Passport vs. Visa
A passport is the ultimate form of identification. It's issued by the federal government, and it verifies your identity as well as your citizenship. It comes in the form of a booklet so that the nations you visit can stamp it with their visas and other travel documentation. By law, it also includes the worst photo of you that will ever be taken.
Sadly, most Americans don’t have passports, probably for two reasons:
By way of comparison, 60% of Canadians and 75% of Brits hold valid passports, while somewhere between 35% and 45% of Americans do. And since having a passport isn’t the same as using one, it’s a safe bet that less than a third of Americans ever go abroad. (No, Homer, Epcot Center doesn’t count.)
This sad and embarrassing situation is probably what inspired Ambrose Bierce to assert that war is God's way of teaching Americans geography. It certainly isn't travel.
Sadly, most Americans don’t have passports, probably for two reasons:
- For most purposes, U.S. citizens are allowed to use state-issued driver's licenses to identify themselves within the borders of the country.
- Few Americans ever leave the country.
By way of comparison, 60% of Canadians and 75% of Brits hold valid passports, while somewhere between 35% and 45% of Americans do. And since having a passport isn’t the same as using one, it’s a safe bet that less than a third of Americans ever go abroad. (No, Homer, Epcot Center doesn’t count.)
This sad and embarrassing situation is probably what inspired Ambrose Bierce to assert that war is God's way of teaching Americans geography. It certainly isn't travel.
A visa is a document issued by the government of the nation you wish to visit. (Not all nations require one, but Tanzania does.) You have to request a visa, and, once granted, it gives you permission to be in that country even though you're not a citizen.
By law, your visa will include the second worst photo of you that will ever be taken.
To get my visa I had to submit an application form, a pair of mug shots, and a $100 processing fee to the Tanzania Embassy in Washington, DC. They sent me back a piece of paper (the visa) glued directly into my passport, which allows me to be in Tanzania for no more than 90 days during a one-year window of time.
To summarize, my passport proves that I’m a U.S. citizen and that I’m the U.S. citizen I claim to be. My visa proves that I have permission from Tanzania's government to be in Tanzania for a given period of time.
It might help my middle school students to think of passports as being like their school ID badges while visas are like their hall passes. Your school ID badge identifies you as one particular student who is officially enrolled in our school; your hall pass allows you to go a-wanderin' for a specific purpose and a specific period of time out there in that foreign country we call the hallway.
Now get back to class.
It might help my middle school students to think of passports as being like their school ID badges while visas are like their hall passes. Your school ID badge identifies you as one particular student who is officially enrolled in our school; your hall pass allows you to go a-wanderin' for a specific purpose and a specific period of time out there in that foreign country we call the hallway.
Now get back to class.