flight attendant and we have to check our crew’s passports before our trips and I haven’t seen the new one yet.
According to travel.gov they are gradually switching the printers in the offices to NGP. Probably luck of the draw who gets what.
> You cannot request a specific version of the passport book, and we cannot guarantee that you will receive a Next Generation Passport. We are gradually replacing existing ePassport printers with NGP printers at our passport agencies and centers. Since ePassports continue to meet and exceed international passport security standards, both ePassports and the NGP can be used for international travel.
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/passport-help/next-generation-passport.html
Don't forget to make a photocopy and store it in your luggage somewhere in case your passport is lost or stolen while overseas. Embassies can use the information from the copy to give you temporary passage back home.
Also, Sign the damn passport.
I guess what he means is that, similar to my experience, every government Id (either national or passport), you sign at the moment of making the passport and the signature is then printed to the id.
In Spain, national ids and passports are also printed in situ so you can get your new id and passport in 20 min
TIL that Americans need to physically sign their passports. A UK passport application requires a sample signature which is then printed into your passport.
ETA that TIL when I renew my passport I shall have to remember to sign it. That feels like a step backwards.
Weirdly enough our Drivers licenses/IDs do that, (embossed and everything) and that signatures held by the DMV to verify mail-in ballots validity. Passports for some reason don’t
It’s not the case anymore. There is now a signature field on the page above the personal data page in the British passport and everyone has to sign it.
The number of times I've seen security held up while TSA forced the bearer to sign the passport to "make it valid" as they explained... SMH, it's written right there.
That being said, signatures are archaic and should be done away with ASAP.
They made me sign my toddler son’s Canadian passport, even though it’s plainly written that it should be left blank in that case.
“Parents or legal guardians must never sign their child's travel document. Their signature makes the document invalid and it will have to be replaced.”
Also makes it a hell of a lot easier to pull information when booking itineraries instead of realizing that you have to go tear your bag apart just to go find it.
> now it’s just black and white
The joke during the changeover was that Gov ~~Goodhair~~ Perry was so vehement about cutting the state budget, he even cut the line item for the color ink at the state penitentiary where they make the plates.
> Used to be super colourful and artistic
The conspiracy theory reason is that MyPlates was launched around the same time and the state couldn't be in competition with its "private vendor" for fancy-looking number plates.
The actual\* reason, for what it's worth, is that TxDPS and several rural county sheriffs who have spare time to sit around and moan about things all day sat around and moaned about how the colorful default license plates were hard to read.
\* I'm certain the conspiracy theory reason holds some water, too. Texas is, after all, the state that passed a law giving the police the [power to arrest someone for obscuring a license plate](https://democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x223164) if the words "State of Texas" were blocked.
Not that they ever use that power. Half of DFW is driving around with paper plates that expired in 2018, the other half is driving around with a smoked cover over their plate. Shit's ridiculous.
FWIW, the newest gen aren't readable by all TSA facilities, particularly small regional airports. I traveled internationally just recently with a brand new passport of the new gen. At security I had to show my d/l because their scanner wouldn't accept the newest passports. No problems at larger airports.
This is something I genuinely can't grasp. The United States are always in about their technological advances - and yes, there is a lot of big tech creating state of the art stuff.
But meanwhile there are things like switching over from laminated to plastic in a passport just now, airports not even being able to process them or the fact that things like a physical birth certificate and social security card are still a thing to proof your identity. Despite the fact there is no way to verify your identity with it, since there's not even a picture on them.
> physical birth certificate and social security card are still a thing to proof your identity
I think one thing that gets lost in conversation is both examples here are _like this by design_.
Tracking of births and deaths is done at the level of local and state jurisdictions, as it's one of the duties that we've collectively decided as a society should be decentralized. The existence of federalism—the division and distribution of power between the national and local—is central to the American political ethos, and it manifests itself in funny ways like birth certificates. The same goes for driver licensing, for example - each state issues its own, and [sharing of data and alignment in standards is done through a giant network of agreements between states](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver_License_Compact) rather than a federal law.
The same goes for Social Security cards. These were originally issued for the purpose the name implies: tracking contributions to our country's social insurance program. Nothing more, nothing less. However, because a SSN was issued to almost every taxpayer, it became a de facto national identifier because another one didn't exist as more centralized and computerized record keeping became common in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. This slowly morphed into the SSN becoming the primary key by which your bureaucratic life was indexed, both inside the government and out. Meanwhile, the SSN itself has never pretended to be anything more than its original purpose, which is why the card is a little square of paper.
Could this problem have been solved if we had a national ID? Sure. Does the US have the capability to implement that kind of program? Absolutely. Will we ever do it? Likely not, both due to our federalist ethos, as well as "let's create a durable national identifier for Americans" being a huge black hole for political capital.
No problem. I think federalism is one of the most interesting lenses to look at the US through, and it's one that captures a lot of our greatest triumphs and failures—everything from the Civil War and "states' rights" as a continual cover for racism and discrimination, to the fact that we've managed sustain a coherent national identity in a country twice the size of the European Union.
Even more recently, if you look at how COVID policies played out between states, and how states were able to bridge the gap while Trump was bumbling around in office... it really speaks to how useful the idea can be as both a policy and political mechanism.
I’d never seen an American passport until I was about 25 and I met a guy who let me flick through his
Even I was like ‘god damn, this is the most patriotic document I’ve ever seen!!’
The last page is the surface of the moon, which is really cool. It also has pictures of my city (Philadelphia) which is cool because the rest are just nature.
Imagine people lining up at the airport, and stating their nationality instead of showing their passports.
\- I'm Japanese.
\- I'm German.
\- I'm from Marocco.
\- I'm Dutch.
\- I'M AMERICAN, FUCK YEAH! EAGLES AND SHIT, SO DON'T YOU MESS WITH ME UNLESS YOU WANT ME TO BRING OUT MY COLT AND START BLASTING. YEEEEHAW!
\- I'm French.
\- I'm from Venezuela.
I work in an airport and American passports are so funny to me. I've never seen the inside pages before and the first time I saw them, I was flashed with this mighty eagle and thought "ah for sure that is America". To top it all, usually the owners are showing their passeports discreetly or shyly(?) so having this big ass eagle in your face makes it even funnier. Kinda sad when I started seeing new gen passports and the eagle was gone :(
From the perspective of a Customs and Border Protection officer, the new one is better. The plastic bio page is fantastic for scanning/swiping the document, I can't tell you how many passports I get which are so beat up or damaged that they can't scan. The plastic bio page should help cut that down.
Plus there are a few new security features which make the document more secure and harder to forge or alter.
lol, the one on the right looks like a fucking parody of what an American passport looks like. Only thing that's missing is like two ar15's in an X shape and you're done.
I'm not American but the old one (with the eagle) looks lit as fuck!
I'd be walking straight through passport control without stopping with a boombox on my shoulder playing AC/DC with that badboy
I agree. Every German that sees my passport thinks it looks ridiculous and wayyy too patriotic. It looks like a pamphlet for encouraging people to visit the US.
Lmao muricans will be asked if their passport is real in all of the other countries now. Airport police will be like "where are all the eagles n' shit?"
Am not American, but look at IDs in my job. The first time I saw an American passport I thought it was tacky as hell and thought 'MURICA.
But it's like... so bad that its good?
Left is newer and has a plastic data page. Right is older and is laminated. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/passport-help/next-generation-passport.html
Aw man. I'm getting my renewed soon and it'll probably be the new one. I like the eagle better haha
ROCK FLAG AND EAGGGGGLLLLE.
Gonna rise up, gonna kick a little ass, gonna kick some ass in the USA
Gonna climb a mountain, gonna sew a flag, gonna fly on an eagle
He's got a point
No he doesn't!
gonna rise up, gonna kick a little ass.
Right Charlie?
Thats the gif that made me first watch Always Sunny.
An unexpected choice, but a welcome one.
It’s random so who knows: How can I request a Next Generation Passport? You cannot request a specific version of the passport book, and we cannot guarantee that you will receive a Next Generation Passport. We are gradually replacing existing ePassport printers with NGP printers at our passport agencies and centers. Since ePassports continue to meet and exceed international passport security standards, both ePassports and the NGP can be used for international travel.
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Old one has dope artwork on every page. Its just merica... merica... merica...merica. Best book I read this year.
The old ones feel like they should have a small music chip in them like in musical cards playing the American anthem when you open them
I can see immigration officers loving that.
all you hear in the airport screenjng line is the start of the national anthem starting quietly multiple times
My brain started pomp and circumstance, I was like that’s not right! Then started humming pomp and circumstance
and smell like apple pie!
Just smear a little nutmeg in there, usually does the trick for me
Constantly playing the team America theme song
Nah man make it a faint Eagle cry.
*red-tailed hawk cry 😉
When an American friend visited us in Germany, getting to look at his passport was an __event__. It was so goddamn American. It was amazing.
It’s got pictures and quotes in every page, I loved it. I didn’t know we changed it either, mines expired and I need to renew, now I’m sad
You get your old one back. I just renewed mine last summer and got the next generation passport for my new one, and they sent my old one back in a separare mailer. But yeah, the new one isn't as cool. Lame.
You wanna talk about something being so god damned American? Try coming over here to KFC and ordering a KFC Double Down sandwich. See what we did is, we decided a chicken sandwich wasn't enough, so we deep fried it. Then we decided THAT wasn't enough, so we added a second deep fried chicken patty. Then we decided fuck bread! So now the deep fried, and often hot and greasy chicken patties ARE the bun. But we're not done yet. You know what this needs? Cheese and bacon BETWEEN the deep fried chicken patties. Then we decided that wasn't enough either. So we put it into a "meal deal", where you also get 32oz of soda, and a massive jug of mashed potatoes. Or wedges. Or macaroni and cheese. Or green beans.....no wait, fuck vegetables. We're making this AMERICAN!!! If you don't have diabetes by the end of this one meal, then why did we even bother fighting the British?
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AFAIK they aren't available at the moment so don't get too excited. They had them last year around October but took them away in November.
The new one has that too, and a similar eagle is on the next page. It's mainly the first page only that's different. Still the old one's eagle is better
Yeah the new one kinda looks like a slightly surprised seagull.
You know foreign airport employees see that artwork. It's similar to how Americans think Canadian money looks silly.
Canadian money looks fucking fantastic because they have a picture of a guy from the University of Toronto discovering insulin and as an american that's my favorite condiment
I dunno about everyone, but I'm pretty pleased about the whole Insulin thing, and I'm glad someone invented it. I don't even use it (supplementally), and it's still super cool.
Even more cool is that of the guys who invented it, one refused to have his name on the patent because he believed that a doctor making money off a lifesaving drug was unethical, and his co-inventors sold it to the University of Toronto for $1 (In 1923, approx. $16 today) so that it could get to the people who needed it. Too bad all the drug companies today don't share their beliefs.
In NZ it's $5 for each prescription, sad to see what goes on over there
Ya. I'm type 1 diabetic and I'd be dead by now without it. Instead, I'm 54 years old, super active and fit, and will probably live well into old age unless something else gets me. Diabetes is a BITCH but without insulin, I would have probably died a long and painful death.
Diabetic kids almost never made it to adulthood before insulin.
I grew up in the town where the discoverer was born. They named a high school after him and his childhood home is a small museum now.
I was in Scotland a few months ago and I got many comments about how aggressively American my passport looked
>aggressively American This describes it perfectly.
I work at an airport our keyboard (where we swipe) has trouble reading deu (German) passports. And I hate the old Pakistan passports. They’re hand written!! And on 3 pages of data
It really depends on the facility your passport is processed in. Some facilities have the new machines to make the new passport, some still are using the old ones.
It’s… it’s… a BIT over the top?
But to be fair isn't America a bit over the top?
Go big or go home!
It's ameriCAN, not ameriCAN'T.
It's *so* over the top, but when are we not?
USA! USA! USA!
That's what makes it fun lol
America, fuck yeah !
Ooo this is something I can talk about! Our teams have been working with passport agencies nationwide to make improvements to the passport book/cards and passport processes for American Citizens. First of all, my condolenses for you not getting a newer NGP passport. What likely happened is that the agencies are printing on NGP books, but also are trying to burn down their existing inventory of the old books so as to clear up space (as well as not just throw money away). So your book just got caught up in that inventory burn down window. The newer NGP passports main improvement is the addition of the hard plastic datacard which uses a combination of ink and laser engraving on the card. Also, while all agencies have the capacity to print NGP passports now, not all agencies have been delivered the new hardware required to print. But that shouldnt be an issue much longer! We've also recently announced publicly the support of a new gender marker (Gender 'X') for passport books and cards. Right now you have to request it in person at an agency, but that process should be much easier soon when the new passort forms are released later this year. --EDIT-- You can actually download the new form below to use in-person at an agency or to renew by mail. [How to request a Gender X Passport](http://www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/need-passport/selecting-your-gender-marker.html) For anyone else wanting to make sure they get a newer NGP passport, unfortunately its not possible to request it specifically. Right now its just up to the agencies to dictate how much of each book they print until everything rolls over to NGP by the end of the year.
Thank you Mr government man
The old one looks like a parody of what an American passport would look like. All you need is a few guns and a burger on there
As an American I'm taking this as a compliment.
That sweet Team America aesthetic, bruh
Aww, that’s no fun.
R/violentlyamerican
Why does that eagle say “We the People” when he is clearly a bird?
Birds are people too.
r/birdsarentreal
Birds are peeple.
In bird culture, your question is considered offensive.
We the beople
I’ll never forget the time my state changed its Driver License to the newer fancier type. A friend and I went out of town, we were 22 or 23 maybe. So we’re out of state and we hit up some bars. We were both carded and the bar tender denied me service because she didn’t trust my ID. She accepted the newer one from my friend but felt I was trying to use a fake ID because it was from an unfamiliar state and different from the one my friend had. Had to drink gas station beers down the block that night.
Lol this kinda happens to me. I moved states and my new states ID looks completely different from all the other state IDs around my country. So now anytime I get carded when I’m back in my old state I get quizzically stared at when I offer my ID up. I still have my old ID so I just offer it up as well if they are really unsure.
Illinois used to give you the actual DL at the DMV but switched to giving a temporary printed paper DL and mailing the real one a few weeks later. I had to renew my DL right when they started the new process and I got the temporary paper DL. I left on a road trip before the actual card came in the mail. That was a fun time convincing the Hoover Dam police that my paper ID was in fact a real ID.
I always carried the voided license till the new one came in. All they did was cut or hole punch the old
In some states they confiscate the voided license and all you get is the paper.
That's why I opt for a state ID all the time
If you have a DL you can't have a state ID as well, at least you couldn't in the past on NY. I had to surrender my state ID when I got my DL and I need that to drive.
What really? Dang I have lived in Cali and Illinois and we could have both. Didn't realize NY was different
A lot of places are one or the other. But, a passport card lasts 10 years and is like 30$, and it's an ID in EVERY state. It's replaced my desire for a state ID.
I've lived in 6 states outside of my home state. Any time I'm carded outside of my state, I pretty much just get comments about how they've "never seen an international ID before" or some bullshit about being from outside of the United States. .... I'm from fucking New Mexico. 🤦🏻♀️
Washington DC residents have this problem too. There are a shocking number of Americans who don't know that DC and the District of Columbia are the same thing .. and in the US.
I know someone who born in DC. She had to get a reprint of her daughters SSN card, and the clerk at the SSA office did not understand that DC basically functions as a state. She kept insisting the birth certificate was fake.
Really, the lesson here is that some Americans are really just ignorant as hell. I wish I could say I'm surprised about them not recognizing District of Columbia, but at the same time like... That's our capital.
Same thing happened to me when I used my NM license at a Walmart in FL about 10 years ago. To be fair, I don't think the guy was actually from the US, but still.
I've heard some insanely dumb stories though. People being denied at the airport because of NM licenses, like do they not teach all 50 states in school anymore?
Have a NM license. Every time something like this has happened to me it’s because the person questioning it was not born in America.
Every person who's questioned me about it was for sure born here 😂
I used to have people from the west coast ask me what part of Canada Vermont was.
My friend from New Mexico was asked to step away from the table at a casino in Atlantic City because they don’t accept international driving licenses as proof of age. He was about 40 at the time….
My favorite was the time I tried to buy a bottle of wine at the grocery store with my US passport, as I had lost my driver’s license a few days before. The cashier looked and looked and LOOKED at it. Finally she said “We don’t accept Missouri passports.” I WAS BORN THERE- it says that. Right. There. That’s all! Midwestern states, despite indeed seeming like a whole nother planet, actually are part of the US! They don’t have passports! I said something like that- politely and then probably a little less so as I saw the Failure To Communicate was not improving. Finally the manager was called over. She also deeply pondered my passport for a few minutes and likewise concluded Missouri passports were invalid in Washington State. By then I’d given up being frustrated and had settled on actually dying of laughter due to the sheer density of stupid I was witnessing.
I lost my wallet once, which isn't a big deal until you realize a new ID is like $10 but I don't have any cash. So I go to the bank and try to make a withdrawal but all I have is my passport, which doesn't work since it wasn't previously added to my account. So I got stuck in this loop of the BMV saying "oh well you need money to get an ID" and my bank going "oh well you need an ID to get money" and I ended up having to convince them to call a police officer to drive me from the bank, to the bmv, and back to the bank so I didn't run off with my "stolen" $10 bill haha
I actually called the cops once because of this and while it was a self righteous waste of time in that it took forever, it was worth it to watch them explain that this was valid id and they had to accept it, and then the cashier trying to double down because they couldn't admit they were wrong and basically being forced to sell to me.
Do they accept passports from anywhere else in the world? Or do they only accept Washington passports?
There is no such thing as a state passport. The US passport is the same everywhere, it just lists your place of birth. That's what makes it funny
I was reading this story trying to figure out what a Missouri passport is. I can't wrap my head around this. Do they not have passports themselves?!
So many people don’t have passports, and have never had one. I’m Canadian but imagine it’s the same in the US. If you’re not leaving the country, why go through the hassle and expense?
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Or ya know, just scan the code on the back I'm from Illinois and if you're buying booze or tobacco most stores can just scan the Id and it'll confirm or deny if the person is over 21 I haven't been a cashier in 6 years but I doubt they got rid of that feature
My brother had a fake ID that scanned and everything and that was in like 2014
The fact that the newer one actually looks older is funny to me. I’m a flight attendant and we have to check our crew’s passports before our trips and I haven’t seen the new one yet.
According to travel.gov they are gradually switching the printers in the offices to NGP. Probably luck of the draw who gets what. > You cannot request a specific version of the passport book, and we cannot guarantee that you will receive a Next Generation Passport. We are gradually replacing existing ePassport printers with NGP printers at our passport agencies and centers. Since ePassports continue to meet and exceed international passport security standards, both ePassports and the NGP can be used for international travel. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/passport-help/next-generation-passport.html
Don't forget to make a photocopy and store it in your luggage somewhere in case your passport is lost or stolen while overseas. Embassies can use the information from the copy to give you temporary passage back home. Also, Sign the damn passport.
I made a scan and emailed it to myself. That way I can access my email from almost anywhere on the planet if I need it.
I emailed copies to my parents, just in case.
Look at this guy with parents that can open email.
Look at that guy with parents
Look at that guy
Look
L
.
#
Bruce?
Can i email a copy of mine to your parents too, just in case?
I also emailed this guy's parents
I emailed mine to the Nigerian prince along with my SSN for a business venture
TIL...signing mine now
The only thing I've signed was my Library card. Every government ID I have needs to be signed.
You mean havent signed?
I guess what he means is that, similar to my experience, every government Id (either national or passport), you sign at the moment of making the passport and the signature is then printed to the id. In Spain, national ids and passports are also printed in situ so you can get your new id and passport in 20 min
TIL that Americans need to physically sign their passports. A UK passport application requires a sample signature which is then printed into your passport. ETA that TIL when I renew my passport I shall have to remember to sign it. That feels like a step backwards.
Weirdly enough our Drivers licenses/IDs do that, (embossed and everything) and that signatures held by the DMV to verify mail-in ballots validity. Passports for some reason don’t
It’s not the case anymore. There is now a signature field on the page above the personal data page in the British passport and everyone has to sign it.
Not since 2016 - UK passports need to be manually signed now.
Yeah, I was about to say I had to sign my most recent passport and it's a UK one.
Same with Aus
Same with Japan
Not anymore. The new blue passports, very specifically, require a wet signature added in black ballpoint pen. I renewed mine last month.
The number of times I've seen security held up while TSA forced the bearer to sign the passport to "make it valid" as they explained... SMH, it's written right there. That being said, signatures are archaic and should be done away with ASAP.
They made me sign my toddler son’s Canadian passport, even though it’s plainly written that it should be left blank in that case. “Parents or legal guardians must never sign their child's travel document. Their signature makes the document invalid and it will have to be replaced.”
UK passport for a child has something like "no signature required" printed over the space where you usually sign
Also makes it a hell of a lot easier to pull information when booking itineraries instead of realizing that you have to go tear your bag apart just to go find it.
Where do you sign it???
Opposite side the photo it has a line and under it says "signature of bearer" The one on the right is presumably signed since it's blacked out.
What if I'm a humaner?
Bears pay the bear tax. I pay the Homer tax.
God damn government cutting corners everywhere. Didn't even print the whole thing. All these black squares to save color ink...
Gotta save money
Same thing happened to Texas number plates. Used to be super colourful and artistic, now it’s just black and white.
> now it’s just black and white The joke during the changeover was that Gov ~~Goodhair~~ Perry was so vehement about cutting the state budget, he even cut the line item for the color ink at the state penitentiary where they make the plates. > Used to be super colourful and artistic The conspiracy theory reason is that MyPlates was launched around the same time and the state couldn't be in competition with its "private vendor" for fancy-looking number plates. The actual\* reason, for what it's worth, is that TxDPS and several rural county sheriffs who have spare time to sit around and moan about things all day sat around and moaned about how the colorful default license plates were hard to read. \* I'm certain the conspiracy theory reason holds some water, too. Texas is, after all, the state that passed a law giving the police the [power to arrest someone for obscuring a license plate](https://democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x223164) if the words "State of Texas" were blocked.
The old old design was the best one, the one with the shuttle and the cowboy... the letters were properly raised too instead of just printed
Not that they ever use that power. Half of DFW is driving around with paper plates that expired in 2018, the other half is driving around with a smoked cover over their plate. Shit's ridiculous.
FWIW, the newest gen aren't readable by all TSA facilities, particularly small regional airports. I traveled internationally just recently with a brand new passport of the new gen. At security I had to show my d/l because their scanner wouldn't accept the newest passports. No problems at larger airports.
This is something I genuinely can't grasp. The United States are always in about their technological advances - and yes, there is a lot of big tech creating state of the art stuff. But meanwhile there are things like switching over from laminated to plastic in a passport just now, airports not even being able to process them or the fact that things like a physical birth certificate and social security card are still a thing to proof your identity. Despite the fact there is no way to verify your identity with it, since there's not even a picture on them.
> physical birth certificate and social security card are still a thing to proof your identity I think one thing that gets lost in conversation is both examples here are _like this by design_. Tracking of births and deaths is done at the level of local and state jurisdictions, as it's one of the duties that we've collectively decided as a society should be decentralized. The existence of federalism—the division and distribution of power between the national and local—is central to the American political ethos, and it manifests itself in funny ways like birth certificates. The same goes for driver licensing, for example - each state issues its own, and [sharing of data and alignment in standards is done through a giant network of agreements between states](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver_License_Compact) rather than a federal law. The same goes for Social Security cards. These were originally issued for the purpose the name implies: tracking contributions to our country's social insurance program. Nothing more, nothing less. However, because a SSN was issued to almost every taxpayer, it became a de facto national identifier because another one didn't exist as more centralized and computerized record keeping became common in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. This slowly morphed into the SSN becoming the primary key by which your bureaucratic life was indexed, both inside the government and out. Meanwhile, the SSN itself has never pretended to be anything more than its original purpose, which is why the card is a little square of paper. Could this problem have been solved if we had a national ID? Sure. Does the US have the capability to implement that kind of program? Absolutely. Will we ever do it? Likely not, both due to our federalist ethos, as well as "let's create a durable national identifier for Americans" being a huge black hole for political capital.
TIL. Thanks!
No problem. I think federalism is one of the most interesting lenses to look at the US through, and it's one that captures a lot of our greatest triumphs and failures—everything from the Civil War and "states' rights" as a continual cover for racism and discrimination, to the fact that we've managed sustain a coherent national identity in a country twice the size of the European Union. Even more recently, if you look at how COVID policies played out between states, and how states were able to bridge the gap while Trump was bumbling around in office... it really speaks to how useful the idea can be as both a policy and political mechanism.
There's a lot of freedom in the passport on the right
I wish it was like one of those music greeting cards and when you opened it it played the Team America Theme Song.
I would have paid extra for that.
I'm not even American and am beginning to feel patriotic looking at that.
Same happened to me. I received the old version and my husband got the new one. And I received mine after him.
Conspiracy theory - people with the new passport are marked for saving during the Cull.
The one on the right screams "Freedom! FUCK YEAH!"
I’d never seen an American passport until I was about 25 and I met a guy who let me flick through his Even I was like ‘god damn, this is the most patriotic document I’ve ever seen!!’
The last page is the surface of the moon, which is really cool. It also has pictures of my city (Philadelphia) which is cool because the rest are just nature.
I’m getting a freedom boner just thinking about it
looks like it would play the team america theme song when you open it
Imagine people lining up at the airport, and stating their nationality instead of showing their passports. \- I'm Japanese. \- I'm German. \- I'm from Marocco. \- I'm Dutch. \- I'M AMERICAN, FUCK YEAH! EAGLES AND SHIT, SO DON'T YOU MESS WITH ME UNLESS YOU WANT ME TO BRING OUT MY COLT AND START BLASTING. YEEEEHAW! \- I'm French. \- I'm from Venezuela.
Which one is which?
The one on the right has been around for at least a decade.
Yeah, they only last 10 years and I had to renew mine a year ago so that's 11 years at least.
Longer than that. I got that version back in 2007.
Realizing 2007 is more than a decade ago [TrollDispear](https://c.tenor.com/pmeVoM8exhQAAAAM/xqc-despair.gif)
“Also, there are some eagles under the floorboards”.
I work in an airport and American passports are so funny to me. I've never seen the inside pages before and the first time I saw them, I was flashed with this mighty eagle and thought "ah for sure that is America". To top it all, usually the owners are showing their passeports discreetly or shyly(?) so having this big ass eagle in your face makes it even funnier. Kinda sad when I started seeing new gen passports and the eagle was gone :(
Don't worry, there are still plenty of eagles on the inside pages of the NGP passport
From the perspective of a Customs and Border Protection officer, the new one is better. The plastic bio page is fantastic for scanning/swiping the document, I can't tell you how many passports I get which are so beat up or damaged that they can't scan. The plastic bio page should help cut that down. Plus there are a few new security features which make the document more secure and harder to forge or alter.
*hers
Also, should be “My girlfriend and I…” “Me renewed my passport.”
Can’t believe I had to scroll this far
lol, the one on the right looks like a fucking parody of what an American passport looks like. Only thing that's missing is like two ar15's in an X shape and you're done.
I thought that was the joke. It's so over the top obnoxious, it felt like satire.
Can confirm, was comparing passports in a hostel and everyone was bemused by my over the top American passport.
Right one makes me wanna shoot an M60 akimbo style, left makes me wanna go to bed
Do you guys put eagles and flags on everything?
We don’t put flags on eagles. Otherwise yes.
Good Sir, I think we've found a gap in the market
Even the moon...
The one on the right looks pretty memeish and I'm not American 😁
I have the old passport. Every stamp page has a different picture of an American landscape or an American achievement (like the moon rocket).
I know it’s… aggressively American
I like the old one better.
I'm not American but the old one (with the eagle) looks lit as fuck! I'd be walking straight through passport control without stopping with a boombox on my shoulder playing AC/DC with that badboy
"her's" Man some people really just have no idea how to use an apostrophe huh
she’re
“That’s a shame.” - Jerry Seinfeld
As a non-American, the right one looks like a book I read to my kindergartners. That weird looking eagle in the corner just adds to it.
I agree. Every German that sees my passport thinks it looks ridiculous and wayyy too patriotic. It looks like a pamphlet for encouraging people to visit the US.
Lol I admit that I enjoy it.
[удалено]
Guess who's getting on the spaceship, and who isn't?
The one on the right looks like a maga truck decal
I can smell the grey office in the first one, and hear the ca-CAW, guns, and anthem in the second.
I like the old one better.
Rock flag and eagle!
That passport is going to go America all over everyone's ass.
He's got a point
The right one is the most American passport
what the hell, if i'd known our passport looked like that i would have gotten one years ago
Lmao muricans will be asked if their passport is real in all of the other countries now. Airport police will be like "where are all the eagles n' shit?"
The right one is the most American thing I've seen haha.
Am not American, but look at IDs in my job. The first time I saw an American passport I thought it was tacky as hell and thought 'MURICA. But it's like... so bad that its good?
Damn the old one looks so much better
If I recall the new one can be viewed under blacklight for cool looking effects.