Copy of blank birth certificate

A foreign national and organized crime boss residing in the United States eludes conviction on other crimes for several years but is arrested and convicted for altering U.S. passports.(1)

A college professor, and known pedophile, is apprehended attempting to bring a 15-year-old Central American youth into the United States using a false U.S. passport.(2)

After obtaining a U.S. passport under an assumed identity, a Jamaican drug dealer is located and arrested in Durham, North Carolina.(3)

In Gaithersburg, Maryland, a woman is arrested on several counts of passport fraud, crimes which had facilitated an alien-smuggling operation.(4)

Because it attests to the identity and citizenship of the bearer and provides safe passage, a U.S. passport remains essential to international travel. Unfortunately, as these cases illustrate, a significant percentage of passports are obtained by fraudulent application, alteration, or counterfeiting. To combat this problem, the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) of the U.S. Department of State employs approximately 750 special agents in 22 offices across the United States and in more than 133 American embassies and consulates around the world. In conjunction with other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, DSS works to identify and arrest the growing number of perpetrators of these crimes.

The Passport: Past and Present

The Old Testament of the Bible contains one of the first recorded references of the use of a passport. King Artaxerxes of Persia gave documents to his servant Nehemiah in 455 B.C., ensuring his safe passage from Persia to Jerusalem? Today's passports convey the same benefits to the bearer, but with more than 170 countries in the world, they encompass a wide variety of designs, features, and styles. The typical construction consists of a hard cover embossed with the country's seal or coat of arms. Inside, several blank pages stitched to the binding provide space for visas and cachet stamps. The most important identifying data of the document is contained on the biographical page, which normally includes a serialized passport number and the full name, date and place of birth, and a facial photograph of the bearer placed under a plastic laminate or embossed with a dry seal or wet seal impression. Most passports contain security features to discourage alterations or counterfeiting.

The U.S. Passport Application Process

The United States issues three types of passports to its citizens and nationals: one for tourists, one for government officials, and a third for diplomats. Tourist passports remain the most common, with over 5 million issued to the American traveling public each year. Individuals applying for a passport must complete a detailed application and provide evidence of citizenship, such as a certified birth certificate, certificate of naturalization, or previous U.S. passport. They also must present photographic identification, such as a driver's license or state identification card.

Application Fraud

Application fraud usually involves applicants' making false statements regarding their true identity or citizenship. To create a new identity, a perpetrator often obtains a "breeder" document, usually a birth certificate purporting another identity or place of birth, to support the passport application. Several avenues exist for obtaining such fraudulent documents. The perpetrator may purchase a false certificate from an illegal document vendor. With the advent of color photocopiers, computer scanning technology, and laser printers, these vendors can produce authentic-looking counterfeit birth certificates. Alternately, the perpetrator may purchase or steal a genuine birth certificate from a U.S. citizen.

Additionally, in many states, the perpetrator legally may request and receive a noncertified copy of another person's birth certificate. Thirteen states classify a birth certificate as a public record.(6) Moreover, a legally obtained, noncertified birth certificate can help support a perpetrator's written request to a state bureau of vital statistics for a certified birth certificate. Finally, the perpetrator may request the birth record of a deceased individual. Because there is no likelihood of being discovered by the true person, this method of obtaining false birth certificates is very common.

With the support of the fraudulently acquired birth certificate, the perpetrator obtains a state driver's license or other identification document. Then, armed with the necessary instruments to support an assumed identity, the perpetrator applies for a U.S. passport. Two federal felony violations cover this type of fraud, each of which carries a punishment of imprisonment, fine, or both.(7)

Alteration Fraud

In the United States, law enforcement authorities do encounter altered U.S. passports. However, due to the passport's value as a travel and identity document abroad, foreign law enforcement officers report more encounters.