8 FAM 1304.2
Domestic Passport Waivers
(CT:CITZ-1; 06-27-2018)
(Office of Origin: CA/PPT/S/A)
8 FAM 1304.2-1 Summary
(CT:CITZ-1; 06-27-2018)
a. A passport waiver is an exception to the passport
requirement applicable in the case of an unforeseen life or death emergency. A
passport waiver only exempts a U.S. citizen/non-citizen U.S. national from U.S.
law (8 U.S.C. 1185(b)) and does not constitute permission from the U. S.
government for a U.S. citizen/non-citizen U.S. national to enter a foreign
countrys territory without the appropriate documentation. The destination
countrys immigration officials make the final decision on admission of an
undocumented traveler.
b. The acceptance of a waiver of the passport
requirement has diminished markedly:
(1) Almost all airlines deny requests to board
passengers leaving the United States without valid passports; and
(2) Passport waivers are generally only accepted in
the case of U.S. citizens/non-citizen U.S. nationals traveling on an emergency
basis to Israel.
c. Domestically, only the national duty officer (NDO)
can make the determination that a passport waiver is warranted and possible.
The NDO:
(1) Decides when a passport agency/center must open
after-hours to issue a passport to an applicant who does not qualify for a
passport waiver (see 8 FAM 603.6);
(2) Arranges for emergency searches of passport files
for other offices in the Department of State; and
(3) Contacts the duty officer program coordinator
and/or appropriate CA/PPT officials to deal with after-hours matters that
require decisions regarding management or policy.
d. Criteria for domestic passport waiver: Domestic
passport waivers are granted only when it is impossible for the applicant to
obtain a passport prior to his or her departure from the United States on
emergency travel and if the airline and the country to which the
person is traveling (and transiting through, if applicable) accepts passport
waivers.
e. A passport waiver may only be authorized when:
(1) The applicant is traveling to a country with which
the United States has an informal agreement permitting entry of a traveler
without a passport; and
(2) There is a life or death situation that requires
the applicants immediate presence abroad. This is normally confined to the
death, serious illness, or serious injury of a member of the applicants
immediate family, life partner, etc. (An immediate family member includes the
applicants parents, siblings, spouse, and children. Waivers for the
applicants extended family members, such as grandparents or other relatives,
will be determined on a case-by-case basis); or
(3) There is a case of national interest in which
travel, normally of a U.S. government employee, is necessary for the conduct of
urgent U. S. government business and the waiver is granted at the direction of
a Deputy Assistant Secretary (or above) in Consular Affairs; or
(4) CA/PPT has issued a passport, but an error in the
passport prevents the applicant from traveling and a rewritten passport cannot
be issued in time for the emergency travel (see 8 FAM 1001.2).
f. Once the NDO has determined that a passport waiver
may be authorized, has established that the applicant has documentation of
identity and citizenship, and cleared the applicant through CLASS, he or she
must:
(1) Advise the applicant that the passport waiver
exempts him or her from U.S. law requiring the applicant to depart and enter
the United States on a valid U.S. passport (8 U.S.C. 1185) and is not a waiver
of the foreign entry requirements of the country to which he or she is
traveling;
(2) Advise the applicant that the United States cannot
guarantee that she/he will be permitted to board an airplane or enter the
foreign country;
(3) Give the applicant an assessment of the
destination countrys procedures for processing U.S. citizens/non-citizen U.S.
nationals who arrive without proper documentation in accordance with duty
guidance;
(4) Advise that the domestic NDO and U.S. consular
officers overseas do not have authority to require any airline to board a
passenger without a valid passport. If a passport waiver is authorized but the
airline refuses to board the passenger, the NDO should make alternative
arrangements for emergency passport issuance at a passport agency/center as
soon as possible thereafter;
(5) Advise the applicant that he or she cannot return
to the United States on the passport waiver, but must obtain a U.S. passport at
a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad;
(6) Contact (call, fax, or email) the airline to
inform them that the U.S. Department of State is granting the applicant a
waiver of the passport requirement; and
(7) Send a fax/email to the U.S. embassy and, if
applicable, the consulate with consular jurisdiction over the port of entry in
the destination country asking that it contact the appropriate host country
officials and notify them of the applicants imminent arrival.
g. If the applicant has a lost or stolen passport that
has not been reported to the Consular Lost and Stolen Passport (CLASP)
database, the lost or stolen passport must be added to CLASP. The NDO handling
the case must obtain all information needed and complete a form DS-64 on behalf of the applicant. The NDO must
submit the completed form DS-64 to the
CLASP Unit via e-mail at CLASP@state.gov no
later than the next business morning.
h. Contact information: The NDO may be contacted
outside of normal working hours through the Department of States switchboard
(202-647-4000) or the Departments Operations Center (202-647-1512).