Yes, There Is Such A Thing As An Infant American Passport

Although it may seem a little ridiculous to some people, anyone with an infant must have an infant passport application (http://www.uspassportnow.com/services/ChildPassport) in order to be able to cross a border with a child. There are actually some very good reasons for this and it is actually for the children's protection, not to make the parent's life more difficult. There are some exceptions to the process, but it is very similar to what adults are already familiar with in order to get their passports.

There are plenty of people that merely shake their head as the prospect of having to have a passport for their child. First and foremost, it is still a matter of national security. If children were able to come in and out of the country with no checks and balances, pure chaos could ensue. As any parent can imagine, this could lead to plenty of legal problems.

Something else that not many people probably even think of is human trafficking. If the law about infant passports was not in place, people could easily transport illegal children across the borders for a variety of reasons. This goes for kids coming both in and out of the country.

Applying for an infant passport is rather similar to applying for an adult passport, save a few practical differences. Obviously and infant will not be able to fill out his or her own passport form. A parent will have to fill out the forms, and a parent will have to aid in the passport photo process.

Since the children will not be able to sign the US passports (http://www.uspassportnow.com), this must also be handled by the parents. This is like more of a co-signature in that the parent signs there name in place of the child. It will go next to the child on the passport and serve as their signature until the child can actually get a passport renewal and sign the passport on their own.

In order for the co-signature to be valid, the parent will have to sign their child's name and then their name next to it along with their relationship. In other words, it would read: child's name, parents' signature and then mother, father or guardian in parenthesis. The ideal situation would be that the parent that is signing the passport would actually be accompanying the child on the trip. This could alleviate any challenges that may be faced going through customs.

When a child that is under the age of 16 is getting a passport, there must be permission given by both parents. For married couples, this is obviously not a problem. However, if the parents are divorced or separated and living far away from each other, they still have to have both signatures on the form. This is done so one parent does not just leave the country with the child without the other parent knowing about it.

About The Author Clearly, there are a lot of sound reasons behind the laws that require an infant USA passport (http://www.uspassportnow.com/services/ChildPassport). Because international travel is always a concern for national security, it is imperative that all citizens carry their pass ports (http://www.uspassportnow.com), even infants and newborns. Anyone with an infant considering international travel should most definitely take steps to start the passport application process as soon as possible.