http://www.consumertraveler.com/today/state-dept-wants-to-make-it-harder-to-get-a-passport/
The U.S. Department of State is proposing a new Biographical Questionnaire for some passport applicants: The proposed new Form DS-5513 asks for all addresses since birth; lifetime employment history including employers’ and supervisors names, addresses, and telephone numbers; personal details of all siblings; mother’s address one year prior to your birth; any “religious ceremony” around the time of birth; and a variety of other information. According to the proposed form, “failure to provide the information requested may result in … the denial of your U.S. passport application.”
The State Department estimated that the average respondent would be able to compile all this information in just 45 minutes, which is obviously absurd given the amount of research that is likely to be required to even attempt to complete the form.
This is ridiculous. Both of my parents are, regrettably, deceased, so how exactly am I supposed to discover my mother's address before and after my birth, not to mention the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all the nurses in the delivery room when I was born?
Oh, would you like to see the proposed new questionnaire itself?
Okay, here you go.
http://papersplease.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/ds5513-proposed.pdf
I'll be honest with you, I don't remember the name of my first supervisor once I started working... at Arby's in 1983 when I was 18 years old! Heck, that was 27 years ago, people! And if I can't remember his name, I don't have a snowball's chance in hades of finding his phone number!
If I may be so bold as to inquire, what the blue blazes does this information have to do with my citizenship status?
Do you remember your address from when you were three years old? They want that information, and if you don't supply it, then they can legally deny your application!
They even ask for any pre- and post-natal care my mother received, going so far as to ask for doctors' names and APPOINTMENT DATES!!! Are they insane? I was born more than 45 years ago... who is going to remember appointment dates from 45 years ago?
What this means is that, if adopted, I would be unable to obtain a US passport... assuming I didn't already have one issued under rules that were less asinine.
This move will make it harder to get passports, so fewer people will get them. You can bet those with hefty political connections won't be so limited... but the rest of us will.
Do you want to comment? There's not much time left, but here's the contact information.
You can submit comments to the State Department online at Regulations.gov until midnight Eastern time on Monday, April 25, 2011. Go here, then click the “Submit a Comment” button at the upper right of the page. If that link doesn’t work for you, it’s probably a problem with the javascript used on the Regulations.gov website. There are alternate instructions for submitting comments by email here.
Let's do it, people.
Here's the deal....a passport is not a right, but a privilege (sadly).
ReplyDeleteYou have to ask several questions though on this possible future form. First, if you did put down the wrong information...how would they really know because there isn't a database in existence that would have the type of detail that they are asking about. So they are starting the database from scratch.
As for the logic? I would suspect that the government is beginning to figure out that a small percentage of Americans need to be monitored as they travel outside of the US....either for financial reasons, tax evasion reasons, or connections to radical political groups (like those radical right-wing Conservative Honduran guys).
My guess is that it won't pass the test in the Senate and this will be mostly thrown out.