Infant United States Passport – Apply For A Passport Today
By Advisor. Filed in Florida |
Although some people seem to think otherwise, infants engaging in international travel must have a valid U.S. passport. All U.S. citizens must have a valid passport for international travel. An passport is very similar to normal passports, with a few exceptions.
While it may seem silly to force an infant to carry a passport, there are many 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 government needs to know who is entering and leaving a country at a given time. Allowing infants to forego passports would make it simple to sneak in infant illegal immigrants–an action that seems innocuous, but could have serious consequences twenty years down the line.
Something else to consider are such horrible things as human trafficking and kidnapping. Believe it or not, this happens with parents of kids who are trying to get away from another parent. The angry mother who has just lost her child custody case or perhaps the dad that has disappeared to another country and suddenly shows up and wants his child back.
The infant or child will get their passport in much the same way that an adult does. It goes without saying that the child won’t be able to do this on their own, so mom and or father are going to have to do all of the work in order for a valid passport to be obtained. In addition to the forms, don’t forget to get the passport photos of the child.
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 out an application. In situations where a child is too young to sign his or her own name on their passport the parent must co-sign the passport.
For the parent signature to be valid on the passport, it has to be done in a very specific way. The parent will have to sign the child’s name and then sign their name right next to it. After that, they need to put their relationship next both signatures in parenthesis stating their relationship to the child. If only one parent will be going on the trip with the infant, it is ideal if that parent is the one that signs the passport for the baby.
In order for a child younger than sixteen to obtain a passport, the child must receive written consent from both parents or guardians. This is part of new law passed in an attempt to prevent international custody disputes. A child under sixteen must apply for a passport in person, and both parents must sign form DS-11, in person, together, with the child. A child can’t receive a passport without both parents present.
It should now be pretty obvious why the infant u s passport exists. It may sound a tiny silly when you first look at the law, but it actually there to protect children from various things. Therefore, getting these American passports is a smart decision for any parent, regardless of how old their child is. If an emergency or surprise trip comes up, the baby or young child will be ready to go with you and there will be no challenges in getting in and out of the country.
