So we all participate in their big Security Kabuki.
Most can, but not all.
Suppose you are an undocumented asylum seeker. Depending on the exact definition of undocumented, this group may be large or tiny. Anyway, those who are seeking asylum because their home government has them on some sort of enemies list almost surely cannot get a passport renewed.
Also, some may be from a country whose passport the U.S. does not recognize (Somaliland).
As I mentioned above, in most cases the answer is YES, a person can get a passport from their home country or renew their passport while living outside their home country. This includes those living in the U.S.
The typical procedure involves going to the Embassy or a Consulate of the home country.
Mexico does this.
Guatemala does this.
El Salvador does this.
The UK does this.
It appears most EU countries offer this option but I’m not going to link to them all as a simple online search should help anyone who really needs to see this for every country in the world.
Venezuela is the only one I looked at that seems to be a NO but that has more to do with the diplomatic issues between them and the US at the moment.
Don’t get me started. It’s all so utterly stoopid. Try this experiment: Ask people how the 9/11 hijackers snuck their weapons onto the planes. It’s a trick question.
Sure, but I’d be surprised if the TSA agent, when provided with an official looking passport, would even know which countries were real. In fact, I bet it would be very easy to create fake passports from fake countries. You think the average $19/hour TSA guy can name all 180-ish countries AND knows which ones are recognized by the US AND knows what all their passports look like?
When I travel, the TSA agent scans the driver’s license or passport, so you’re not relying on the person recognizing that Freedonia doesn’t exist.
Actually, fair point. I had forgot about that. And I travel a lot. Nevermind
Yeah, a Sovereign Military Order of Malta passport- cause a burp?
For those not familiar with the technology, this is the type of scanner used by TSA. “It enables government agencies and services providers to verify the authenticity of a comprehensive range of travel and identity documents from around the world, including driver’s licenses, passports, national ID cards, visas, and immigration cards.”
so what. The Supreme court allows different treatment of different classes if there is a compelling state interest. What’s interesting is that the level of scrutiny it will apply in such Alienage cases (strict, intermediate, or rational basis) seems to change based on the law it is analyzing. But in any event, the simple fact that different classes of people are treated differently doesn’t mean the law is unconstitutional.
So permanent residents of the US and foreign tourists do not have any right to travel? This doesn’t seem right to me. I would think that any person whatsoever has the right to move around freely in the US unless they are specifically prohibited by law (like if they are on probation).
Nope.
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States ; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
“any person”
You do need a photo ID for Amtrak and Greyhound busses.
No one has ever checked my ID on Amtrak.
That’s not what the Amtrak site says, but who knows if they practice it in all cases.
Yeah, true. I’m sure they could ask me for ID and kick me off if I don’t have it.
Hell, a few years ago I took Amtrak from Olympia to Seattle and nobody even checked my ticket. I don’t think they even checked my ID when I rode in a sleeper from Seattle to Chicago last year.
I taken the Amtrak Surfliner from Santa Barbara to Solana Beach and back many times and I have never been asked for ID.
Amtrak might be a reserved-ticket thing rather than a security thing. Making sure the name on the reservation matches who’s using the reservation. I can’t recall showing my ID on Amtrak, but it’s been a while.
Pacific Surfliner is unreserved, as I recall. The long-distance trains and most corridor trains outside the Northeast and California are reserved.
Sort of. There’s a business class car where you need a special ticket but within each car is unreserved. They definitely make sure that your ticket matches the car.
Depends on the station… in Austin yes I get checked… other station I use is Taylor… sometimes they check sometimes they don’t…
Personally I like the Taylor station it’s less hassle than the Austin station…