Although the Department prefers to send a passport, when issued, to the applicant at his residence address or place of business, it will, upon request, forward a passport to the applicant in care of a travel agency, steamship, or airline company if such an address is specified by the applicant in his application. In such cases the clerk of court should take care to VERIFY THE PERMANENT ADDRESS GIVEN BY THE APPLICANT, inasmuch as the Department has observed that most persons who execute fraudulent passport applications give fictitious addresses and have their passports sent in care of airline, steamship, or travel agencies. Passports will not be mailed to a hotel address unless the hotel is the applicant's permanent address.

The cooperation of clerks of courts and of agents of the Department is requested in encouraging applicants for passports to submit their applications well in advance of the date of sailing in order to provide for any emergency or delay in the issue of the passports, such as may occur when it is necessary to communicate with the applicants before final action can be taken on their applications. Applications should, if possible, be submitted 30 days before sailing.

FEES

The fee for the issuance of a passport is $9, payable in currency or postal money order. The fee for the execution of a passport application is $1. The execution fee is retained by the clerk of court for disposition under applicable laws and regulations. The passport fee of $9 is transmitted with the application to the Passport Division, Department of State, Washington 25, D.C. The fee for the renewal of a passport is $5. (See "Validity and Renewal of Passports," page 9.) All money orders forwarded to the Department in Washington, D.C., in payment of passport and renewal fees should be made payable to the "SECRETARY OF STATE, WASHINGTON, D.C."

No fees are collected for passports issued to officers or employees of the United States proceeding abroad in the discharge of their official duties, or to members of their immediate families; to seamen; to widows, parents, brothers, and sisters of members of the American armed forces buried abroad, whose journey is undertaken for the purpose and with the intent of visiting the graves of such persons. However, the usual fee of $1 must be collected for executing the applications of all such persons.

AIR MAIL

It has been brought to the attention of the Department that much delay and inconvenience are caused by insufficient airmail postage being furnished by applicants when it is desired that delivery of a passport be made by that service. Inasmuch as the weight of a passport and the accompanying papers is approximately 3 ounces, it is requested that you suggest to each applicant who desires to have his passport dispatched by air mail that he provide thirty-five cents ($0.35) IN STAMPS (15 cents for air mail and 20 cents for registry fee), which

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should be forwarded to the Department with his passport application. The registry fee is required inasmuch as the Department does not have free registry service on air mail. (No registry fee is required if the passport is to be dispatched by ordinary registered mail.)

CONTENTS OF PASSPORT APPLICATIONS ARE

CONFIDENTIAL

The information contained in passport applications is strictly confidential. You are requested not to give out information concerning applications or information contained in such applications, but to refer inquiries of this nature to this Department, whose policy is to give such information only on the request of the applicant, his properly accredited representative, a near relative, or on an order of a court in which a cause of action is pending and in connection with which the information is desired.

There is no objection, however, to a clerk of court giving out information as to the NUMBER of passport applications executed before him and/or his deputies during any given period. EXECUTION OF PASSPORT APPLICATIONS ON BEHALF OF ANOTHER

It is the practice of the Department not to attempt to limit the age at which a minor may execute an application himself if, in the opinion of the person before whom the application is executed, the applicant is capable of understanding the statements made in the application and the nature of the oath of allegiance. Children of 12 years of age or more may well be required in almost all cases to execute their own applications when separate passports are desired. Parents or guardians may be permitted to execute applications on behalf of minors of any age if special circumstances appear to warrant such action.

If the application is executed by one person on behalf of another, the oath of allegiance is not to be administered. When the application is executed on behalf of another it should be signed in the name of the applicant by the person who applies for him: thus, "Richard Roe, by John Roe, Father," or "By John Doe, Guardian."

Unless undue hardship would result, children on whose behalf an application for a passport is being executed must be present at the time.

IDENTIFYING WITNESSES

The Department of State has from time to time received from passport agents and clerks of courts passport applications executed by applicants who were inadequately identified. Passports have been issued upon the basis of these applications which contained false statements concerning pertinent information relating to citizenship and corroborated by fraudulent documents. When these facts later were detected, the Department found it difficult and in some cases impossible to obtain information concerning the applicants and witnesses because their identity had not been satisfactorily established at the time the applicants applied for passports and because the applicants and their witnesses had given fictitious places of

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residence and the applicants had requested that the passports when issued be forwarded to them in care of steamship agencies, or travel organizations, or to places at which they were temporarily residing. It has become necessary in cases of persons who have not previously obtained American passports to adopt a more stringent policy, and it is therefore of much importance that clerks of courts verify the addresses of all applicants who have not previously been issued American pass- : ports and also the addresses of their identifying witnesses.

The Department is not unmindful of the necessity of affording every reasonable convenience to persons claiming American citizenship who apply for passports, and it seeks only to prevent the perpetration of fraud by persons who are insensible to the obligation of an oath.

Witness' Knowledge of Applicant

The oath required of an applicant in connection with his application for a passport should not be administered in the case of a person who has not previously obtained an American passport unless the applicant is able and ready to support his application by an affidavit of at least one credible witness who has known the applicant at least two years and who is able to state under oath that the applicant is the person he represents himself to be and that the facts stated in the application are true to the best of the witness' knowledge and belief. Such affidavit must be made before the clerk of court or the passport agent before whom the application is executed and at the same time. A separate affidavit form is not required. The form of affidavit for identification purposes provided on the application blank itself must be used.

Clerk of Court's Knowledge of Applicant or Witness

Clerks of courts and passport agents should satisfy themselves of the identity and bona fides of applicants and their witnesses. The applicant or the witness must be known to the clerk of court or passport agent or be able to establish his identity beyond reasonable doubt by documentary evidence. This ordinarily may be accomplished by submitting automobile operator's permits and documents of identification of a similar nature for inspection by the clerk of court or passport agent. The documents inspected should be listed by the clerk of court or passport agent on the application or on a separate sheet attached thereto. The place of the "Permanent residence" or business of the applicant and the place of residence or business of the identifying witness can ordinarily be verified by consulting city or telephone directories. If the applicant or the witness is not known to the clerk of court or passport agent and conclusive documentary evidence of identity of either cannot be presented, the applicant should be required to obtain, as a witness to his application, an American citizen established in a recognized profession or business and having his office or place of business within the jurisdiction of the court or the passport agency (e.g. a clergyman, lawyer, physician, banker, broker, real-estate agent, or merchant).

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Identification by Wife or Husband

The husband or wife of an applicant should not be accepted as an identifying witness unless the husband or the wife is personally known to the clerk of the court and the clerk of the court will so state on the application or on a separate sheet attached thereto. The Department may, in its discretion, require additional evidence of identity.

Burden of Proof Rests on Applicant

As the burden of establishing his citizenship and identity rests primarily upon each applicant for a passport it is not believed that the procedure here outlined with respect to witnesses to applications for passports will impose undue inconvenience upon bona fide applicants. If, however, a case should arise where the applicant is unable to obtain a satisfactory witness, notwithstanding the foregoing it is suggested that the application be forwarded to the Department with a statement by the clerk of court of the facts in the case, particularly with reference to the identity of the applicant and his witness, and accompanied by the names and addresses of two or more persons with whom the Department may communicate with regard to the applicant. In any case where there is a doubt as to the bona fides of the applicant or his witness the facts should be called specifically to the attention of the Department in order that it may give the case appropriate consideration.

Unacceptable Identifying Witnesses

Identification by an employee of a steamship company, travel bureau, or similar concern, or any other person who expects to receive either directly or indirectly a fee for his service as a witness will not be accepted.

Penalty for False Statements

Attention is called to the provisions of section 2 of title 9 of the act of Congress of June 15, 1917, as amended (U.S.C., title 22, sec. 220) concerning false statements in applications for passports and the penalty provided in such cases. Attention is also called to section 231, title 18 of the United States Code, relating to perjury and the penalty prescribed thereunder, and to section 88 of title 18 of the same Code, concerning conspiracies to commit an offense against or to defraud the United States, and the penalty prescribed thereunder.

PHOTOGRAPHS

The clerk of court should carefully check photographs with the applicant before him, in order to determine whether the photograph submitted is a true likeness of the applicant. Frequently photographs are submitted that are such a poor likeness of the applicant as to be unsatisfactory for identification: purposes. Such photographs are frequently submitted when there is an endeavor to obtain a passport fraudulently. The Passport Regulations provide that the photograph be on thin paper on a light background, showing the full front view of the features of the applicant and taken within 6 months of the date they are submitted. Snapshot, newspaper, magazine, or full-length photographs as well as any photographs that are not a good likeness of the applicant should not be accepted.

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The loose photograph signed by the applicant which accompanies the application to be attached to the passport if issued should NOT bear an impression seal or any mark other than the signature of the applicant. The photograph affixed to the application, however, should bear the seal of the clerk of court. The seal should be impressed on the lower portion of the photograph in such a manner as not to obscure the features of any person included in the photograph.

The Department has encountered considerable difficulty with machine-made photographs as they frequently (1) are too small, (2) are indistinct, and (3) are printed on a paper the back of which is glazed and are not usable since they will not adhere to passports.

NAME OF APPLICANT

In view of the large number of names in the passport records, it is requested that care be given to the entry of the full name of the applicant in the space provided therefor on the upper right-hand margin of the application form (as John William Doe, not John W. Doe). The full name materially assists the Department in the expeditious handling of the applications.

WOMEN

Particular care should be exercised in connection with an application of a woman or one in which a woman is included to show whether she is married or single. If married more than once, the date of each marriage, the birthplace and nationality of each former husband, and how and when each marriage was terminated (whether by divorce or death) should be clearly set forth. If necessary, a supplementary statement, under oath, should be affixed to the application.

COMPLETION OF APPLICATIONS

When affidavits as to place and date of birth are submitted with an application in lieu of an acceptable birth or baptismal certificate, care should be exercised to see that the complete address of the affiant is given; and, if it is alleged that the affiant is residing within the jurisdiction of the court or passport agency, this address should be verified. This ordinarily may be accomplished by consulting city and telephone directories.

Care should be taken to see that all blank spaces in passport applications are completely filled in (or definitely marked out if inappropriate). In applications of naturalized citizens and of persons born in the United States of foreign-born parents, particular care should be taken to see that the space provided for a statement relative to the period of foreign residence is filled in. When such applicants allege that they have never resided abroad, a notation to that effect should be made.

The name of the applicant should be printed or typewritten below the signature.

"All countries" should never be written in the space provided for the names of countries to be visited. It is necessary that the applicant name in the passport application each country which he contemplates visiting and the purpose of his visit to each country. It is essential that the Department be fully

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