Timeline for Why are US passport cards not valid for international flights?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
12 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 14, 2018 at 10:11 | comment | added | Relaxed | US passports might be safer than US passport cards but that's hardly the case for passports in general and it seems the US would be free to introduce whatever technology they like in the passport card. I think this is just begging the question. | |
| Jul 14, 2018 at 2:05 | comment | added | cpast | When do you fly to the US without going through US customs and immigration? If you’re thinking of preclearance, that’s conducted by US CBP officers, not foreign officers (the preclearance country agrees to let CBP set up a station there). | |
| Jul 13, 2018 at 22:40 | comment | added | phoog | @Fizz I have edited the question. But it would seem unnecessary since posting the question here implies that I'm asking about the political reasons. The politicians I care about are any US federal politicians who implemented the WHTI or support its continued existence. But technological differences, at least about the RFID chip, are unlikely to be the reason; for example, they could have designed the RFID chip differently so it includes the photo. | |
| Jul 13, 2018 at 22:05 | comment | added | 264 champagne bottles on ice | @phoog: so edit your question then. You just asked what is the reason. It may well be technological. And which politicians do you care about? I'm pretty sure there is some conspiracy theorist out there who has "an idea". | |
| Jul 13, 2018 at 22:00 | comment | added | phoog | @Fizz I'm mostly interested in the reasons stated by politicians (which is why I asked here at Politics). Whether the reasons are correct is secondary. | |
| Jul 13, 2018 at 21:27 | comment | added | 264 champagne bottles on ice | @Eremi: that eweek page says that RFID in general is useless for security, not that the one found in passports is significantly better. The passports apparently transmit more RFID data, including the photo, whereas the card just transmits a key that needs to be looked up. It's not at all clear that cloning one RFID is much harder than the other just based on this. My guess is that the actual difference could come from the fact that the on-line access to the database needed for the cards' key[s] isn't widespread. | |
| Jul 13, 2018 at 20:02 | comment | added | Eremi | Reference for RFID: eweek.com/security/exposing-the-myth-of-passport-card-security. It's a bit old, but I wasn't able to find more recent information. I don't have any specific congressional sources on the debate over it. The rationale for lower level of security for land borders would probably be 9/11, as well as the relative difficulty of policing land borders, and the frequency with which both are crossed. | |
| Jul 13, 2018 at 19:55 | comment | added | phoog | Do you have a reference supporting the assertion that passport card RFID technology is less advanced? I would have thought that it, like that of a passport, complies with the ICAO standard. | |
| Jul 13, 2018 at 19:54 | comment | added | phoog | Do you have any evidence that this line of reasoning was either (1) actually considered when legislative proposals for the WHTI and passport card were being developed, or (2) offered to the US public as an explanation for the restriction? Also, if we accept (for the sake of argument, if necessary) that the passport card is indeed less secure, why is the lower level of security acceptable at a land border but not for an air traveler? Also, I'm not asking why other countries might not accept passport cards but about why the State department restricts their use. | |
| Jul 13, 2018 at 19:46 | comment | added | Eremi | gizmodo.com/… gives a good explanation of passport security. Passports contain hard to forge holograms, carefully designed security measures, and substantially more advanced RFID technologythan what Passport cards include. The exact security measures are largely not disclosed (to avoid forgery). | |
| Jul 13, 2018 at 19:37 | comment | added | 264 champagne bottles on ice | "The passport card in general is less secure than a passport book" Why? | |
| Jul 13, 2018 at 18:31 | history | answered | Eremi | CC BY-SA 4.0 |