Originally Posted by
salut0
This was probably instituted not just for countries that no longer exist, but also for cities which have disputed sovereignty. I'm thinking specifically of Jerusalem: inhabitants of East Jerusalem who consider it part of Israel, and Palestinians there who think of it as their capital, can list merely the city without having an argument about specifying Palestine or Israel as the country.
"PLACE OF BIRTH: JERUSALEM" is the only option on your US Passport,
if you were born in Jerusalem. It doesn't matter if you consider yourself
an Israeli or a Palestian.
The US government issues and owns the US passport, so only their
official policy matters. In this case, the passport regulations of the
US State Department clearly spells out this policy.
The only exception is for US citizens who were born in Jerusalem prior
to 1948.
The above policy also applies to US citizens who were born in the
WEST BANK and GAZA STRIP, since the United States government
does not officially recognize Israeli soverignty over these territories.