US Government Passport
As of August 2007, all passports issued by the Government Publishing Office for the United States Department of State are biometric passports.
- Over 143 million valid US biometric passports were in circulation in 2020.
- 44% of the US population holds a passport in 2020 compared to 4% in 1990 and 15% in 1997.
- In 2020, the State Department issued 11.71 million ePassports.
Is my US passport an electronic one? Yes, the e-passport symbol printed at the bottom of the front page indicates that the US passport contains an electronic chip. They were first issued in 2006.
US electronic passport: 2020 facts and figures
- You can travel to 185 countries without a visa ( October 2020). It's a highly secure travel document, a key government-issued photo identification document (ID), and your best proof of U.S.citizenship.
- As of April 2021, the US Department of State website is reporting significant delays in passport processing times (COVID 19): 10 to 12 weeks. Expedited passports take about 4 to 6 weeks but cost an extra $60 to process.
- The passport fee for a new adult document is $145, for standard processing and standard delivery, and renewal costs $110 as of April 2, 2018.
- The US passport is valid for 10 years for citizens 16 or older when the passport was issued. For citizens younger than 16 when the passport was issued, validity is 5 years only.
A sharp drop in US passports issued in 2020
The authorities have issued:
- 21,378,994 electronic passports for 2017
- 21,103,475 (including 2,812,691 passport cards) for 2018.
- 20,690,491 (including 2,895,514 passport cards) for 2019.
- 11,711,945 (and 1,741,527 passport cards) for 2020.
- 20,690,491 (including 2,895,514 passport cards) for 2019.
- 21,103,475 (including 2,812,691 passport cards) for 2018.
Why is that?
Needless to say, the COVID-19 outbreak and severe quarantine measures all over the world caused a sharp drop in tourism in 2020. Americans, like the rest of the world, drastically reduced their travel in 2020.
The 2017-2018 sharp demand for a new passport was due to the fact that a lot of passports issued in 2007 were up for renewal.
At that time, the US Government requested its citizens to have a valid passport to visit Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean. With a 10-year validity, this brought us to a new wave of renewals for 2017.
US passport picture requirements
The photo is critical to the usability and security of the US passport.
The photograph will be accepted if it complies with photo guidelines.
Check out, in this video of March 2019, the current US passport picture requirements that need to be met to obtain a passport.
Discover now 10 cool facts about the US passport
What happens at border control with a US passport?
The electronic chip micro-controller included in the US passport represents a highly secure feature in itself.
In the case that a counterfeiter successfully manages to change the portrait and citizen information on the data page, the data in the chip cannot be accessed and altered.
Why?
Any tampering attempt can be detected since the altered data will not compute correctly, as it has not been signed and authorized by the Issuing Authority.
The following steps describe the typical semi-automatic verification by a Border Control Officer, to explain the exchange of information and the security mechanisms at work.
The processes for electronic gates or mobile terminals are similar.
(Click to enlarge the infographic)
- The traveler arrives at the control point and presents the passport.
- The officer swipes the data page through a special reader to read the two lines of printed characters (known as Machine Readable Zone or MRZ) on the bottom of the data page.
This allows the generation of a session key to access the microcontroller and read the data stored in it, using the Basic Access Control (BAC) mechanism defined by the ICAO. This guarantees security as it requires access to the passport to be able to read the chip and thus prevents eavesdropping. - The officer holds the passport over another passport reader, that uses a contactless protocol, to read the micro-controller. The information is then displayed on the monitor, along with the picture. The officer can check that the information stored in the micro-controller and printed on the data page is the same.
- The chip has been signed by the Issuing Authority's certificate. The system can automatically check the validity of the certificate by accessing the Public Key Directory managed by ICAO which handles the certificate exchange between participating countries.
- Several automated checks can take place: Search in Interpol's Lost & Stolen Travel document watch list, to check if the document is listed there, as part of an identity theft attempt to illegally enter the country; Search in the databases of the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Foreign Affairs databases according to Customs and Border Protection procedures put in place, to track fugitives or people deported in the past.
Where do we fit in?
Thales is the proud partner of the US government for electronic passports, the Department of Defense for military CAC cards, and state DMVs for secure IDs.
More specifically, Thales is one of only two vendors to be selected after a rigorous selection process for the supply of the US ePassport program.
In August 2012, the GPO, responsible for supplying the US Department of State with ePassports, has awarded Thales with a second consecutive five-year contract.
Thales first partnered with GPO in 2006 following stringent evaluations to meet agency requirements. Thales is to supply its latest ICAO-compliant electronic covers as well as support for the lifetime of the agreement.
Where to contact us in the United States
Thales DIS USA, Inc (Austin)
9442 Capital of Texas Highway North
Plaza II, Suite 400
78759 Austin, TX - USA
Phone: +1 512 257 3900 or 888 343 5773