DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLICATION 8851 Department and Foreign Service Series 153 Released July 4, 1976 Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs Passport Office For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $5.10 Stock Number 044-000-01608-7 PREFACE "PASSPO ASSPORTS and visas are the principal international frontier crossing documents. Every United States citizen is required by law to have in his possession a valid passport for travel outside the Western Hemisphere and a majority of the countries of the world require that United States citizens present their passports before entering the country. The freedom to travel is a unique instrument of friendly, peaceful communication among the nations and the peoples of the world.” 1 Tourism has deep significance for the peoples of the modern world, and the benefits of travel can contribute to the enhancement of harmony and understanding among people through improvement not only in terms of economic advancement, but with respect to our political, cultural, and social relationships as well. There is no substitute for travel in absorbing the cultures of other nations. "International travel is big business, a superlative foreign exchange earner, a form of international trade in which new countries can readily participate, and is a stimulant to other trade and capital investment. . . ." 2 "The cultural phases of international travel may be of even greater importance than the economic aspects. . Communications media tell their interesting story, but the impact of personal experience is deeper and more lasting. Direct personal relationship enriches the lives of both the traveler and his host; each borrowing from 1 H. Doc. 381, 85th Cong., 2d sess., International Travel, U.S. Government Printing Office, Wash., D.C., 1958, p. 25. 2 Ibid., p. 3. the other in customs, manners and philosophy of "3 ". . . "Travel, in the younger sort, is part of education; in the elder, a part of experience: Francis Bacon'." 4 The passport remains the most widely accepted and recognized international travel document in use today. As the world continues to be compressed in traveling time, the passport will increase in importance because of the international practice whereby the issuing state will readmit the bearer.5 The passport has served and will continue to serve the U.S. citizen in his travels throughout the world. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 5 Daniel C. Turack, The Passport International, D.C. Heath & Co., Lexington, Mass., 1972, p. 247. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS THIS HIS BOOK was prepared with the support and cooperation of Frances G. Knight, Director, Passport Office. Eleanor L. Schwartz was responsible for the general supervision, research, and compilation, assisted by Josephine A. Martin; Sandra L. Bender, for compilation and technical writing; Michael G. Repasky, for consolidation and editing; and Lorraine Lewis for technical review. The members of the Advisory Committee were William E. Duggan, Deputy Director; Lynn N. Peterson, Jr., Special Assistant to the Director; Emil W. Kontak, Chief, Administrative Division; and Francis G. Rando, Chief, Foreign Operations Division. The cooperation of the many dedicated employees in the Passport Office, the Publishing and Reproduction Division, and the Audio-Visual Services Division of the Department of State, and the staffs of the Library of Congress and the National Archives is gratefully appreciated. |