# # # 19981218 - U.S. passport as post-Y2K ID?!! < mailto:rmangus@mail.netquest.com >

( Pre- ) Post-Y2K proof of one's identity, not to mention citizenship, may become virtually impossible. A U.S. passport would appear to be an ( almost ) fool-proof, analog ( picture ), way to establish/maintain identity.

Questions :

1. If you're not planning to travel outside of the U.S., is there a plausible "reason" to present for obtaining a passport for each member of one's family without arousing "suspicion?"

2. How could an entire community manage this same feat, quickly? ( Without looking like they're ready to depart on the next "comet?" ) ;-) Group discounts? ( A jest! )

3. Any way to prevent a passport from looking like it's forged???

4. What are the required documents to obtain a passport? ( My--all-expenses-paid!--"visit" to Vietnam for a year didn't require one! ;-)

5. Why would "identity" be important post-Y2K, anyway? ( This one's rhetorical! )

6. Alternatives--if required?

Regards, Bob Mangus < mailto:rmangus@mail.netquest.com > # # #

-- Robert Mangus (rmangus@mail.netquest.com), December 18, 1998

Answers

You don't need to give more than vague travel plans to get a passport. It was my only legal ID for years, since I didn't need or get a driver's license until I was 40. With lots of older relatives overseas, we make a point of all family members having up-to-date passports at all times, "just in case" (funerals, other family emergencies, unexpected travel opportunities). Shouldn't be a big deal at all.

-- Maria (encelia@mailexcite.com), December 18, 1998.

a "passport photo", a certified copy of your birth certificate (which will be returned with your new passport within 6 weeks, ours took about 3) and $45 will get you a passport. Went to the county for the form, filled it out in about 10 minutes. NO hassle.

-- curtis schalek (schale1@ibm.net), December 18, 1998.

A passport may not be needed to go from here to Canada, but the way things are going it may be needed to get back in. It's cheap insurance, in any case. You can't count on all the INS/Customs people at the ports of entry to be absent.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), December 18, 1998.

A passport is good insurance should you unexpectedly end up in a foreign nation. Your "status" as a "refugee" is vastly more protected and desirable than that of an "undocumented alien" I have heard.

-- Ann Fisher (zyax55b@prodigy.com), December 19, 1998.