8 FAM 1304.2
Domestic Passport Waivers
(CT:CITZ-83; 09-12-2022)
(Office of Origin: CA/PPT/S/A)
8 FAM 1304.2-1 Summary
(CT:CITZ-83; 09-12-2022)
a. Passport waivers are issued as an exception to the requirement under 8 U.S.C. 1185(b) of U.S. citizens to enter and depart the U.S. on a valid U.S. passport. Such waivers are available in the case of an unforeseen life or death emergency (22 CFR 53.2(b)(9)) or for humanitarian or national interest reasons (22 CFR 53.2(b)(10)). A passport waiver serves only to exempt a U.S. citizen/non-citizen U.S. national from this provision of U.S. law and does not constitute permission from the U. S. government for a U.S. citizen/non-citizen U.S. national to enter a foreign country’s territory without the appropriate documentation. The destination country’s immigration officials make the final decision on admission of an undocumented traveler.
b. The acceptance of a waiver of the passport requirement has diminished markedly because:
(1) Almost all airlines deny requests to board passengers leaving the United States without valid passports;
(2) Other documents may be acceptable at land and sea ports of entry; and
(3) Passport waivers are generally only accepted in the case of U.S. citizens/non-citizen U.S. nationals traveling on an emergency basis to Israel.
c. Domestically, only the national duty officer (NDO) can make the determination that a passport waiver is warranted and possible. The NDO:
(1) Decides when a passport agency/center must open after-hours to issue a passport to an applicant who does not qualify for a passport waiver (see 8 FAM 603.6);
(2) Arranges for emergency searches of passport files for other offices in the Department of State; and
(3) Contacts the duty officer program coordinator and/or appropriate CA/PPT officials to deal with after-hours matters that require decisions regarding management or policy.
d. Criteria for domestic passport waiver: Domestic passport waivers are granted only when it is impossible for the applicant to obtain a passport prior to their departure from the United States on emergency travel and if the airline and the country to which the person is traveling (and transiting through, if applicable) accepts passport waivers.
e. A passport waiver may only be authorized when:
(1) The applicant is traveling to a country with which the United States has an informal agreement permitting entry of a traveler without a passport; and
(2) There is a life or death situation that requires the applicant’s immediate presence abroad. This is normally confined to the death, serious illness, or serious injury of a member of the applicant’s immediate family, life partner, etc. (An immediate family member includes the applicant’s parents, siblings, spouse, and children. Waivers for the applicant’s extended family members, such as grandparents or other relatives, will be determined on a case-by-case basis); or
(3) There is a case of “national interest” in which travel, normally of a U.S. government employee, is necessary for the conduct of urgent U. S. government business and the waiver is granted at the direction of a Deputy Assistant Secretary (or above) in Consular Affairs; or
(4) CA/PPT has issued a passport, but an error in the passport prevents the applicant from traveling and a rewritten passport cannot be issued in time for the life or death emergency travel (see 8 FAM 1001.2).
f. Once the NDO has determined that a passport waiver may be authorized, has established that the applicant has documentation of identity and citizenship, and cleared the applicant through CLASS, they must:
(1) Advise the applicant that the passport waiver exempts them from U.S. law requiring the applicant to depart and enter the United States on a valid U.S. passport (8 U.S.C. 1185) and is not a waiver of the foreign entry requirements of the country to which they are traveling;
(2) Advise the applicant that the United States cannot guarantee that they will be permitted to board an airplane or enter the foreign country;
(3) Give the applicant an assessment of the destination country’s procedures for processing U.S. citizens/non-citizen U.S. nationals who arrive without proper documentation in accordance with duty guidance;
(4) Advise that the domestic NDO and U.S. consular officers overseas do not have authority to require any airline to board a passenger without a valid passport. If a passport waiver is authorized but the airline refuses to board the passenger, the NDO should make alternative arrangements for emergency passport issuance at a passport agency/center as soon as possible thereafter;
(5) Advise the applicant that they cannot return to the United States on the passport waiver, but must obtain a U.S. passport at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad;
(6) Contact (call, fax, or email) the airline to inform them that the U.S. Department of State is granting the applicant a waiver of the passport requirement; and
(7) Send a fax/email 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 applicant’s imminent arrival.
g. If the applicant has a lost or stolen passport that has not been reported to the Consular Lost and Stolen Passport (CLASP) database, the lost or stolen passport must be added to CLASP. The NDO handling the case must obtain all information needed and complete a form DS-64 on behalf of the applicant. The NDO must submit the completed form DS-64 to the CLASP Unit via e-mail at CLASP@state.gov no later than the next business morning.
h. No fee is charged for the issuance of a passport waiver. Consular time charges (22 CFR 22.1 item 75) do not apply here because such charges only apply when required by the Schedule of Fees primarily for fee services performed away from the office or during after-duty office hours.
i. Contact information: The NDO may be contacted outside of normal working hours through the Department of State’s switchboard (202-647-4000) or the Department’s Operations Center (202-647-1512).