The State Department has announced a formal notification to allow 60 days for public comment about a proposed new form DS-5513 , a Biographical Questionnaire that would be incorporated into the process for securing a US Passport. The applicant is asked for all addresses since birth; lifetime employment history including employers’ and supervisors names, addresses, and telephone numbers; personal details of all siblings; all schools attended both in the US and overseas; mother’s address one year prior to your birth; any “religious ceremony” around the time of birth; and other intrusive and personal information
According to the questionnaire, an estimated 74,000 applicants will complete the form. In 2010, approximately 14 million US passports were issued, so that works out to 1 in 200 applicants who will be required to complete the form. Neither the DS-5513 form or the announcement reveal where that number came from or who qualifies to be one of the special 74,000 applicants.
If you are one of those 74,000, please note that “failure to provide the information requested may result in … the denial of your U.S. passport application.” and "Providing the information requested on this form, including your social security number, is voluntary, but failure to provide the information requested may result in processing delays or the denial of your U.S. passport application." That doesn't give you many options if you want a US Passport.
It is rare that the average citizen is made aware of a public comment period relating to a government proposal, but this is your lucky day because there are about another 30 days to submit comments. If you think that this is a ridiculous waste of time as well as a terrible intrusion of privacy, it's your turn to sound off to the State Department. I recommend you let the State Department know your feelings regardless if you would be directly affected. You know that once the questionnaire is put in effect, we will ALL be affected.
You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
- E-mail: GarciaAA@state.gov. Show citation box
- Mail (paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions): Alexys Garcia, U.S. Department of State, 2100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Room 3031, Washington, DC 20037.Show citation box
- Fax: 202-736-9202.Show citation box
- Hand Delivery or Courier: Alexys Garcia, U.S. Department of State, 2100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Room 3031, Washington, DC 20037.Show citation box
I'd love to hear your comments.
4 comments:
I don't know about anyone else, but i couldn't come up with every address I've ever lived at if I tried. and asking for religious affiliation is simply unconstitutional.
ok... a friend more familiar with this type of bureaucratic stuff says this form is not the standard passport application, but is only used when an applicant doesn't have sufficient proof of citizenship.
http://papersplease.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/ds-5513-supportingstmnt.pdf
This is what I sent:
The information requested here is both intrusive and ridiculous to expect people to have on hand. I have lived in 3 countries, 6 states of this country and have moved 43 times that I am aware of and you expect me to have all the addresses? And you're asking for religious information as well? Who created this? Are they not aware of our rights to privacy and to constitutional protection of religion?
I respectfully request that this form be scrapped in favor of common sense.
Thanks for joining into the conversation! @Kirk, I am aware this is for "special" applicants, but I believe it can be a slippery slope to having it apply to ALL applicants. Regardless, who in the world would know anything about their mother's prenatal appointments?
@Mike, agreed! I am an Army brat and I don't even know how many places I lived. I know I attended 13 schools. I have 7 siblings, but really does the government need to know about them?
I will be submitting comments and try to be civil, but they just don't make it easy with a document like this.
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