When the federal government announced the limited-edition passport with Donald Trump’s likeness on it, I figured it was a “one and done” for U.S. passports.
Turns out passport officials apparently have a few more things up their governmental sleeve.
On July 2, Secretary of State Marco Rubio went to a reception for the Consular Affairs patriot passport launch and spoke of the upcoming changes:
How Passports May Arrive
Boxed
While at the reception Rubio grumped a bit about how passports are currently mailed to citizens. He said they arrived in an envelope that, “could be anything. It could be a demand letter, or it could be a passport. You have no idea what it is.”
When I got my last passport in 2023, the return address said it was “U.S. Government Official Mail.” And since I knew I had recently applied to get my new passport, I figured that’s what it was.
Anyway, Rubio then revealed that in the future, passports will no longer be mailed in envelopes but in what he called a “fancy box” that would help show how important the document was.
With a certificate
“When you open this passport box, you will find that there is a certificate attached to it, which is like a certificate of authenticity like we do with watches and stuff like that and jewelry,” Rubio said to reception attendees. “But again, it’s something that we think a lot of people will tremendously value.”
“We think it’s something people will cherish and hold onto for a very long time because of what it signifies,” Rubio continued. “Like all passports it, will expire one day. But the meaning of it you’ll always remember, and we think it’s one that people will keep for a long time.”
No word yet on whether the fancy box and certificate will increase the cost of a passport.
QR Codes In Future Passport Designs
Rubio also said that another upcoming change would be a QR code that would take people to videos of pivotal moments in American history.
“But the one thing that’s not a feature on this yet but will be a feature in the future – again, I’m giving away a lot of great secrets,” Rubio said at the reception. “But there’ll actually be, like, a QR code attached to it. So each one of these images that are on here – and they’ll be different for the permanent passports – will have a QR code. And when you go on that QR code, it will prompt you to, like, a video presentation of that moment in American history.”
Like…wow.
“And so what we’re thinking is that because flights are so often delayed, people are going to be bored out of their minds and they can go on the QR code and it will pull up these key moments in American history, which obviously will continue to be replenished and added,” Rubio the orator continued. “And it’ll go through some pretty amazing moments, including the recent Artemis launch is one of them that we’re considering putting in there, and others. So we think it’ll be a great source of pride. So I’m excited because we’re launching this commemorative, but we’re also putting in place all the things you need to have an incredible passport program.”
So exciting, huh?
Passport photos
Rubio also hinted at some technological changes in the passport process.
“We are also looking at some technological changes, which we’ll be more fully able to announce over the coming months, where it’s going to be a lot easier to get a passport in terms of the dynamics of it.” said Rubio. “You’ll actually be able to go online. You’ll be able to do almost all of it entirely online. One of the questions we had was most of the devices that people are using, be it a laptop or a standing computer or what have you, where you would fill out this application, they have cameras on them. I know, it’s shocking. But they have cameras. They have videos that people use.”
I assume that was supposed to be a joke.
“You should be able to take that picture on that device as opposed to going somewhere. Now, the CVS people, of course, hate this, and the Walgreens and all those other places,” Rubio continued. “But you’ll be able to take your picture from that device and be able to have it in real time, through our security system, verify the facial ID. And it just saves you a lot of – you don’t have to go down somewhere now and get a head shot and get the little pictures that you have to cut and then submit three passport pictures. You’ll be able to do that. You’ll be able to do it online entirely, for the most part, with all the right numbers. They’ll be able to verify it for you, and you should be able to get it much sooner.
“So we’re going to make it a much more customer-friendly – we’re not ready to do that yet, but that’s really what we want to be able to do. And it should cut down on the long waits, the long lines, the appointments, the making – some people may still decide to do it that way, but this way will be available to people. And we look forward to, like, really rolling that out in a few months when it’s ready.”
Such a great speech.
Seriously, though, online passport renewals have been available since the Biden administration made the program permanent in 2024 as part of its effort to reduce red tape. New passport applications can’t be done electronically; they still require paperwork, so being able to complete nearly everything online would be a welcome change…once it’s, like, ready to roll out in a few months…when it’s ready.
Here’s his speech in its entirety:
Whether all of these changes arrive exactly as described remains to be seen. But when and if they do, applying for a passport could look very different in the near future.
A boxed passport. A certificate. QR codes with videos. Taking your passport photo on your laptop instead of trekking to CVS or Walgreens. Some of the ideas sound genuinely convenient. Others feel, well, a little more like marketing.
Either way, if you’re planning to apply for your first passport or renew one in the coming months, it might be worth keeping an eye on what the State Department announces next. Your next passport may not just arrive in the mail. It might come with its own government-approved unboxing experience.
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
4 comments
Last time I renewed my passport, I supplied my own images taken with a digital camera. The instructions are pretty clear what to do and how to compose the image.
I think we covered that – you could supply a digital photo for renewals since Biden made online renewals an option. However NEW passports still required a hard copy of your photo. According to Rubio, that’s apparently going to change at some point.
The last I heard, passport fees exceeded the cost of processing applications and making the passport by quite a bit.
Would love to know more about that, Rob. Do you have any URLs I could check out?