re: "AMERICA’S BERLIN WALL"

Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit disapproved of a proposal to deny U.S. passports to tax delinquents.

Money quote(s):

"AMERICA’S BERLIN WALL: Owe The IRS? Bill Would Suspend Passport Rights For Delinquent Taxpayers. Tar. Feathers."

Some assembly required, as the joke goes.

Still, this is a logical enough extension of the restriction already applied to those reported to HHS as being delinquent in their payment of child support.

4/5

re: "“Pay to Play” vs “Pay to Pay” "

Richard Fernandez at Belmont Club noted a proposal impacting U.S. passport issuance.

Money quote(s):

"The problem with becoming a taxpayer is that it puts you in the system. You become a database record, and there’s no end to the uses that government can put that too. A proposed bill would allow the State Department to “deny, revoke or limit a passport for any individual whom the Internal Revenue Service has certified as having a ‘seriously delinquent tax debt’ in excess of $50,000. The amount would be adjusted for inflation in future years.” The provision was part of a larger amendment by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. to fund a highway bill."

There are a couple of ways that a U.S. citizen can find issuance of a U.S. passport to be delayed or denied. One is to be sufficiently behind on ones child support payments that the state in which they are paid reports that fact to the Department of Health and Human Services. They, in turn, relay that information to the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs and in very short order that information is available to U.S. consular and passport officials across the country and around the world.

Presumably this restriction would work in a similar fashion.

(Just to be clear, it's possible for a U.S. citizen abroad to get a limited validity passport that'll allow them to travel home to the U.S., just to keep them from being stranded.)

"One way to escape this hassle is not to join the system at all. Many Americans will never have to worry about getting their passport canceled for tax reasons because they don’t pay any. The Daily Mail reports: “Only half of U.S. citizens pay federal income tax, according to the latest available figures. In 2009, just 50.5 per cent of Americans paid any income tax to the federal government – the lowest proportion in at least half a century.”"

CAA has a problem with this.

It's not that many American aren't paying taxes at all, but their deductions and tax liability exceeds the amount of income withholding tax so they get a refund at the end of the year. In some cases, it's the entirety of the taxes they paid. Which withholding tax the federal government has the use of, interest-free, for as long as it takes the individual taxpayer to file their return.

4/4

RGS - NM May Get Break on Passport Requirement

From my archive of press clippings:

Rio Grande Sun

NM May Get Break on Passport Requirement

Department of Homeland Security will probably push deadline for Real ID act, which requires passports for all New Mexicans traveling by air


By Joe Crawford
SUN Staff Writer


Published: Thursday, December 10, 2009 12:22 PM MST


A recently publicized federal law that would require New Mexicans to present a passport before boarding an airplane will probably be changed or its implementation postponed, the Department of Homeland Security announced last week.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"In a statement, the Department announced that if Congress doesn’t come up with a legislative solution, the Department plans to grant extensions to states such as New Mexico that have yet to comply with the Real ID Act. The Act, which is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, would effectively make New Mexico driver’s licenses insufficient forms of identification to get through airport security, even for domestic flights."

"The Real ID Act was passed in 2005 and it establishes nationwide standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and other identification cards. Because New Mexico and the majority of other states have not come into compliance with the act, their IDs would no longer meet minimum requirements for certain purposes, notably boarding an airplane."

"In New Mexico, post offices are the only locations to apply for passports and many offices do not have the capacity to offer the service, U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Barbara Wood said. That’s mostly because it takes at least several minutes to process an application, Wood said."

&

"The passports cost $100, plus $15 for the Post Office to take an applicant’s photo, she said. The IDs take approximately four to six weeks to process and they are valid for 10 years, according to the Department of State’s Web site."

JW - Hacking Through The Red Tape

From my archive of press clippings:

The Jewish Week


Hacking Through The Red Tape

12/08/2009


The State Department’s travel information Web site is an essential first step for those planning a trip.

by Hilary Larson

Travel Writer


As I planned my winter travels recently, I found myself mired in a sea of red tape. There were visa requirements to sort out, length-of-stay restrictions to double check, passports to renew. What struck me was how difficult it can be to find the information you need — and how common misconceptions can get you into trouble.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"For anybody planning a trip, the essential first step is to visit the travel information Web site maintained by the United States government: www.travel.state.gov. It has a comprehensive section on passports and visas, and a travel information page for each country in the world, with clearly stated entry and exit requirements. (There is also a list of updated travel warnings for dicey destinations, which read like the plot of an action movie: grim recounts of explosions, killings and terrorist activity.)"

WLKM - Update – U.S. Passports

From my archive of press clippings:

WLKM


Update – U.S. Passports


February 24, 2010 by WLKM


St. Joseph County Clerk Pattie Bender reports that passport fees are expected to increase.
In a new release on the subject, Bender said, “We were notified on February 22, 2010 by the U.S. Passport Office that fees will be increasing. There is no firm date set yet as they have to have a 30 day comment period first. That time period began on February 9, 2010.”

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"(A) “Cost of Service” study was conducted in June of 2009 and the results indicated that the fees should increase. The last fee increase was four years ago."

&

"According to Bender, the notice also indicated that passport fees are used not only to cover the costs of producing a passport book or card, but they are used to cover the costs of providing emergency services for American citizens overseas in crisis situations; along with helping Americans who have been the victims of crime while traveling or living abroad; and providing support to the families of American citizens who have died overseas."

_____
If you have any questions, call the County Clerk’s office weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at (269) 467-5603.

WIVB - New birth certificate policy. New law takes effect July 1.

From my archive of press clippings:

WIVB

New birth certificate policy


New law takes effect July 1


Updated: Wednesday, 17 Feb 2010, 7:50 PM EST

Published : Wednesday, 17 Feb 2010, 5:27 PM EST


There are some major changes coming for identity measures if your were born in Puerto Rico.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Your birth certificate will become void as of July 1st - part of a new law designed to reduce identity theft and passport fraud.

The U.S. State Department reports that 40 percent of the 8,000 cases of identity theft and passport fraud in the United States is related to stolen Puerto Rican birth certificates."

&

"According to U.S. Customs and Immigration, a Puerto Rican birth certificate runs for about $5,000 to $10,000 on the black market.

Puerto Ricans born on the island receive an American Social Security number and are eligible for a United States passport from birth. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Department of Health will issue new birth certificates to people upon request. There will be a $5 charge."

_____
For more information, call (787) 767-9120 ext. 2402 or visit their Web site.

SDN - Mexico's passport mandate to be eased. Enforcement lifted for visitors to Baja.

From my archive of press clippings:

San Diego News

Mexico's passport mandate to be eased


Enforcement lifted for visitors to Baja


By Sandra Dibble, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER


Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.


A new Mexican government rule that U.S. visitors present passports when entering Mexico by land, sea and air will not be enforced at Baja California’s border crossings, authorities said Monday in Tijuana.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Francisco Javier Reynoso Nuño, the top federal immigration official in Baja California, said Mexico lacks the infrastructure to enforce the regulations at busy ports such as San Ysidro and Otay Mesa."

"The rules, set to go into effect March 1 in other parts of Mexico, will not be applied to short-term visitors along the northern border, Reynoso said. Likewise, cruise ship passengers who briefly disembark at Ensenada won’t be required to present a passport, he said."

"The announcement of the new rules has come as Mexico has worked to increase security at its ports of entry. The federal government is in the process of installing a new electronic inspection system, known as SIAVE, at its land border crossings as a means of detecting illegal weapons and other contraband.
Southbound border waits have been growing longer in recent months as a result of SIAVE. Business groups in both Baja California and San Diego complained that the additional immigration inspection would create even longer delays, and further stifle commerce and tourism on both sides."

&

"The regulations, announced this month by Mexico’s National Migration Institute, state that U.S. citizens traveling to Mexico “by air, land or sea” must present either a valid U.S. passport or passport card. U.S. permanent residents must also present documents proving their status.

Because of U.S. travel document requirements, most U.S. visitors to Mexico already carry passports or passport cards or trusted traveler documents such as SENTRI passes when crossing at the border."

TH - ‘Indian linked to Mumbai blasts issued fake Pak passport’

From my archive of press clippings:

The Hindu

‘Indian linked to Mumbai blasts issued fake Pak passport’


Islamabad, January 12, 2010


Three Indian citizens, including a man linked to the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai, were issued Pakistani passports by the country’s consulate in the U.S. city of Houston, an anti-corruption court has been told by a senior diplomat.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Pakistan’s Consul General in Houston, Aqil Nadeem, appeared as a witness in the accountability court in Rawalpindi on Monday and confirmed that Pakistani passports were issued by the consulate to Indian nationals Aziz Moosa, Saleem Ali and Abdul Sadiq.
Mr. Nadeem told Judge Wamiq Javaid that the passports were issued by the Houston consulate as had been alleged by the National Accountability Bureau, the country’s anti-corruption agency, in its case against former Consul General Ghulam Rasool Baloch and other persons."

&

"An American passport bearing the name Syed Nazar Ali was found after the 1993 bomb blasts in Mumbai and probe revealed the man was actually an Indian national named Aziz Moosa."

USA-T - Accused Americans could be stuck in Brazil for months

From my archive of press clippings:

USA Today

Accused Americans could be stuck in Brazil for months


Updated 7/9/2009 3:31 PM

By Andrea Stone, USA TODAY

Three U.S. graduate students arrested last month for suspected poaching and visa violations could be stranded in a remote corner of Brazil for months as their case goes through the courts, their lawyer says.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"University of Arizona geoscientists Michael McGlue, 31, and Mark Trees, 48, and University of Minnesota-Duluth student Kelly Wendt, 26, were arrested by federal police June 16 while working on a climate change project with the University of the State of Sao Paulo. The Americans spent eight nights in jail before being released on bail June 26. Police confiscated their passports as well as computers, research equipment, cellphones and cash."

&

"State Department spokeswoman Laura Tischler said U.S. diplomats had spoken with the men but suggested there was little they could do.

"The traveler really needs to check what the requirements are by checking the embassy websites," she said. "Once you travel and are in another country, you are subject to local law." "

______

Contributing: Associated Press

KDBC4 - Hundreds in El Paso Flock to Passport Fair

From my archive of press clippings:

KDBC4

Hundreds in El Paso Flock to Passport Fair

Posted by Armando Saldivar, KDBC 4 News

May 17, 2009 09:42 PM EDT

For the past two years, foreign travelers were given word that a passport would be required in order to travel even into Juarez. With less than two weeks before the regulation is enforced, El Paso County is seeing thousands of people scrambling to get their document.

Read the whole article here.

TLFP - Have passport, will travel

From my archive of press clippings:

The London Free Press

Have passport, will travel

Thu, June 25, 2009

Teams are finding out the necessity of players having the proper documents to play in -- or even just drive through -- the U.S.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"It isn't just non-Canadians coming in who need their papers. Since June 1, an up-to-date passport is required for Canadian citizens entering the United States.
That includes the large group of local sports clubs that zig-zag in and out between the two countries on a regular basis."

______

ryan.pyette@sunmedia.ca

HC - U.S. citizens born at home face struggle for passports

From my archive of press clippings:

Houston Chronicle

U.S. citizens born at home face struggle for passports


By STATE SEN. EDDIE LUCIO JR.



Aug. 5, 2009, 8:04PM


On Jan. 20, 1946, a midwife delivered me in the Texas border town of Brownsville. This was not an uncommon happenstance, particularly at the time, when many women delivered their children at home with the assistance of such a health care provider.

Read the whole article here.

WSJ - Mrs. Madoff Gets Passport

From my archive of press clippings:

Wall Street Journal


Mrs. Madoff Gets Passport


JULY 8, 2009

NEW YORK -- Ruth Madoff, the wife of convicted Ponzi-scheme operator Bernard Madoff, is getting her passport back.

Read the whole article here.

TPC - New passports might transmit your data

From my archive of press clippings:

The Pueblo Chieftain

New passports might transmit your data

Published: July 08, 2009 02:56 pm

To protect against skimming and eavesdropping attacks, federal and state officials recommend that Americans keep their e-passports tightly shut and store their RFID-tagged passport cards and enhanced driver's licenses in "radio-opaque" sleeves.

Read the whole article here.

JG - I will renounce! Hay-Webster to give up US citizenship

From my archive of press clippings:

Jamaica Gleaner

I will renounce! Hay-Webster to give up US citizenship

Published: Sunday August 2, 2009

Hay-Webster


Tyrone Reid, Sunday Gleaner Reporter


South Central St Catherine Member of Parliament (MP) Sharon Hay-Webster has decided to give up the land of her birth - the United States of America (USA).

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Hay-Webster, an Opposition MP, has initiated the process of renouncing her US citizenship in order to remain a member of the House of Representatives.

Fifteen months ago, an unyielding Hay-Webster, with legal team in tow, was ready for a showdown with her political adversaries to prove that despite possessing a US passport, she was eligible to sit in the lower house.

But yesterday Hay-Webster hoisted the proverbial white flag. "I told my constituency executive on Friday night that I intend to renounce and the party chairman is also aware … I told them I have been in discussion with the embassy already," she told The Sunday Gleaner in solemn tones."

"Her move to relinquish her US citizenship is the latest causality in the politically charged dual citizenship maelstrom rocking Gordon House.

Already, the court has booted three MPs - Daryl Vaz, Gregory Mair and Michael Stern - from Parliament because of the constitutional breach that rendered them ineligible to sit in the lower house when they were elected in the 2007 general election."

&

"Under the Jamaican Con-stitution, non-commonwealth nationals, who have pledged allegiance to a foreign power, are disqualified to sit in the House."


tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com

TT - AIT requires face-to-face interviews for kids' US visas

From my archive of press clippings:

Taipei Times

AIT requires face-to-face interviews for kids' US visas


By Jenny W. hsu

STAFF REPORTER


Saturday, Jun 20, 2009, Page 2

“Too often, we have found instances where people who were not Taiwan citizens have been able to obtain genuine Taiwan passports.”— Stephen Young, AIT director

Starting on July 1, Taiwanese passport holders under the age of 14 will require a face-to-face interview with a US immigration officer when applying for a US visa, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The announcement was posted on the official AIT Web site yesterday, but the AIT was reluctant to comment on whether the policy change was in response to human trafficking arrests made last month.

The ring, headed by Taiwanese and Chinese “snakeheads,” used personal information from Taiwanese Aboriginal children under age 14 but used pictures of underage Chinese girls to apply for Republic of China passports.

The passports were then used to obtain a US visa.

The victims often ended up working in brothels or sweatshops upon arriving in the US, Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency said."

&

"Persons above age 79 are still exempt from the interview process. When asked if the policy change was in response to the recent human trafficking case, AIT spokesman Thomas Hodges yesterday declined to give a direct answer, but referred to comments made by AIT Director Stephen Young.

Asked about the possibility of including Taiwan in the US’ visa-waiver program last December, Young said: “Too often, we have found instances where people who were not Taiwan citizens have been able to obtain genuine Taiwan passports.” "

TG&M - Passport saved Canadian hostage

From my archive of press clippings:

The Globe and Mail


Passport saved Canadian hostage

MARK MacKINNON

JERUSALEM — From Thursday's Globe and Mail

Last updated on Sunday, Apr. 05, 2009 02:29AM EDT

Mark Budzanowski could almost feel his captors' mood sag when they rifled through his pockets and found his passport. The word Canada on the cover was a blow to the dozens of masked men who surrounded him in the nondescript basement somewhere in the Gaza Strip. They thought they had kidnapped an American.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"When they were finally convinced that Mr. Budzanowski was not an American in disguise, he said, they started treating him more politely, and handling him less roughly.
"When they were certain I was Canadian, they were very disappointed. Then, they told me, 'We love Canada.' That's wonderful to hear when you have guns pointed at you," an exhausted Mr. Budzanowski said yesterday in a telephone interview shortly after he was released after almost 30 hours as a hostage.
"It's wonderful to have a Canadian passport because it changes people's minds. One of the guards kept asking me to say hello to Canada, so it does stand for something." "

&

"(W)hile the Canadian embassy had arranged safe passage for him to Tel Aviv, and then home to Canada if he wanted, Mr. Budzanowski decided to stay in Gaza City. After what he hoped would be a long sleep and a warm shower, the aid worker planned to be back at his desk at Jumpstart this morning.

Despite his lack of sleep, Mr. Budzanowski spoke passionately about the need to help Palestinians rebuild their economy and society. He said Jumpstart's projects — including the building of a polytechnic school on the ruins of a deserted Israeli settlement in Gaza and a "peace park" near the Rafah border crossing with Egypt — are too important for him to go home now. "

TDJ - Tips for US-Canadian border travelers during summer holidays

From my archive of press clippings:

The Daily Journal

Tips for US-Canadian border travelers during summer holidays


Submitted by Journal Staff on July 1, 2009 - 9:51am.

Steps travelers can employ to cross the border more efficiently

CBP Staff Report

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is reminding both Americans and Canadians planning their holiday travel for Canada Day, Fourth of July and summer vacation season that there are a number of steps they can employ to cross the border more efficiently.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative was implemented on June 1 and requires U.S. and Canadian citizens age 16 and older to present a valid, acceptable document that denotes both identity and citizenship when entering the U.S. by land or sea. WHTI acceptable documents include a passport, U. S. passport card, enhanced driver’s licenses (EDLs) — now produced by the State of Washington and Providence of British Columbia — or a Trusted Traveler Program card (NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST). For more information, visit www.GetYouHome.gov. "

SM - GAO Obtains Passport with Social Security Number of Man Who Died in 1965

From my archive of press clippings:

Security Management

GAO Obtains Passport with Social Security Number of Man Who Died in 1965


By Matthew Harwood

04/14/2009 -

An undercover investigator was able to use counterfeit documents and the Social Security number (SSN) of a man who died in 1965 to obtain a U.S. passport, according to a letter from the Government Accountability Office (GAO)to Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Diane Feinstein (D-CA).

Read the whole article here.

About.Com - Will you need a passport for US Virgin Islands travel?

From my archive of press clippings:

About.Com

Will you need a passport for US Virgin Islands travel?


Tuesday March 31, 2009


Headed to the US Virgin Islands for spring break? They're US territories and you won't need a passport, but note that you will need id (like a driver's license) and a birth certificate if you don't have a passport (more details below). A reader recently wrote to say that she hadn’t realized she needed to bring her birth certificate along on a trip to St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands; Valora wrote, "I thought I was clear to travel to and from St Thomas with my driver's license. I got to the airport for my return flight and caught h*ll from the TSA agent for not having a passport or birth certificate."

Read the whole article here.