passport

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April 11 Will Be a Big Day for Transgender Americans

State Department sets date for widespread introduction of gender-neutral passports

(Newser) - In what State Department special envoy for LGBTQ rights Jessica Stern calls a "momentous step," Americans will be able to select "X" as their gender on passport applications starting April 11. Stern says adding the gender-neutral option moves the US toward "ensuring that our administrative systems...

Passport Fees Will Jump by $20 Next Week
Big Passport
Fee Hike Is
on the Way

Big Passport Fee Hike Is on the Way

Passport books will cost $20 more starting Monday

(Newser) - American citizens applying for new passports or renewing old ones next week might get sticker shock: The fee is set to jump by 18%, more than double the rate of inflation, starting Dec. 27. The State Department tweeted this week that the cost of a passport book is going up...

'X' Marks US Passport in a Big First
'X' Marks
US Passport
in a Big First

'X' Marks US Passport in a Big First

United States has issued one with 'X' gender designation instead of 'male' or 'female'

(Newser) - The US has issued its first passport with an "X" gender designation—a milestone in the recognition of the rights of people who don't identify as male or female—and expects to be able to offer the option more broadly next year, the State Department said Wednesday. The...

US Passports Are Getting a Third Gender Option

State Department says applicants can now self-select gender

(Newser) - Under changes announced by the State Department on Wednesday, American passports will still list a person's gender—but it will be up to the individual whether it says M or F, and a third option is on the way. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a release that...

Report: Ex-Google CEO Just Bought a Passport to EU

Recode: Eric Schmidt has applied, been approved for citizenship in Cyprus in 'passport for sale' scheme

(Newser) - Buried within the pages of a publication in Cyprus last month, a tiny notice appeared written in the Greek alphabet, except for one name written in English: "Eric Emerson Schmidt," of Atherton, Calif. That notice in Alithia was an announcement of an application and approval for Cypriot citizenship,...

Looking to Get a New Passport? Forget About It for Now

Unless you have 'life-or-death emergency' or are renewing, State Dept. says passports are on hold

(Newser) - The State Department wasn't kidding when it put out its "level four" travel advisory last month urging Americans not to go abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic. CNN reports that on Friday, the department put up a "passport operations" update on its website , and the upshot of that...

Big Break for Saudi Women: Now They Can Leave

Male guardians no longer have authority over women's passports

(Newser) - Saudi women 21 and above hoping to leave the country no longer need a man's help. Saudi Arabia continued its loosening of restrictions on women on Thursday with passage of an amendment that, once it goes into effect at the end of August, will allow all Saudi women to...

Epstein Lawyers: This Is Why He Had a Fake Passport

They say it was in case of hijacking in 1980s

(Newser) - Billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had a good reason for possessing a fake passport, his lawyers argued in a court filing Tuesday. The attorneys said the doctored Austrian passport — cited by prosecutors as a reason why the 66-year-old should be considered a flight risk—was acquired by Epstein to...

CAR Minister Says Tennis Star's Passport Is a 'Clumsy Fake'

And that Boris Becker isn't an official diplomat, though Becker disagrees

(Newser) - Boris Becker's claim of diplomatic immunity in an ongoing bankruptcy case just went from odd to bewildering. Though the former tennis champ claims his April appointment as a Central African Republic attache to the European Union means he's immune from bankruptcy hearings in the UK, the CAR appears...

Is Josef Pwag Really Kim Jong Un?
Is Josef Pwag Really
Kim Jong Un?

Is Josef Pwag Really Kim Jong Un?

Sources tell Reuters they've found the leader's secret Brazilian passport

(Newser) - Meet Josef Pwag and Ijong Tchoi. Or, Kim Jong Un and Kim Jong Il, respectively, if Reuters sources are correct. The news agency exclusively reports on what five senior Western European security sources say are Brazilian passports that were fraudulently issued to the North Koreans in 1996. A source explains...

Convicted Pedophiles to Be Identified on New US Passports

New document will identify them as sex offenders

(Newser) - America's registered child sex offenders will now have to use passports identifying them for their past crimes when traveling overseas. The State Department said Wednesday it would begin revoking passports of registered child sex offenders and will require them to apply for a new one that carries a "...

Australia Plans 'World-First' Move Against Pedophiles

'The existing passport legislation was not working'

(Newser) - "No country has ever taken such decisive and strong action to stop its citizens from going overseas ... to abuse kids." So declares an Australian official in discussing a bold "world-first" plan that would see passports denied to convicted pedophiles who had served their time but remained a...

Red Bull Heir's Passport to Be Revoked in Hit-and-Run Case

Vorayuth 'Boss' Yoovidhya lived in luxury for years after the accident

(Newser) - Thai authorities said Thursday they will revoke the passport of a fugitive heir to the Red Bull energy drink fortune who is wanted on deadly hit-and-run charges, the AP reports. Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya flew to Singapore two days before he was due to appear before prosecutors last month, but...

White Sox Player Ate His Passport on a Plane

Jose Abreu testified he had to get rid of fake doc before landing in US

(Newser) - Some people snack on the peanuts offered on airline flights; Jose Abreu scarfs down beer and pieces of his passport. That's what the first baseman for the Chicago White Sox testified Wednesday in Miami at a trial for a baseball agent and a trainer accused of smuggling Cuban baseball...

Snowden One Step Closer to Russian Citizenship

NSA whistleblower just got 3-year extension on residency permit

(Newser) - Comrade Edward Snowden? Per Reuters , the NSA whistleblower just inched closer to that possibility with a three-year extension of his residency permit in Russia, meaning he may be eligible to apply for Russian citizenship next year, the RIA Novosti news agency quoted his Russian lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, as saying Wednesday....

Glasses Banned From US Passport Photos

State Department says this will speed things up

(Newser) - There's going to be a lot of squinting Americans in passport photos starting next month: The State Department says that as of Nov. 1, eyeglasses will be banned in photos for passports and visa applications unless the photos come with a doctor's note saying the glasses are a...

Rio Judge Orders Seizure of Ryan Lochte's Passport
Rio Judge Orders Seizure
of Ryan Lochte's Passport
olympics

Rio Judge Orders Seizure of Ryan Lochte's Passport

But the swimmer is already back in the US

(Newser) - A weird development in the investigation of the alleged robbery of Ryan Lochte and three others US swimmers in Rio: A judge there on Wednesday ordered the passports of Lochte and fellow swimmer James Feigen seized, reports the AP . The judge apparently is skeptical that the robbery actually took place...

Most Powerful Passport Isn't American or British

It's German, giving holder visa-free access to 177 countries

(Newser) - Think Americans hold the most powerful passport on the planet? You're not even close, according to an index from a British immigration and citizenship firm. Henley & Partners' Visa Restrictions Index finds a German passport gives its holder visa-free access to 177 countries, more than any other passport. In...

The Internet Loses It Over Prince's Passport Photo

Um, wow

(Newser) - Most of us look like this in our passport photos, but most of us are not Prince. The Internet has gone head over heels after the musician tweeted his most recent passport photo last week. A sample of the fawning reaction:
  • "Most glamorous passport photo in history," declares
...

Mos Def Arrested for Fake 'World Passport'

Rapper has 14 days to leave South Africa and is banned for 5 years

(Newser) - A government spokesman says the American entertainer commonly known as Mos Def was arrested in South Africa for traveling with a fraudulent passport. Department of Home Affairs spokesman Mayihlome Tshwete tells the AP that the 42-year-old rapper and actor was arrested at Cape Town International Airport on Thursday. Mos Def...

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