US Proposes Wallet-Size Passport Card for Land and Sea Border Crossings

The US State Department announced Tuesday a proposal to create a credit-card-sized passport designed for American citizens crossing into Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea.

The initiative falls under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, a border-security program established by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, signed into law in 2004.

Unlike a standard passport book, the compact card would rely on long-range radio frequency identification technology to connect the document to a secure government database holding the traveler's photo and biographical details. The card itself would store no personal data.

The State Department said the card would meet the same approval standards as a conventional passport book and is intended to serve residents of border communities and passengers aboard commercial vessels who travel frequently.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in October 2006, in its own words.