8 FAM 1304.3
Travel Letters
(CT:CITZ-24; 08-07-2019)
(Office of Origin: CA/PPT/S/A)
8 FAM 1304.3-1 Introduction
(CT:CITZ-24; 08-07-2019)
a. This section explains procedures to be utilized by
posts when it is impossible to issue an emergency photo-digitized passport
(EPDP) and immediate travel is required.
(see 8 FAM 706.2).
b. Non-emergency after-hours passport services are not
generally provided by posts. It is a post management decision whether a
consular officer should be called in to issue passports after hours. Because
of the technical and systems knowledge necessary to issue a passport overseas,
and security issues related to opening a post after hours, this may not be
feasible. This type of service is generally reserved for life and death
emergencies or international crisis evacuations.
8 FAM 1304.3-2 Procedures for
Issuance of a Travel Letter by U.S. Embassies and Consulates
(CT:CITZ-24; 08-07-2019)
a. Posts should issue travel letters only for:
(1) Law-enforcement related travel letters in
situations other than extradition: Such travel letters must be expressly
authorized by Passport Services' Office of Legal Affairs and Law Enforcement
Liaison, Legal Affairs Division (CA/PPT/S/L/LA), which works with the U.S. law
enforcement authority on matters related to revocation of the passport of the
subject of an outstanding Federal warrant (see 8 FAM 803.6);
(2) Extradition-related travel letters: In emergency
situations when it is impossible to issue
a passport limited for direct return to the United States, posts may issue
travel letters in extradition situations with the authorization of CA/PPT/S/L as
liaison with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security and the Office of
the Legal Adviser for Law Enforcement and Intelligence (L/LEI);
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NOTE: The U.S. Department
of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection has confirmed to CA/OCS/L
that travel letters are sufficient for extradition related travel of a
fugitive under law enforcement escort, the Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative (WHTI) notwithstanding.
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(3) Crisis (life or death) related travel letters:
Such travel letters may be authorized by post without Department approval;
(4) Catastrophic event (natural
disaster, terrorist incident, etc.) which makes it impossible for the
U.S. embassy or consulate to issue passports or
insert a Passport Limitation Endorsement Stamp (see 8 FAM 803.9); and
(5) Travel letters issued in critical emergencies to
citizens of a protected power (see 8 FAM 1306.1).
b. Travel letters should not be used in deportation
(see 7 FAM
1625.5), or prisoner transfer cases (see
7 FAM 485.3-2),
as these cases generally are not
emergencies and there is usually sufficient time for the post to issue a
limited-validity passport to the applicant. If a deportee or prisoner refuses
to sign a passport application, the consular officer may sign it without recourse, attach an
explanation, issue the passport, and furnish it to the U.S. law enforcement
escort (see also 8 FAM 402.3 regarding applicant signatures).
c. Because a travel letter is neither a secure
document nor proof of U.S. citizenship or identity, border security
considerations require that the use of these documents be extremely rare. The
travel letter facilitates departure from the host country and provides
immigration officials at the port of entry (POE) with information necessary to
admit the traveler. However, the bearer may still encounter difficulty
entering the United States.
d. Travel letters will not be issued on weekends to
facilitate routine travel. The applicant should be instructed to visit the
embassy or consulate the next business day during working hours to apply for an
EPDP. In this context, extreme personal and financial hardship must involve
significantly more than the inconvenience of a missed flight or expense of a
lost airline ticket.
e. Before developing post procedures for issuing travel
letters, consultations should be conducted with host-country and area
transportation line officials to verify that departure from the host country
without a passport is permissible in
unforeseen emergency situations.
f. The consular officer should inform the officer in
charge of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the POE of the
prospective arrival of the U.S. citizen/non-citizen U.S. national in need of a
waiver and provide the CBP officer with the U.S. citizens/non-citizen U.S.
nationals arrival date and time, the name of the carrier, and any other
relevant travel data. If there is a U.S. CBP officer assigned to the U.S.
embassy or consulate or other CBP office outside the United States, post should
coordinate with that office.
g. Third-country travel: When the subject of a travel
letter is traveling to a third country, the consular or duty officer should
contact his or her counterpart in the U.S. embassy in the third country, prior
to travel, to ascertain whether the immigration authorities of that country
will permit a U.S. citizen/non-citizen U.S. national to enter on the basis of a
travel letter. If third-country officials will not permit entry or transit
with a travel letter, it would be inappropriate to issue one. If issuance is appropriate, the consular or duty
officer must:
(1) Determine whether a
travel letter may be authorized;
(2) Establish that the applicant has documentation of
identity and citizenship;
(3) Clear the applicant through the Consular Lookout and Support System CLASS;
(4) Provide the U.S. consular/duty officer counterpart
in the third country with the name of the traveler, the arrival date and time,
name of carrier and any other relevant travel data;
(5) Modify the text of the travel letter in 8 FAM
1304.3-8 to address the third-country immigration authorities;
(6) Advise the applicant that:
(a) The United States cannot guarantee that she/he will
be permitted to board an airplane or enter the foreign country;
(b) She/he may have
difficulty returning to the United States on the travel letter, and should obtain a U.S. passport
at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad; and
(c) U.S. consular officers overseas do not have
authority to require any airline to board a passenger without a valid passport.
(7) 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;
(8) Contact (call, fax, or e-mail) the airline to inform them that the U.S.
Department of State is issuing the
applicant a travel letter; and
(9) Send a fax/e-mail
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.
h. Posts should not
process requests for travel letters solely on the basis of telephone
conversations with airline or immigration personnel who have an alleged U.S.
citizen/non-citizen U.S. national in front of them at these points of
departure. A face-to-face interview of the applicant is usually essential in
making a determination to issue a travel letter. (See 8 FAM
1304.3-7 for guidance regarding what to do when there is a critical need to
travel and there is no U.S. embassy or consulate in the country where the U.S.
citizen/non-citizen U.S. national is located.)
8 FAM 1304.3-3 Format and copies
of the travel Letter
(CT:CITZ-24; 08-07-2019)
a. Consular Affairs suggests that the travel letter
format be similar to the one shown in 8 FAM
1304.3-9. It may be adapted for local requirements as necessary.
b. The travel letter must be prepared in quadruplicate
if possible:
(1) One copy for host country immigration officials
that complies with host-country requirements (provide translations as needed
for host-country officials);
(2) One copy for the airline official(s) that complies
with carrier requirements;
(3) One copy for the applicant to present to CBP at
the POE. The CBP requires that the letter contain the name, date and place of
birth, photograph, a reason why the passport is not available, and that it be
signed and sealed by the consular officer; and
(4) One copy for posts files.
c. Seal the first three copies in separate official
envelopes, each addressed to the appropriate authority. Place a consular seal
(wet seal) on the envelope seam and cover with a strip of clear tape to prevent
tampering.
d. Photograph: The bearers photograph must be affixed
to the lower left-hand corner of each of the four letters unless contrary to,
or provided for otherwise by, host-country or carrier requirements. The U.S. embassys or consulates dry seal must be
impressed over the photograph. Any photograph which presents a good likeness
of the person is acceptable, including photo machine strips, other instant
photos, digital photographs, etc. The photos on the letters do not need to be
identical. A digital photo printed on a portable black and white printer is
sufficient in emergencies. However, photographs that fulfill the requirements
of 8 FAM
402.1, Passport Photographs are preferred.
e. If the traveler must transit other countries en
route to a direct flight to the United States, or must change planes or
otherwise deal with immigration officials of a third (or fourth) country, the
consular or overseas post duty officer should contact his or her counterpart(s)
in the country(ies) to be transited to ascertain whether the immigration
authorities of such country(ies) will permit a U.S. citizen/non-citizen U.S. national to transit on the
basis of a travel letter. If yes, additional copies of the travel letter
should be prepared for the immigration officials of such country(ies). If not,
it is inappropriate to issue a travel letter.
8 FAM 1304.3-4 Fees for travel
letters
(CT:CITZ-24; 08-07-2019)
a. No fee is charged for
the issuance of a travel letter (22 CFR 22.1, Schedule of Fees item 5). However, consular time
charges (22 CFR 22.1, Schedule of Fees
item 75) should be applied if this service is performed away from the office or
during after regular duty hours. The consular time charge covers all staff
time spent away from post and/or after regular duty hours, including travel
time to/from the airport or other locations where the service is performed.
b. If consular time
charges will be incurred, every effort should be made to collect the fee
covering consular officer time prior to the issuance of the travel letter. Given
the emergency nature of this service, this may not be possible. In such cases,
the officer should collect cash or a money order from the applicant at the time
of issuance of the travel letter, including any and all consular time charges.
c. ACRS is used to track
this service. ACRS code 5 is used for the issuance of the travel letter. If
consular time charges are incurred, ACRS code 75 is used and should be entered
the next business day following the service.
8 FAm 1304.3-5 OVERSEAS CRISIS
CASE WHEN IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO ISSUE A PASSPORT OR TRAVEL LETTER
(CT:CITZ-24; 08-07-2019)
a. In a dire emergency, such as a mass evacuation under
threat of violence or natural disaster, victims may be transported from the
scene of the danger and processed for evacuation in a third country. In these
circumstances, while triage is conducted at the first embarkation point, the
evacuees might not be issued passports, passport cards, or travel letters until
they reach a safe-haven third country. CA/OCS will give authorization and guidance
for this procedure.
b. Alert CA/OCS, if the destination is the United
States, or the post in a safe-haven country where the evacuation flight is
scheduled to land. When necessary, CA/OCS or the Consular Crisis Task Force or
Working Group will assist posts in clearing names through CLASS and verifying
citizenship records in the American Citizen Record Query (ACRQ) or otherwise
adjudicating the case (see 7 FAM 1800, Consular Crisis Management, and 12
FAH-1, Emergency Planning Handbook).
c. The passport card and evacuations: In an emergency
evacuation or a disaster of significant magnitude affecting large groups of
people or areas, post may need to ask the host government to accommodate the
use of passport cards for air travel in lieu of a fully valid travel document
or EPDP. Such an event could involve U.S. citizens/non-citizen U.S. nationals
departing the consular district, U.S. citizens/non-citizen U.S. nationals transiting
the consular district from a disaster or evacuation location, or U.S.
citizens/non-citizen U.S. nationals arriving in the consular district for safe
haven. CA/OCS recommends that posts discuss this possibility with immigration
authorities as part of routine consular planning.
8 FAM 1304.3-6 Critical Need to
Travel - No U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the Country or Territory Where the
U.S. Citizen/Non-Citizen U.S. National is Located
(CT:CITZ-24; 08-07-2019)
a. The Department is mindful that some consular
districts include jurisdictions in countries hundreds or thousands of miles
away from the nearest U.S. embassy or
consulate, which is in fact located in another country. The consular district
of the U.S. Embassy in Fiji, for example, encompasses seven countries and
territories scattered across four million square miles of ocean, and plane
connections between these locations are often infrequent, indirect, and very
expensive.
b. CA/OCS grants some latitude to U.S. embassies and
consulates in such circumstances. However, posts authority to issue such
travel letters (or authorize travel by passport card, see 8 FAM
1304.3-3) is limited to cases in which the applicant is boarding a flight
to the United States or to the location of the U.S. embassy or consulate (Suva,
Fiji, for example), where the applicant can then apply for an emergency
passport for an onward destination. Posts must have explicit authorization
from CA/OCS/ACS to issue travel letters under these circumstances. This
general authorization (post specific, not case by case) will be provided by
telegram after CA/OCS/ACS assesses the posts proposed justification for the exception
to the general policy, which must be submitted by telegram. Authorization will
be provided by the Director of CA/OCS/ACS.
General authorization to draft travel letters for U.S. citizens requiring
urgent travel has been granted for the following posts:
(1) U.S. Embassy Koror;
and
(2) U.S. Embassy
Kolonia.
c. To further reduce the
number of travel letters issued, if there is sufficient time and a U.S. citizen
consular agent authorized to accept passport applications:
(1) If authorized by
post, the consular agent should:
(a) Accept the passport
application and transmit the passport application and associated documents to
post via fax or e-mail; and
(b) Transmit the paper
passport application following regular procedures.
(2) The consular officer
should then:
(a) Adjudicate the
passport application using the copy of the passport application and associated
documents;
(b) If the applicant is
eligible for a passport, approve the photocopy of the passport application and
issue an EPDP limited with endorsement 109;
(c) Transmit the EPDP to
the applicant by an appropriate postal/delivery system (see 8 FAM 1003.3); and
(d) Retain the copy of the
passport application until the original arrives. The original passport
application must be attached to the copy of the passport application and
transmitted in accordance with 8 FAM 1206.1.
d. Before issuing a travel letter, the posts consular
officer must receive acceptable evidence of the
applicants identity and her/his claim to
U.S. citizenship/non-citizen U.S. nationality. Previous passport issuance
should be checked through ACRQ and the subject must clear the CLASS name check
system.
e. Posts should cultivate and rely on trustworthy
contacts within the local airlines security offices and the local immigration
service and law enforcement community to assist with establishing identity.
Whenever possible, local authorities should be asked to transmit to post a
clear photo of the applicant through electronic means or fax to enable the
consular officer to make a positive identification and to provide a documentary
basis for establishing the subjects identity. This may allow the consular
officer to compare a photograph with imaged passport data available through the
ACRQ system and Facial Recognition on Demand (see 8 FAM 402.2).
f. If distance and flight availability preclude a
face-to-face interview, the consular officer may conduct an interview by phone,
ideally with the participation of the local airline security official and/or
immigration/law enforcement official.
g. While CA/OCS recognizes that the nature of a
consular district such as Suvas might make issuance of travel letters
appropriate more frequently than in other districts, the consular officer
should decide each case on its own merits, considering the urgency for the
applicants travel and the feasibility of requiring a passport applicant to
apply by mail if post is authorized to do so (see 8 FAM 1003.3)
or in person. Posts should keep in mind the emergency nature of a travel
letter and the Departments strong preference for issuing an EPDP in lieu of a
travel letter when at all possible.
h. Questions about
this procedure should be directed to AskPPTAdjudication@state.gov.
8 FAM 1304.3-7 Sample Travel
Letter
(CT:CITZ-24; 08-07-2019)
Post Letterhead
Memorandum
Date
Reply to the attention of: U.S. Embassy -----, Consular
Section
Subject: Waiver of U.S. Passport Requirement 22 CFR 53.2(b)((9)
or (10))
To: Officer in Charge: U.S. Customs and Border
Protection Port of Entry (U.S. airport, city) and Immigration Authorities at
(Foreign Airport) and (Air Carrier)
The bearer of this letter is (insert name), a (U.S.
citizen/non-citizen U.S. national) born on (date) at (place of birth) who does
not presently possess a valid passport. The bearer has a critical need to
travel because:
(Bearer) is the subject of
an emergency medical evacuation.
(Bearer) has a life or death
situation abroad (insert text).
(Bearer) is the subject of
an extradition or deportation order, traveling under U.S. law enforcement
escort.
(Bearer) is the subject of a
prisoner transfer, traveling under U.S. law enforcement escort.
(Bearer) is being evacuated
due to natural disaster or crisis.
The U.S. Embassy is unable to issue a passport because (insert
text)
(Bearer's) name
cleared the Consular Lookout and Support System (CLASS). Because of the
bearers urgent need to travel to the United States before normal passport
services can be provided during regular business hours of the nearest U.S.
Embassy, it would be appreciated if the passport requirement in this case be
waived under the regulatory guidelines of 22 CFR 53.2(b)(9). For further
information about this matter contact the undersigned (or OCS Duty Officer) at
(phone/e-mail address.)
Signature of Consular Officer or Duty Officer
Typed Name of Consular Officer or Duty Officer
Title of Consular Officer or Duty Officer
Name of Post
Date
Photo of Subject with Seal