Originally Posted by
passportcard
When the passport card first came out, there were many posts here about TSA not accepting it as ID.
Is this still an issue in 2014? Or has the TSA rank-and-file largely gotten the memo by now?
Last time I used mine was Dec 2013 at BWI and MCO. The TDCs didn't even bat an eye at it, as if they saw them all the time and knew immediately that they are acceptable ID.
Originally Posted by
TSAPressSec
That shouldn't be an issue. If it is, please let me know.
The only issue we see constantly is that travelers enrolled in Global Entry/NEXUS/SENTRI think by showing their card, they can gain access to TSA Pre✓™ lanes. That is not the case.
The cards are only for entry into the U.S. via land border crossings only. You can't even use them at Global Entry arrival kiosk when arriving via air into the U.S.
Dude, if you really are a TSA Press Secretary, perhaps you should learn to be more precise and clear in your written communication.
"That shouldn't be an issue. If it is, please let me know." This statement can easily be construed as meaning "Those cards are not valid. This should not be an issue." OR it could be construed as "These cards are valid. This should not be an issue."
By coupling it with your next sentence, "The cards are only for entry into the U.S. via land border crossings only. You can't even use them at Global Entry arrival kiosk when arriving via air into the U.S." you are now reinforcing the former meaning, that the cards are not valid as ID for domestic travel. Which is completely false, as they ARE acceptable ID for domestic travel.
To clarify (which you should have done yourself, from the beginning):
A US Passport Card is a photo ID issued by the United States Department of State, an official agency of the US federal government. When traveling internationally, it may only be used for land crossings into and out of the US. However, since it is a valid federally-issued photo ID, it is also acceptable as ID for domestic air travel anywhere inside US borders.
The
TSA's official list of acceptabl IDs lists the passport card as item #2 on the list, before even the most commonly used ID, a state-issued driver's license, which is item #8 on the list:
Originally Posted by TSA on their own damn web site
Acceptable IDs for screening purposes include:
- U.S. passport
- U.S. passport card
- DHS "Trusted Traveler" cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
- U.S. Military ID (active duty or retired military and their dependents, and DOD civilians)
- Permanent Resident Card
- Border Crossing Card
- DHS-designated enhanced driver's license
- U.S. driver's licenses or other state photo identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent) for the sole purpose of identification.
- Native American Tribal Photo ID
- HSPD-12 PIV Card
- An airline or airport-issued ID (if issued under a TSA-approved security plan)
- Foreign government-issued passport
- Canadian provincial driver's license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) card
- Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)
- Non-US/Canadian citizens are not required to carry their passports if they have documents issued by the U.S. government such as Permanent Resident Cards. Those who do not should be carrying their passports while visiting the U.S.
In plainer language, Mr./Ms. TSA Press Secretary, please use use plainer language and actually explain stuff when you're trying to explain stuff, instead of just spouting ambiguous NewSpeak platitudes that can have multiple meanings in a poor attempt to improve your agency's extreme unpopularity with the American public. It is exactly the vaguarity you just evinced that makes so many people dislike and distrust TSA in the first place.