An Infant Passport Is A Matter Of National Security

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:16:31 EST

Although some people seem to thinkotherwise, infants engaging in international travel must have a validU.S. passport. All U.S. citizens must have a valid passport forinternational travel. An infant passport is very similar to normalpassports, with a few exceptions.

While it may seem silly to force an infant to carry a passport,there are several practical reasons that make it necessary for all U.S.citizens to carry passports during international travel. First of all,it is a matter of national security and border security.

The governmentneeds to know who is entering and leaving a country at a given time.Allowing infants to forego passports would make it easy to sneak ininfant illegal immigrants--an action that seems innocuous, but couldhave serious consequences twenty years down the line.

Requiring passports for infants is also an issue of human rights.Requiring children and infants to carry passports helps to seriouslycurb illegal human trafficking. By requiring infant passports, thegovernment has made it much more difficult to deal in the illicittrafficking of children.

Applying for an infant passport is rather similar to applying foran adult passport, save a few practical differences. Obviously andinfant will not be able to fill out his or her own passport form. Aparent will have to fill out the forms, and a parent will have to aidin the passport photo process.

Likewise, an infant will not be able to sign his or her passport.This is a bit more significant than the child’s inability to fill outan application. In situations where a child is too young to sign his orher own name on their passport the parent must co-sign the passport.

If a parent needs to sign a passport in place of a child, theparent must print the full name of the child, and then beside thechild’s name, they must sign their own name and write theirrelationship to the child (mother, father, guardian, etc…) inparenthesis next to their own signature.

Ideally, the parent travelingwith the infant should be the parent to sign the passport. However,this is not necessary, as other laws ensure both parents consent tochild passports.

In order for a child younger than sixteen to obtain a passport, thechild must receive written consent from both parents or guardians. Thisis part of new law passed in an attempt to prevent internationalcustody disputes.

A child under sixteen must apply for a passport inperson, and both parents must sign form DS-11, in person, together,with the child. A child cannot receive a passport without both parentspresent.

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An Infant Passport Is A Matter Of National Security