Should everyone have a passport?

[mretzloff]

That's the beach in Brazil.

You need a passport to get there.

Below is the rest of Brazil. I will be staying here

 

[Rockminer]

Huntington Beach.......................no passport required

 

[August West]

 

[nuclearblast]

 

[jamesspo]

For a long time I was under the impression that I wouldn't need one and would get it when I did. Never had one before and I'm almost 40. Well, last Friday my manager said I'm going to Germany on December 7th. Yep, 2 weeks. I've now gone through the "joy" of expediting a passport and it is a pain. I'll probably keep it and renew every 10 years just to avoid this again. Many extra hours and much extra cost all because I wasn't prepared.

Been there, done that!

 

[Eeyore]

If needed, you can get a passport in two working days here, at an extra cost of course.

 

[StillShaving]

I'm 30 and don't have a passport. I've only been out of the country one time in my life, to Canada. All I needed at the time was an ID, my drivers license worked.

I have absolutely zero plans (as of now) to travel outside of the US. For no other reason than I just don't have any vacations to other countries in the works.
But I'm thinking...shouldn't I get a passport now before I actually need it? If I actually need it then I'll already have it.

But another part is thinking....what if I never use it. Then it's just a burden of worrying about not loosing it and renewing it the rest of my life when it never get's used.

So should everyone have a passport even if they never have intentions of using it?

And what else can you use them for besides travel abroad?

You can use a passport for general identification within the US, but if you are not traveling outside of the USA any time soon, there is little reason to get one IMO. It is not that expensive, but it is not a trivial throw away purchase either, and it expires after 10 years (9.5 years later you must renew before traveling again). If you are visiting neighboring countries, i.e. Canada, Mexico, Caribbean then you could get a passport card instead. IMO you should not need to purchase a passport until you are planning to travel outside the country, unless you have taken a new job where you are expected to travel and need to be prepared just in case.

 

[Toothpick]

You can use a passport for general identification within the US, but if you are not traveling outside of the USA any time soon, there is little reason to get one IMO. It is not that expensive, but it is not a trivial throw away purchase either, and it expires after 10 years (9.5 years later you must renew before traveling again). If you are visiting neighboring countries, i.e. Canada, Mexico, Caribbean then you could get a passport card instead. IMO you should not need to purchase a passport until you are planning to travel outside the country, unless you have taken a new job where you are expected to travel and need to be prepared just in case.

had no idea about the card!
It seems more likely for me to visit Canada or Mexico before anywhere over the ocean. But....who the heck knows.

 

[StubbleTrouble]

had no idea about the card!
It seems more likely for me to visit Canada or Mexico before anywhere over the ocean. But....who the heck knows.

Still need a passport if you fly to those countries. Card's good for land or sea IIRC.

 

[Prof. Moriarty]

I have had a passport as long as I remember, also have a Personalausweis.

 

[jkingrph]

I had one back in the early 70's when I went overseas in the military. I actually traveled on military orders which served as a passport to my destination country and back to the US. The passport was needed for travel to other countries for sightseeing, ect while while there.

My wife wound up with two, on for travel to the country where I was stationed and back to the US which was provided by the US govt. We went on a couple of tours out of country and were she had to have a paid passport for that, so we went to the US consulant and got her one.

I got another back in the early 90's when I went back into the reserves knowing I would probably go overseas again during Desert Storm, and might have the chance to travel a bit, but never did and it has since expired.

The only place I might go is Canada, and will drive if, I do that, and will use driver license as long as they allow that. The only other places I would consider are British Isles , Europe,Australia and New Zealand, and parts of Brazil, Chile and Argentina in S America,

Having spent a couple of years in Turkey I would like to see the changes in the last 40 years, but do not care for going to any of the Moslem countries at all nowdays.