New U.S. Passport Card
C. Matthew Schulz
650.856.5528
matthew.schulz@bakernet.com
The United States now issues a wallet-sized passport card that can be used for land and sea travel between the US, Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. Further, the new document is acceptable proof of identity and employment eligibility for I-9 purposes.
In a July 22, 2008, joint press release from the Departments of Homeland Security and State, the government announced that a number of pre-ordered cards have already shipped and that the normal processing time should be less than four weeks.
Note that the passport card cannot be used for air travel.
The passport card can be used in the employment eligibility verification process to complete the Form I-9. Employers are required to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all new employees who work in the US. The government maintains a list of documents that employees are permitted to provide to employers as satisfactory evidence of their identity and/or employment eligibility. Although a revised Form I-9 has not yet been issued, the USCIS announced in an August 8, 2008, press release that the passport card is acceptable for both purposes. The full text of the press release is available in the Related Documents section of the left column of this Alert.
In the Quick Links section of the left column, there are links to State Department instructions on how to apply for the passport and passport card, as well as the government announcements and press release.