\nA passport is an official government document that certifies one’s identity (name, birth date, and birthplace) and citizenship information.\u00a0 This is a document that permits a citizen to travel abroad, but is not needed to travel within ones own country.\u00a0 Because the United States is such a large country and most citizens of the United States do not live near an international border or need to cross an international border on a regular basis, the number of people who have passports in the United States is low. Only about 20-30% of Americans have passports and almost no one uses their passport as an identification document except when traveling abroad.\u00a0 It costs money to obtain a passport in the United States; it costs over $100 for a passport.<\/p>\n
Diver’s license<\/strong> Social Security card<\/strong> * ID = identification document You may or may not be aware that in the United States we do not have a national identification card or ID*.\u00a0 Although national ID cards are compulsory** in many countries and often must be carried with a person at all times, this is not true in the United States.\u00a0 In the United States a…<\/p>\n
\nA diver’s license is a photo ID certifying one’s identity (name, address, and birth date) and stating what type of motor vehicle a person is allowed to drive.\u00a0 A person must obtain a license from the state in which s\/he lives, but a driver’s license issued in any state in the United States is recognized as valid in all other states.\u00a0 Because driving is so much a part of American culture somewhere around 75% of driving age adult Americans (those over 16 years of age) have driver’s licenses.\u00a0 Driver licensing authorities (i.e. the Department of Motor Vehicles) can also make photo based identification cards for adults who do not drive, but need an ID card for other purposes.\u00a0 A driver’s license is what most American’s use as their primary form of identification.\u00a0 Obtaining a driver’s license is often costs a small fee, which varies among the different states.<\/p>\n
\nA Social Security card is a paper card that indicates a person’s full name, social security number***, and contains the person\u2019s signature.\u00a0\u00a0 This card is issued by the national government upon the request of a baby’s parents when a child is born. Parents generally request a Social Security card for their child soon after s\/he is born, but this request does not have to be done immediately.\u00a0 The parents of the child need this number in order to report the baby to the Internal Revenue Service as a dependent as this will reduce the amount of taxes the parents will have to pay.\u00a0 A child will need their Social Security number later in life, sometimes for school purposes, but definitely to apply for jobs, and later to pay taxes or receive tax and other governmental benefits.\u00a0 All citizens of the United States are issued Social Security numbers and cards upon request, but most people to not carry their Social Security card around with them as an ID.\u00a0 Most people simply memorize their Social Security number to use it when needed to fill out official documents.<\/p>\n
\n** compulsory = required by law, an obligation
\n*** Social Security number = a number in the format 000-00-0000, that is unique for each individual born in the United States, this number is used to track government issues social and health benefits and for other identification purposes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2012\/07\/us-passport-279x350.jpg\")