Originally Posted by
catandmouse
Indeed my Swiss passport does not list my "place of birth", but my "place of origin". It occasionally causes raised eyebrows at some points of entry as the the paperwork I have filled in (for example, my ESTA) lists my place of birth, which happens to be in a different country from my place of origin (for the record I'm a dual British/Swiss national, born in the UK).
If you take a look at the extensive quote in #2 , you will see that the term "place of origin" is US term as well. However, the US Department of State has chosen to define "place of origin" as "place of birth as it is presently recognized [by the USA]."
Thus, a person born in what may have been the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) as it was called at the time of the person's birth, would today have a passport listing a place of birth of Germany because that is how that location on a map is recognized by the US today.