Monday, March 17, 2014

Our Government at (Not) Work

Allow me to rant a bit on one of my recurrent topics – governmental incompetence (US government, in this case). On Jan 27, I applied for a new passport at the US consulate. While I was doing so, I also applied for a passport card (a wallet-sized card that can substitute for a passport in certain circumstances, and can serve as a good form of ID). When I paid, I was told the passport would be ready in about a week and the card in about a month, and that I would receive an email.

Sure enough, an email arrived on Feb 4, telling me that the passport was ready, and that I should allow another 15 to 20 working days for the card. Since I wasn't in a hurry for the passport, and didn't want two long cab rides to the consulate, I waited almost six additional weeks instead of three or four; today I went to the consulate and got my passport – and was told that the passport card is not ready.

It takes SEVEN WEEKS to print a @#$% card!?!? Or, to be more precise: to NOT print a card. No private business could survive with that level of customer disservice.

And while we're on the topic of governmental incompetence (international, this time), I think the Malaysians are setting a new standard.

3 comments:

  1. I've never heard of this passport card before.

    However it sounds like a great alternative to shlepping your passport around in public when you're traveling.

    Do you have any weblinks explaining for what purposes this passport card can be used instead of having to show the actual passport?

    anonymous#1

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  2. Here is a State Department site that explains the differences.
    http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/information/card/Difference-Between-Passport-Book-and-Card.html

    The card is mostly good for foot/car border crossings into Mexico and Canada (as an Arizonan, the Mexico aspect matters to me).

    The other value, in my mind, is being able to carry the card in my wallet when overseas, instead of carrying the passport. Many countries require foreigners to carry their passport, but I worry about losing it or having it stolen.

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  3. "The other value, in my mind, is being able to carry the card in my wallet when overseas, instead of carrying the passport. Many countries require foreigners to carry their passport, but I worry about losing it or having it stolen."


    Yes, exactly.
    And when visiting foreign countries it is common, as we also found in Ecuador, that the passport was required to buy bus tickets and check into lodgings.

    So I wonder if the passport card would be sufficient for those transactions?

    I really hate having to show my passport and have all its information copied all the time, just to carry out normal everyday transactions.

    anonymous#1

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