There are a number of legitimate purposes for holding two passports. In order to facilitate travel and visa processing needs of frequent travellers abroad, the Passport Office will issue a second passport valid for all countries but limited in validity. The usual validity granted is 2 years.

Also, due to certain political situations around the world, it is sometimes difficult to obtain permission to enter one country if a passport shows evidence of past or intended travel to Israel and/or South Africa. In some cases, visas are denied to US citizens. To avoid this problem, the US Passport Office will issue a second, restricted passport valid for a maximum of 2 years. The validity of the passport may be extended every 2 years till the full 10 year validity is reached.

If the applicant's current passport already has evidence of past or intended travel to Israel, a new passport valid for all countries for 2 years may be issued. The original passport would remain valid.

The passport validity may be extended several times for 2 years each time until full validity of 10 years is reached.

Additionally, many who travel on official business hold a second, "official travel" passport.


[This message has been edited by MatthewClement (edited 02-12-2002).]