Passport card

[David-and-Mae 15]

Besides passport book I also applied for passport card thinking it should serve as a proof that I am a USC. My question is, do we really have to carry it around? My worry is you'll never know when you'll get stopped and questioned about your current status. Will they just take your word for it when you say you're a US citizen? We like to travel to states like NE where every now and then they raid workplaces that hire undocumented immigrants. We were actually in Grand Island, NE when they busted that chicken place out there with hundreds of illegal workers. I thought if I carry around my passport card, traveling would be a lot worry-free, but then, I'm not sure if I really have to. Whatchathink?

P.S. This was probably asked before, sorry I couldn't find any posts about it.

[v333k 59]

I don't think you need to carry it. You can tell them if they ask that you are a US Citizen. So far, the state ID that I receive shows a difference indicating that I am not a citizen. I am assuming they can find out by checking your state ID either visually or in the system.

[Joandjo 20]

Besides passport book I also applied for passport card thinking it should serve as a proof that I am a USC. My question is, do we really have to carry it around? My worry is you'll never know when you'll get stopped and questioned about your current status. Will they just take your word for it when you say you're a US citizen? We like to travel to states like NE where every now and then they raid workplaces that hire undocumented immigrants. We were actually in Grand Island, NE when they busted that chicken place out there with hundreds of illegal workers. I thought if I carry around my passport card, traveling would be a lot worry-free, but then, I'm not sure if I really have to. Whatchathink?

P.S. This was probably asked before, sorry I couldn't find any posts about it.

I got a card as well then I realized it only works for Land or sea travel. I carry mine around but probably should put it up. If I had an occasion to need to prove my citizenship when NOT travelling, I'd probably think the same as you are thinking.

[lax75 2]

Hey guys,

When that time comes for me to file for my passport, I will go ahead and pay the minimal $25 to get the card anyways. My reason: (1) It beats carrying my passport around (2)It is yet another piece of identification that proves Citizenship, in case you lose your passport and/or Naturalization Certificate (I heard it could take up to 18 months to replace a missing/stolen Naturalization Certificate).

What I tell my friends (I have a friend whose Passport was stolen from his apartment but luckily he didn't keep both his Naturalization Certificate and Passport in the same bag that was stolen), is to keep the Passport Card on your person, keep your Passport Book at home in a safe, then keep the Naturalization Certificate at a safe in the bank. This way, these 3 important documents are in 3 different locations and if one is stolen/missing, you have a backup proof of Citizenship in another location.

I pay about $90/year for my bank safe. Very well worth it.

[Harsh_77 718]

I don't think you need to carry it. You can tell them if they ask that you are a US Citizen. So far, the state ID that I receive shows a difference indicating that I am not a citizen. I am assuming they can find out by checking your state ID either visually or in the system.

What does your ID Say?

Besides passport book I also applied for passport card thinking it should serve as a proof that I am a USC. My question is, do we really have to carry it around? My worry is you'll never know when you'll get stopped and questioned about your current status. Will they just take your word for it when you say you're a US citizen? We like to travel to states like NE where every now and then they raid workplaces that hire undocumented immigrants. We were actually in Grand Island, NE when they busted that chicken place out there with hundreds of illegal workers. I thought if I carry around my passport card, traveling would be a lot worry-free, but then, I'm not sure if I really have to. Whatchathink?

P.S. This was probably asked before, sorry I couldn't find any posts about it.

No if you are USC, you do not have to carry anything. Just your claiming you are USC is good enough and rest its upto them how they check your status.

In most cases Name, DOB things like that are enough for them to find your immigration status.

[v333k 59]

What does your ID Say?

Mine said "Driver's License" in red while my wife's was in black. That's one of the differences I remember right now...

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

As a U.S. citizen, you are not required to carry any kind of identification with you.

You are required to identify yourself. You do that by stating your name, your date of birth, and where you live. If asked, you state that you are a U.S. citizen. That's the end of it.

Your Certificate goes in the bank safe; your passport card in the safest place you have access to at home, and your passport card you keep at another safe place, independent from your passport book.

If you ever need to prove that you are a U.S. citizen, i.e., when applying for a new driver's license, you use the passport card. Just by sliding it, the federal or state agency gets green light clearance.

Don't take anything but your driver's license with you, and only that on occasions when you drive or need to show your I.D., i.e., at the bank or when checking out at the supermarket and paying with a check.

Many U.S. citizens have absolutely no government-issued photo ID at all. That's why there's such an outcry about the new voter-ID laws in some states: some people don't have an I.D. and don't need one.

There are many perks of being an American, and this is one of them: no more ID #######.

Edited October 13, 2011 by Brother Hesekiel

[David-and-Mae 15]

Thanks for all the replies.... it's good to hear that I don't have to carry the passport card around. I think my real worry is being held by ICE in a holding cell till they can check out my status that I'm a USC. A friend of mine experienced this so it really concerns me. But she was in Costa Rica and lost her identifications when it happened.

[OKflyboy 35]

I'm not going to carry my card around. It's gonna go in the firesafe. When I get the book, it'll go in the firesafe, and the card in the filing cabinet, I'm not sure yet:)

You don't have to prove that you're a USC. If they want, they can check it themselves.

For that matter, I never carried my GC on me except for when I went on a long trip through Arizona-California. I carried a good two-side photocopy (it's still in my wallet, actually:)).

[Udella&Wiz 325]

I don't think you need to carry it. You can tell them if they ask that you are a US Citizen. So far, the state ID that I receive shows a difference indicating that I am not a citizen. I am assuming they can find out by checking your state ID either visually or in the system.

Not all states note your citizenship - VA where I live told me that I didn;t need to do anything at the DMV when I became a citizen. States may vary.

Also - think of it this way - what could your USC spouse show if he was stopped - nothing, right? I understand that you're concerned perhaps because of an accent or that the police think you don;t belong based on appearance.

Edited October 14, 2011 by Udella&Wiz

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Thanks for all the replies.... it's good to hear that I don't have to carry the passport card around. I think my real worry is being held by ICE in a holding cell till they can check out my status that I'm a USC. A friend of mine experienced this so it really concerns me. But she was in Costa Rica and lost her identifications when it happened.

In the super unlikely case that you find yourself in a position where federal agents (CIA/FBI/ICE) want to check you out and you have zero documentation on you (driver's license) while you are walking the dog in the middle of the night right in front of the local hangout of the Mexican drug cartel, they will still be able to confirm your identity based on the information you give them. Your name and birth date will match the Department of State's records and your passport photo will pop up on their in-car computers.

If you have a driver's license on you, sliding it will access your SSA records where you are listed as a U.S. citizen.

If you ever find yourself in an ICE holding cell, it's because something went horribly wrong on several levels. Shaping your daily life around this is like avoiding going to your doctor because you are afraid he may open your skull with a saw and steal your brain.

You are a U.S. citizen now. Let it sink in.

[NickD 202]

Certain degree of being paranoid, hauling around a green card, all that time. Wife felt naked without it, stepdaughter couldn't care less.

Since I was born and raised in the country, accustomed to not carrying any form of ID whatsoever. Even buying an airline ticket with cash, but did ask for my name without proof in case the plane crashed to notify my next of kin. Only form of official ID we have is a drivers' license, but who put the DMV in charge of this? Seen our office issue a drivers' license based on nothing else but a worthless utility bill as proof of ID. I did have to bring in my birth certificate, but only once and mainly to prove I was 16. Never again, even after living in different states, just went by my old drivers' license.

But see I need that license now to vote in my state, but a group taking this to the states' supreme court, and added expense to the old to get that state ID from actually a group of very incompetent government workers.

Since our country is getting paranoid, should create yet another agency with access to all government agencies to issue an ID card for each of us. Ironically that has been done for years in my wifes' home country, but they sure charge for that ID.

This would be government agency numbered 1,526.

[NickD 202]

Could also carry your SS card if you are concerned if the SS (a Nazi Germany thing) will stop you. SS is now keeping a database for all citizenship and LPR status. If you lose it, a new one is free.

[nwctzn 55]

Besides passport book I also applied for passport card thinking it should serve as a proof that I am a USC. My question is, do we really have to carry it around? My worry is you'll never know when you'll get stopped and questioned about your current status. Will they just take your word for it when you say you're a US citizen? We like to travel to states like NE where every now and then they raid workplaces that hire undocumented immigrants. We were actually in Grand Island, NE when they busted that chicken place out there with hundreds of illegal workers. I thought if I carry around my passport card, traveling would be a lot worry-free, but then, I'm not sure if I really have to. Whatchathink?

P.S. This was probably asked before, sorry I couldn't find any posts about it.

No need for that. Stating that you are a US citizen (when asked) is enough. Update your status with the Social Security Administration (SSA) though. If need be, law enforcement can quickly check your citizenship through SSA.

Edited October 14, 2011 by nwctzn

[Harsh_77 718]

Mine said "Driver's License" in red while my wife's was in black. That's one of the differences I remember right now...

Intersting.... when I entered US on CR1 and had gone to get my add changed on DL - I only had the stamp in the passport and had not got the actual GC they gave me vertical DL like under 21 and on top in big red it was printed "Temp Visitor" and then on the card there had printed the date when my end date of temp entry stamp.