§ 211a. Authority to grant, issue, and verify passports

The Secretary of State may grant and issue passports, and cause passports to be granted, issued, and verified in foreign countries by diplomatic and consular officers of the United States, and by such other employees of the Department of State who are citizens of the United States as the Secretary of State may designate, and by the chief or other executive officer of the insular possessions of the United States, under such rules as the President shall designate and prescribe for and on behalf of the United States, and no other person shall grant, issue, or verify such passports. Unless authorized by law, a passport may not be designated as restricted for travel to or for use in any country other than a country with which the United States is at war, where armed hostilities are in progress, or where there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of United States travellers.

§ 212. Persons entitled to passport

No passport shall be granted or issued to or verified for any other persons than those owing allegiance, whether citizens or not, to the United States.

§ 212a. Restriction of passports for sex tourism

• (a) Following any conviction of an individual for a violation of section 2423 of title 18 , the Attorney General shall notify in a timely manner—
  • (1) the Secretary of State for appropriate action under subsection (b); and
  • (2) the Secretary of Homeland Security for appropriate action under the Immigration and Nationality Act [ 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.].
• (b)
  • (1)
    • (A) The Secretary of State shall not issue a passport or passport card to an individual who is convicted of a violation of section 2423 of title 18 during the covered period if the individual used a passport or passport card or otherwise crossed an international border in committing the offense.
    • (B) The Secretary of State shall revoke a passport or passport card previously issued to an individual described in subparagraph (A).
  • (2)
    • (A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Secretary of State may issue a passport or passport card, in emergency circumstances or for humanitarian reasons, to an individual described in paragraph (1)(A).
    • (B) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Secretary of State may, prior to revocation, limit a previously issued passport or passport card only for return travel to the United States, or may issue a limited passport or passport card that only permits return travel to the United States.
  • (3) In this subsection—
    • (A) the term “covered period” means the period beginning on the date on which an individual is convicted of a violation of section 2423 of title 18 and ending on the later of—
      • (i) the date on which the individual is released from a sentence of imprisonment relating to the offense; and
      • (ii) the end of a period of parole or other supervised release of the covered individual relating to the offense; and
    • (B) the term “imprisonment” means being confined in or otherwise restricted to a jail, prison, half-way house, treatment facility, or another institution, on a full or part-time basis, pursuant to the sentence imposed as the result of a criminal conviction.

§ 212b. Unique passport identifiers for covered sex offenders

• (a) Immediately after receiving a written determination from the Angel Watch Center that an individual is a covered sex offender, through the process developed for that purpose under section 21507 of title 34 , the Secretary of State shall take appropriate action under subsection (b).
• (b)
  • (1) Except as provided under paragraph (2), the Secretary of State shall not issue a passport to a covered sex offender unless the passport contains a unique identifier, and may revoke a passport previously issued without such an identifier of a covered sex offender.
  • (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Secretary of State may reissue a passport that does not include a unique identifier if an individual described in subsection (a) reapplies for a passport and the Angel Watch Center provides a written determination, through the process developed for that purpose under section 21507 of title 34 , to the Secretary of State that the individual is no longer required to register as a covered sex offender.
• (c) In this section—
  • (1) the term “covered sex offender” means an individual who—
    • (A) is a sex offender, as defined in section 21503(f) of title 34 ; and
    • (B) is currently required to register under the sex offender registration program of any jurisdiction;
  • (2) the term “unique identifier” means any visual designation affixed to a conspicuous location on the passport indicating that the individual is a covered sex offender; and
  • (3) the term “passport” means a passport book or passport card.
• (d) The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Attorney General, and their agencies, officers, employees, and agents, shall not be liable to any person for any action taken under this section.
• (e) In furtherance of this section, the Secretary of State may require a passport applicant to disclose that they are a registered sex offender.
• (f) This section shall take effect upon certification by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Attorney General, that the process developed and reported to the appropriate congressional committees under section 21507 of title 34 has been successfully implemented.

§ 213. Application for passport; verification by oath of initial passport

Before a passport is issued to any person by or under authority of the United States such person shall subscribe to and submit a written application which shall contain a true recital of each and every matter of fact which may be required by law or by any rules authorized by law to be stated as a prerequisite to the issuance of any such passport. If the applicant has not previously been issued a United States passport, the application shall be duly verified by his oath before a person authorized and empowered by the Secretary of State to administer oaths.

§ 214. Fees for execution and issuance of passports; persons excused from payment

• (a) There shall be collected and paid into the Treasury of the United States a fee, prescribed by the Secretary of State by regulation, for the filing of each application for a passport (including the cost of passport issuance and use) and a fee, prescribed by the Secretary of State by regulation, for executing each such application except that the Secretary of State may by regulation authorize State officials or the United States Postal Service to collect and retain the execution fee for each application for a passport accepted by such officials or by that Service. Such fees shall not be refundable, except as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe. No passport fee shall be collected from an officer or employee of the United States proceeding abroad in the discharge of official duties, or from members of his immediate family; from an American seaman who requires a passport in connection with his duties aboard an American flag-vessel; from a widow, widower, child, parent, grandparent, brother, or sister of a deceased member of the Armed Forces proceeding abroad to visit the grave of such member or to attend a funeral or memorial service for such member; or from an individual or individuals abroad, returning to the United States, when the Secretary determines that foregoing the collection of such fee is justified for humanitarian reasons or for law enforcement purposes. No execution fee shall be collected for an application made before a Federal official by a person excused from payment of the passport fee under this section.
• (b)
  • (1) The Secretary of State may by regulation establish and collect a surcharge on applicable fees for the filing of each application for a passport in order to cover the costs of meeting the increased demand for passports as a result of actions taken to comply with section 7209(b) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 ( Public Law 108–458 ; 8 U.S.C. 1185 note). Such surcharge shall be in addition to the fees provided for in subsection (a) and in addition to the surcharges or fees otherwise authorized by law and shall be deposited in the Consular and Border Security Programs account, to remain available until expended for the purposes of meeting such costs.
  • (2) The authority to collect the surcharge provided under paragraph (1) may not be exercised after September 30, 2010 .
  • (3) The Secretary of State shall ensure that, to the extent practicable, the total cost of a passport application during fiscal years 2006 and 2007, including the surcharge authorized under paragraph (1), shall not exceed the cost of the passport application as of December 1, 2005 .

§ 214a. Fees erroneously charged and paid; refund

Whenever a fee is erroneously charged and paid for the issue of a passport to a person who is exempted from the payment of such a fee by section 214 of this title , the Department of State is authorized to refund to the person who paid such fee the amount thereof, and the money for that purpose is authorized to be appropriated.

§ 217a. Validity of passport; limitation of time

A passport shall be valid for a period of ten years from the date of issue, except that the Secretary of State may limit the validity of a passport to a period of less than ten years in an individual case or on a general basis pursuant to regulation.

§ 218. Returns as to passports issued, etc.

All persons who shall be authorized to grant, issue, or verify passports, shall make return of the same to the Secretary of State, in such manner and as often as he shall require; and such returns shall specify the names and all other particulars of the persons to whom the same shall be granted, issued, or verified, as embraced in such passport.