Damaged US Passport Chip Strands Travelers

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Damaged US Passport Chip Strands Travelers

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday February 21, 2012 @08:04AM from the kids-break-the-darnedest-things dept.

caseih writes "Damaging the embedded chip in your passport is now grounds for denying you the ability to travel in at least one airport in the U.S. Though the airport can slide the passport through the little number reader as easily as they can wave it in front of an RFID reader, they chose to deny a young child access to the flight, in essence denying the whole family. The child had accidentally sat on his passport, creasing the cover, and the passport appeared worn. The claim has been made that breaking the chip in the passport shows that you disrespect the privilege of owning a passport, and that the airport was justified in denying this child from using the passport."

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Bad summary: the airline, not the government by OhHellWithIt · 2012-02-21 08:04 · Score: 5, Informative

TFA states that it was an airline official who refused to allow the passenger to board, not an agent of the government. It's still galling, but let's express our discontent where it belongs.

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"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." -- George Orwell
1. Re:Bad summary: the airline, not the government by Pharmboy · 2012-02-21 08:15 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  The guy who was talking all the smack, who said: "To have a passport is privilege, it's not entitled to you by citizenship," Priest said. He said the issue may be with a microchip embedded in the back of all new passports. "They have no reason in the world to let you travel if it's been damaged," Priest said. "It's like cutting your photo out or something if that chip doesn't work." is the same guy who is rated A- by the BBB for several complains. His contact info at BBB is at http://www.bbb.org/denver/business-reviews/passport-and-visa-services/international-passport-visas-in-denver-co-8845
  
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  Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
2. Re:Bad summary: the airline, not the government by j35ter · 2012-02-21 08:25 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  No. The RFID is optional. A passport is still a physical ID, and as such respected worlwide ... uh ... except in the us, of course.
  
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  Delta-Mike November Bravo Tango
3. Re:Bad summary: the airline, not the government by dbialac · 2012-02-21 08:39 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Moreover, your passport explicitly states in plain writing that the chip doesn't have to be functioning for it to be a valid document.
4. Re:Bad summary: the airline, not the government by airdweller · 2012-02-21 10:48 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  "The Federal Government is requiring many Catholic organizations..."
  Catholic-affiliated. Not churches, but hospitals, etc. A person who works at a Catholic church has to be Catholic. A person who works for a Catholic-affiliated hospital - doesn't have to, and has the right for such a policy.
5. Re:Bad summary: the airline, not the government by snowgirl · 2012-02-21 11:15 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  How did this get labeled Insightful? The Federal Government is requiring many Catholic organizations to provide contraception in the policies they provide their employees. Because these organizations pay at least partially for these policies, they are being required to pay for contraception. The slimy move to say it doesn't have to be in the policy, but has to be provided for free it just bull and every one knows it.
  The original set of rules were already in place in California, and the Catholic Church attempted to fight a legal battle over it. They got all the way to the Federal District Appeals, and were shot down. The Supreme Court denied them a writ to hear the case.
  The actual original conditions require Catholics who are not hiring predominantly other Catholics, who do not service predominantly other Catholics, and a few other reasonable conditions to cover birth control for their employees. This means, that if a Catholic organization, goes out and hires atheists, protestants, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics, and Wiccans, that they would have been forced (just like every other public employer) to provide birth control for those individuals.
  These Catholic organizations, which would have been required to provide birth control, do not feel that sharing their faith is necessary to be employed by them, so they should be treated just like any other employer. I don't care if your organization is "based on religious ideas", if you're practicing secular employment, then you cannot bring up your religious ideas to justify discrimination of those employees. You yourself have already chosen to eschew your religious employment grounds.
  
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6. Re:Bad summary: the airline, not the government by fredklein · 2012-02-21 14:55 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  United Declaration on Human Rights is silent on the issue of travel.
  Um...
  http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
  Article 13.
  (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
  (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
Kinda right, but not... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-21 08:17 · Score: 5, Informative

The travel guy they interview has one thing right and one thing wrong...
Not all passports have RFID chips in them. That didn't start until 2006. Mine has no such chip in it. No problems at all with it. Even without the RFID chip, the passport is machine readable (that's the barcode on the picture page). It won't be until 2016 that all US passports--that is, when the old ones all expire, finally--will be biometric/RFID. So I don't see why they should refuse someone who's RFID chip doesn't work, given that other people will be allowed on without one too.
But he is right that the passport is property of the US government. It says that in the document somewhere.
A colleague of mine had major problems with Delta and his visa. He was going to China, and had a return flight 60 days after he left. His visa was only good to stay 30 days. They refused to let him on the plane. Of course, he had planned to go to Hong Kong after 28 days, stay for 3, and then return to mainland China (possible with his multiple entry visa), all of which is fully legal. Delta didn't care and made him change his flight (and pay to do so). He then had to pay a second time to change it back once he got to China. His CC refunded the fees, but it was still unnecessary hassle.
The major issue: airlines are NOT immigrations officials! They do have some responsibility, of course. They don't want people getting on planes without passports, only to have them sent back home immediately. Still, on judgment calls like validity of visa and travel plans, they should not have final say in the matter. That's not their job. They don't always get it right.
The family may have made a mistake not immediately calling for a customs agent to get involved. The airline could easily take them downstairs, where there's dozens of immigrations officers, any of whom could make the judgment. There's also probably a supervisor there who gets final say. Why were those people not called in to decide the validity of the passport?
How is a having a passport a privilege??????? by nedlohs · 2012-02-21 08:27 · Score: 5, Informative

"To have a passport is privilege, it's not entitled to you by citizenship," Priest said
The law disagrees completely - http://law.justia.com/cfr/title22/22-1.0.1.6.33.5.5.1.html. Note there are grounds for denying a passport, but there are also grounds for puttting you in prison - that doesn't mean not being in prison is a priviledge.
Or if you prefer statements made to the public of how the government interpretes the law:

Every United States citizen is entitled to a U.S. passport provided that they, or an adult acting on a child's behalf, comply with all applicable requirements, and that there is no statutory or regulatory reason to deny the passport.
- http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppi/family/family_864.html
Heck it uses the word "entitled"!
A bad chip is still a valid passport by Vaerchi · 2012-02-21 08:35 · Score: 5, Informative

quoted from http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_2788.html#One

What will happen if my Electronic Passport fails at a port-of-entry?

The chip in the passport is just one of the many security features of the new passport. If the chip fails, the passport remains a valid travel document until its expiration date. You will continue to be processed by the port-of-entry officer as if you had a passport without a chip.
THE CHILD WASN'T REFUSED by x_IamSpartacus_x · 2012-02-21 08:56 · Score: 5, Informative

Apparently people (including the submitter) are not RTFA very well. FTA

Little Kye’s passport has a crease on the back cover, which Gosnell says came from him accidentally sitting on the passport. His passport was questioned, but not denied. It was Kyle Gosnell’s that was the real problem. It has a small crease on the back cover, and is overall weathered and worn.
The child's passport was NOT denied, it was Kyle (presumably the father) who had the "overall weathered and worn" passport that was denied. It's hard to believe that his passport was so weathered and worn that it couldn't be read so this is probably still an issue of an airline employee with a stick up his ass but TFS is completely wrong and trolling everyone who comments on here enraged. TFA doesn't even say that the RFID chip had ANYTHING to do with his being denied. Parent is absolutely right that the person who is quoted has NOTHING to do with this situation. The local Fox team reporting on this probably Googled someone in the Denver area (not the Dallas area where this whole f'ing thing actually happened) and asked this nutjob for a quote for their story.
PLEASE RTFA before commenting. Slashdot editors, PLEASE edit these retarded submissions before they get our collective panties in a wad.
Re:FTFA by PCM2 · 2012-02-21 08:56 · Score: 5, Informative

You only need the Visa if you plan on working there. The passport's enough for a visit.
That depends on the country. Many countries grant Americans an implicit visa to travel there for tourism for a specific period of time, but many others do not. India and Vietnam are two examples that immediately come to mind. Some countries will grant you a visa in the airport after you fill out some paperwork, while others require you to apply from outside the country in advance (and waiting periods vary).
You should travel more.

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Try "a car without license plates" instead... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-21 09:00 · Score: 5, Informative

...if you're going for a car analogy.
http://travel.state.gov/passport/faq/faq_1741.html

Q:My passport has been damaged. Can I continue to use this passport?
a:If your passport has been significantly damaged, especially the book cover or the page displaying your personal data and photo, you will need to apply for a new passport. You will need to submit the following in person (See Where to Apply):
The damaged passport
Form DS-11
All documents required by Form DS-11, including citizenship documentation (i.e. birth certificate)
Water damage, a significant tear, unofficial markings on the data page, missing visa pages (torn out), a hole punch and other injuries may constitute "damage" requiring use of Form DS-11.
Normal wear of a U.S. passport is understandable and likely does not constitute "damage". For instance, the expected bend of a passport after being carried in your back pocket or fanning of the visa pages after extensive opening and closing. In most cases of normal wear, you may renew your passport by mail using Form DS-82.
Please remember, if you try to renew a significantly damaged passport using Form DS-82, you may be asked by the Passport Agency to apply again using Form DS-11 and incur additional fees./