# Passport question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 29, 2008, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-question/451021 "2008-05-29T15:42:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-question/451021/1 "2008-05-29T15:42:01Z")
I can’t seem to find an answer to this on the Department of State’s site or on the form’s instructions. For Parent’s Place of Birth, is it enough to say “USA” or do they need more detail, such as city and state? I know where my mother was born, but have no idea where my father was from. ---
**Author:** ![Fir\_na\_tine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-question/451021/2 "2008-05-29T16:11:50Z")
City and State are required if born in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-question/451021/3 "2008-05-29T16:20:44Z")
[QUOTE=gotpasswords] I know where my mother was born, but have no idea where my father was from. [/QUOTE] Did he skip town after you were born or is he dead now and you simply can’t ask him or any surviving relatives? That is a good question actually. Plenty of people don’t even know their parents much less where they were born. I am not sure how you would note “Unknown” or if you can simply take a best guess. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-question/451021/4 "2008-05-29T16:52:39Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] Did he skip town after you were born or is he dead now and you simply can’t ask him or any surviving relatives? That is a good question actually. Plenty of people don’t even know their parents much less where they were born. I am not sure how you would note “Unknown” or if you can simply take a best guess. [/QUOTE] I suppose I could try to poke around and see if anyone’s done the geneology thing on my ancestors. Plan B might be to try searching on Zabasearch, but that could be even more tedious than geneology, and I don’t even know if he’s still alive or not. Once I find likely matches, then what? Mail out postcards saying “You might be my father. If you recognize my name, please tell me where you were born.”? I’m sure the Dept of State has a procedure for this, but I’d like to know what it is before I fill out forms and wait in line. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-question/451021/5 "2008-05-29T16:59:36Z")
[QUOTE=gotpasswords] I’m sure the Dept of State has a procedure for this, but I’d like to know what it is before I fill out forms and wait in line. [/QUOTE] Just write “unknown.” It’s not like the State Department hasn’t seen passport apps from children of single parents before. As long as your proof of citizenship and identity is in order and you don’t appear in any databases of evil terrorist masterminds, it’s extremely unlikely that you’ll be denied a passport. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-question/451021/6 "2008-05-29T17:04:11Z")
Thanks to the magic known as [gethuman.com](http://gethuman.com), I was able to speak with someone and get the answer. For future reference, they’d prefer you provide the city and state, if known, or just the state. If you don’t know, “unknown” is a valid and acceptable answer. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-question/451021/7 "2008-05-29T17:51:58Z")
[QUOTE=gotpasswords] Thanks to the magic known as [gethuman.com](http://gethuman.com), I was able to speak with someone and get the answer. For future reference, they’d prefer you provide the city and state, if known, or just the state. If you don’t know, “unknown” is a valid and acceptable answer. [/QUOTE] As a further addition, if a parent was born in a foreign country (as mine were), just the name of the country is sufficient. Ed ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-question/451021/8 "2008-05-29T22:05:58Z")
IIRC, my parents’ places of birth (city & state) are on my birth certificate, and ours are on our kids’. I should check.