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February 29th Isn't a Valid Birthdate on Passport

February 29th Isn't a Valid Birthdate on Passport

Old Feb 29, 2008, 10:10 am
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February 29th Isn't a Valid Birthdate on Passport

First a little context:

On Global TV British Columbia this morning they had on (via telephone) a member (maybe president) of a "Feb 29 Birthday Association". The fellow was from Vancouver but was in San Francisco since he "always travels on his birthday." One of the things this association does is solicit various issues people run into due to having a Feb 29 birthday. One of the latest things reported to him was:

"A fellow member was delayed clearing security at an airport because a TSA agent didn't believe that Feb 29 was a valid birthdate as printed on his passport. He was eventually cleared but not without a delay."

Do TSA agents need special refreshing training on basic calendar knowledge?
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Old Feb 29, 2008, 10:12 am
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Probably. I had to explain to 2 of my co-workers why we even have a leap year.
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Old Feb 29, 2008, 10:18 am
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Originally Posted by robsawatsky
First a little context:

On Global TV British Columbia this morning they had on (via telephone) a member (maybe president) of a "Feb 29 Birthday Association". The fellow was from Vancouver but was in San Francisco since he "always travels on his birthday." One of the things this association does is solicit various issues people run into due to having a Feb 29 birthday. One of the latest things reported to him was:

"A fellow member was delayed clearing security at an airport because a TSA agent didn't believe that Feb 29 was a valid birthdate as printed on his passport. He was eventually cleared but not without a delay."

Do TSA agents need special refreshing training on basic calendar knowledge?
To quote a famous tennis player: "You CANNOT be serious!!!!"
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Old Feb 29, 2008, 10:30 am
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Originally Posted by robsawatsky
First a little context:

On Global TV British Columbia this morning they had on (via telephone) a member (maybe president) of a "Feb 29 Birthday Association". The fellow was from Vancouver but was in San Francisco since he "always travels on his birthday." One of the things this association does is solicit various issues people run into due to having a Feb 29 birthday. One of the latest things reported to him was:

"A fellow member was delayed clearing security at an airport because a TSA agent didn't believe that Feb 29 was a valid birthdate as printed on his passport. He was eventually cleared but not without a delay."

Do TSA agents need special refreshing training on basic calendar knowledge?
<sarcasm> "Wow...What an observant TSO!"

Last edited by Cee; Feb 29, 2008 at 10:32 am Reason: poor spelling
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Old Feb 29, 2008, 10:32 am
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Quick question: do passport from countries using other calendar system (like Middle East countries) features Gregorian dates or local ones ?

Sorry if it's a silly question
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Old Feb 29, 2008, 10:42 am
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Originally Posted by robsawatsky
...a TSA agent didn't believe that Feb 29 was a valid birthdate as printed on his passport. He was eventually cleared but not without a delay."

Do TSA agents need special refreshing training on basic calendar knowledge?
Remember, they hire only the brightest and the best
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Old Feb 29, 2008, 11:23 am
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Originally Posted by Cee
<sarcasm> "Wow...What an observant TSO!"
Probably thought he made a Big Catch.
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Old Feb 29, 2008, 11:28 am
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Wow. $16,000 to train each TSAer, and leap year is not understood.
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Old Feb 29, 2008, 11:45 am
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Funny you should mention passports.

When my cousin, whose a leaper, applied for his first UK passport about 25 years ago, they changed his DOB to the 28th. There was a letter with it explaining that they'd done it due to the problems that can be experienced with other countries, both for visa applications and immigration.

Of course those were the days when passports were hand written, no machine readable code etc.
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Old Feb 29, 2008, 12:03 pm
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I'm guessing that leap year is not part of the training.
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Old Feb 29, 2008, 12:11 pm
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Originally Posted by Richelieu
Quick question: do passport from countries using other calendar system (like Middle East countries) features Gregorian dates or local ones ?

Sorry if it's a silly question
In one of the many, ongoing, discussions re: what makes up a 'valid' ID, at least as far as the Kip Kops are concerned, someone mentioned that passports & IDs in Japan are actually based on the Emperor's year of birth. (I'm sure someone will chime in w/all the specifics I'm forgetting). I pity anyone who has to try to explain this one to the Kip Kops
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Old Feb 29, 2008, 12:34 pm
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Oh no. Let's not call them Kip Kops. They might really think that they are LEOs.
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Old Feb 29, 2008, 1:05 pm
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Originally Posted by LessO2
Wow. $16,000 to train each TSAer, and leap year is not understood.
Originally Posted by Haveaniceday
I'm guessing that leap year is not part of the training.
what messed up the tsa agent was that he/she didn't know the meaning of the word "hath"

30 days hath september
april, june and november
all the rest have 31
except for february which has 28
but in a leap year 29


Originally Posted by woodg
Oh no. Let's not call them Kip Kops. They might really think that they are LEOs.
but another word starting with a "k" comes to mind.....think pennsylvania
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Old Feb 29, 2008, 1:07 pm
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Um, I may be mistaken, but isn't that TSA'er in question actually a Customs agent? Since he's international, he probably was delayed by a Customs. TSA ID checkers don't check your birth dates- they only check the expiration dates and your BP to see if your name matches.
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Old Feb 29, 2008, 2:30 pm
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Originally Posted by Andy1369
Um, I may be mistaken, but isn't that TSA'er in question actually a Customs agent? Since he's international, he probably was delayed by a Customs.
He could have been traveling back to Canada out of SFO. Thus it would be a TSA agent. I didn't get the impression that it happened on his way in to the country.

And given how bright the average TSO is ...

TSA ID checkers don't check your birth dates- they only check the expiration dates and your BP to see if your name matches.
Many may not. Ones focusing on making a Big Catch do. Apparently, he was thinking he was on to something finding a "fake" birthday.
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