yet more ways the US is whacked

[mickeym]

By way of tabaqui:


The US State Dept. wants to make it more difficult to get a passport. The proposed new Form DS-5513 asks for all addresses since birth; lifetime employment history including employers’ and supervisors names, addresses, and telephone numbers; personal details of all siblings; mother’s address one year prior to your birth; any “religious ceremony” around the time of birth; and a variety of other information. According to the proposed form, “failure to provide the information requested may result in … the denial of your U.S. passport application.”

Go here to let them know what you think about that idea. (Apparently they think it should only take the average USian about 45 min. to gather all that information. o_O)

Comments

[rainbow.livejournal.com]

well, no passport for me. i have no idea of employers since that was pre-tbi. no idea of addresses -- we moved 2/yr when i was in k-3, and my mother's long dead and even longer divorced from my stepfather, who've i never seen since the divorce in the 70s.

and how in the world would one know one's mother's address before one was born, espeically if said mother is dead.

and religious ceremony? there goes the separation of church and state.

man...

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

I'm going to have to dig out my birth certificate and see if it lists where my folks were living when I was born. I can't remember. And like I said to someone up above, I'm luckier than a large percentage of people because I have good record-keeping skills and a good memory. Plus I'm interested in my family history, so I probably could answer some of that stuff just because I've asked assorted family members.

But it's just ridiculous that the government thinks they need to have that information just so I can go on vacation.

And I don't think the church and state have been very separate for a while now :(

[fromcainwthlove.livejournal.com]

looks like you only need to know where your mother lived prior to your birth if you weren't born in a medical facility. ditto the religious ceremony stuff--they want to try and establish that you were actually born in the U.S.

why you can't just present a damn birth certificate, though, is anyone's guess.