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-   -   US passport chip not working (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/usa/1899843-us-passport-chip-not-working.html)

fatlasercat Mar 20, 2018 11:37 pm

US passport chip not working
 
I think the chip in my passport is not working properly. Machines in 4 countries now have been unable to read it and I always have to stand in long lines. Has that happened to anyone? How do I go about getting a new one, is it treated as a damaged passport?

Yoshi212 Mar 21, 2018 1:07 am

From the State Department website: "The chip in the passport is just one of the many security features of the passport. If the chip fails, the passport remains a valid travel document until its expiration date. You will continue to be processed by the port-of-entry officer as if you had a passport without a chip."
Upside is that the document is still valid until expiry. Downside is the additional wait time and potentially extra scrutiny.

This page talks a bit about the chip itself and that you'd have to state the failure of the chip to work to validate the "damaged" claim. https://www.us-passport-service-guid...placement.html

GUWonder Mar 21, 2018 3:09 am


Originally Posted by fatlasercat (Post 29549274)
I think the chip in my passport is not working properly. Machines in 4 countries now have been unable to read it and I always have to stand in long lines. Has that happened to anyone? How do I go about getting a new one, is it treated as a damaged passport?

Is your passport an adult, unrestricted US passport? If so, then you can apply for a renewal passport and pay the regular fees for renewal replacement.

At least one of my US passports has a broken chip of sort, and I have had no problems with it when using staffed counters at least. And at least one of my passports has a functioning chip and yet I’ve been told it’s not working even as I knew it was functional at the time of such claim by some passport control agents.

The USG does not generally treat US passports as being invalid for use just because an RFID chip or reader is not working.


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