The US Department of State and the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have announced that the new US Passport Card is now in full production and is being distributed. The Passport Card is a convenient, wallet-sized document for land and sea travel between the United States and Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. It is not valid for international travel by air. 

Beginning in June 2009, travellers will be required to present a single Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative-compliant document denoting both citizenship and identity when entering the United States through a land or sea border.

More than 350,000 Americans pre-ordered the U.S. Passport Cards since the State Department began taking orders on 1 February. Over 7,600 cards have already been mailed to advance customers, and all pre-orders are expected to be filled by 30 September 2008. After that initial distribution, the processing time for passport cards should be the same as for passport books – less than four weeks. Customers will be able to track the progress of their passport card application online beginning in mid-August.

The passport card uses uses a vicinity-read radio frequency identification (RFID) chip. With this technology, DHS’ U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers will be able to access photographs and other biographical information stored in secure government databases before the traveller reaches the inspection booth so that inspection can be facilitated. For privacy protection, no personal information is stored on the electronic chip itself. The chip will have only a unique number pointing to a stored record contained in secure government databases.

“We are pleased to offer Americans a choice of documents, the traditional passport book, and now the passport card, to meet their personal needs for international travel,” said Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Janice L. Jacobs.

The Passport Card is available for US$45 for first-time adult applicants and US$35 for children under 16. Adults who currently have valid passports can apply for the passport card by mail for US$20.