8 FAM 1004
passport Amendments
8 FAM 1004.1
Passport Amendments
(CT:CITZ-16; 02-13-2019)
(Office of Origin: CA/PPT/S/A)
8 FAM 1004.1-1 Summary
(CT:CITZ-1; 06-27-2018)
a. Passports cannot be amended to change items
appearing on the biographical data page. If a change to the biographical data
page is required, a new passport book must be issued (see also 8 FAM
1004.1-3). This guidance became effective September 26, 2005.
b. Eliminating such amendments improved passport
security by having current personal information on the passport data page.
Further, the passport data page and the electronic chip contained in the
passport will always contain the same information.
c. A passport applicant who wants to have her/his
passport changed to reflect a name change may receive a free replacement
passport if she/he meets the criteria in 8 FAM 1001.5
(see also 8
FAM 403.1).
d. A passport applicant who wants to have biographical
data corrected in her/his passport (due to Department error) may receive a free
rewrite passport with corrected data at any time during the validity period of
the passport book.
e. A passport applicant with a valid emergency photo-digitized
passport may receive a free replacement passport if she/he is eligible for a
free replacement (see 8 FAM 1001.5).
f. A passport may be amended using endorsement 113 to
make it into a "second" passport in very limited and specific
circumstances (see 8 FAM 504.1
for specific guidance).
8 FAM 1004.1-2 ENDORSEMENTS THAT
CAN BE ADDED TO PASSPORTS
(CT:CITZ-1; 06-27-2018)
a. Endorsements that do not affect the information on
the biographical data page of the passport may be edited in, added to, or
deleted from a passport book.
b. Generally, these endorsements will describe the
applicants or sponsor's new official or diplomatic assignment and will be
entered into special issuance (official, diplomatic, service, or no-fee
regular) passports. See 8 FAM 503.1
for policies and procedures regarding amendment of special issuance passports:
(1) To request an endorsement to an issued passport,
the applicant must submit a form DS-4085, Application for Additional Visa
Pages or Miscellaneous Services, and appropriate documentation of the change;
(2) If the bearer of a special issuance passport is in
the United States, the application generally must be submitted directly to the
Special Issuance Agency (CA/PPT/SIA); and
(3) If the bearer of a special issuance passport is
overseas, a consular section may amend a special issuance passport only after
obtaining authorization from CA/PPT/SIA. This authorization must be retained
with the passport application. (See the American Citizens Services (ACS)
Downloads and Documentation site for technical guidance on using the ACS+
system.)
|
NOTE: Endorsement 15 (see 8 FAM 505.2,
Endorsement Codes), which designates the bearer as a consular agent, may be
added to a regular passport upon authorization from the Bureau of Human
Resources, Office of Presidential Appointments (HR/PAS) (see 3 FAM 8912.5,
Approval, Commission, and Exequatur).
|
c. Endorsements used to validate a passport for travel
to a restricted area may also be added to a passport (see 22 CFR 51.63, 22 CFR
51.64 and 8
FAM 1303.1).
d. See 8 FAM 505.2
for a list of all the current endorsements. These endorsements have been
programmed into Travel Document Issuance System (TDIS) and ACS systems.
8 FAM 1004.1-3 Extending the
Validity of a Passport in Extraordinary Circumstances
(CT:CITZ-1; 06-27-2018)
a. There may be very rare, extraordinary situations in
which it may be impossible or inadvisable to issue an applicant a new
passport. Such cases may occur because of a crisis situation, or when the
inability to extend an expired passport would have national security or foreign
policy ramifications.
b. In such extraordinary situations, and for the
convenience of the U.S. Government, the validity period of an expired passport
of any type may be extended at the discretion of the managing director or
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Directorate of Overseas Citizens Services,
regardless of the original validity period of the passport.
c. During a crisis, authorization for emergency
passport extensions may be provided by, or requested from, the Directorate of
Overseas Citizens Services, Office of American Citizen Services and Crisis
Management (CA/OCS/ACS) country officer or via Department taskforce.
d. Use endorsement code 107 (see 8 FAM 505.2).
e. In most of these cases, the extended validity period
will be limited to the minimum length of time needed for the bearer to return
to the United States.
8 FAM 1004.1-4 amendment stamps
(CT:CITZ-16; 02-13-2019)
a. Passport books may also be amended by the inclusion
of an amendment stamp if the amendment stamp does not affect the information on
the biographical data page of the passport.
b. The following amendment stamps are currently in use
and/or are present in valid passports (this list is not exhaustive):
(1) The German Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) stamp
(see 8 FAM
503.3);
(2) The Japanese SOFA Stamp placed in regular
passports by the U.S. Embassy or Consulate, or by the Immigration Bureau of
Japan (for official and no-fee regular passports, see 8 FAM 503.3
and 8 FAM
505.2); and
(3) The passport limitation endorsement stamp used by
U.S. embassies and consulates in repatriation loan situations (see 7 FAM 370, 8 FAM 803.9,
and 7 FAM 1860).
|
Text of Passport Limitation Endorsement Stamp:
THIS PASSPORT IS VALID ONLY FOR RETURN/TRANSIT TO
THE UNITED STATES BEFORE [DATE] UNDER 22 CFR 51.60(c)(2) and 52.62.
|
c. Amendment stamps previously used in passports
include the following (this list is not exhaustive):
A special validation stamp for travel to, or use in, a restricted
country or area (22 CFR 51.64)