When did you get your first passport, and where did you travel first? Will you apply for a new passport soon? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
When I was five, my uncle left New Jersey and relocated to Australia, and in my teens, I watched two cousins move to Switzerland. As a result, I’ve always considered a passport to be a necessity so I could travel overseas for family visits.
I’m not the only one within my sister circle who feels that way. One friend lived for two years in Barbados, another recently went on a safari in Kenya, and a third is currently traveling with her twin daughters in Spain. So I was surprised to find out that as Black Americans, we’re the least likely to travel internationally, with only about a third of us holding a current U.S. passport.
I was surprised to find out that as Black Americans, we’re the least likely to travel internationally, with only about a third of us holding a current U.S. passport.
The reasons we haven’t exactly been rushing to the nearest post office to apply for a passport are many — and likely complex.
Fear of encountering racism may keep some of us from wanting to travel overseas, so we don’t think we need one, says Imani Bashir, a travel writer who has written about Black tourism. Bashir also has lived in five countries, including Mexico, Egypt, and Malaysia. Historically, we’ve been subject to travel-based trauma, such as sundown towns — parts of the country where Black travelers were not welcome and often faced discrimination and even violence, Bashir says. Some may wonder if similar threats exist overseas. “[There’s] just that fear of ‘if I go somewhere, will I be safe?’” Bashir says.
For those of us who are descendants of enslaved people, we may not have relatives in foreign countries or a homeland that we connect to, motivating us to get a passport.
For others, an extra one to two hundred dollars might not be in the budget, which is why Bashir recently launched an effort to raise money for 100 Black Americans to get their first passport.
Whether you can relate to any of those reasons or you just haven’t gotten around to it, here’s why you should stop putting it off.
Once a passport expires, you can no longer use it as a valid ID for travel or anything else that requires identification. You also may not be able to enter another country if your passport will expire within the next six months.
5 reasons you need a valid passport now
It gives you access to the world. The most obvious reason to get a passport now is that it allows you to travel outside the United States. Bashir first got her passport in her twenties when she wanted to attend her brother’s wedding in the UK. “That was the moment where I was like, ‘I wonder what the rest of the world looks like,’” she says. You never know if an opportunity — or need — will require you to leave the country fast.
It proves citizenship. Immigration enforcement has put a spotlight on who is legally allowed to live in the United States. A passport is a way to say, ‘I am a United States citizen,’ says Bashir. “It's a form of protection for us.”
It meets Real ID requirements. As of May 7, 2025, you won’t be able to take a commercial flight if you’re 18 or older without a form of identification that meets super stringent safety requirements known as Real ID. Even if you rarely fly and are just hoping to snag a short flight to the next state over to see your niece get married or a relative who is gravely ill, you won’t be allowed to pass through the security checkpoint unless you have your driver’s license updated to be Real ID-compliant or you have an up-to-date U.S. passport. For those who aren’t U.S. citizens, other options allowing you to fly include a foreign-government-issued passport, a permanent resident card, and a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card.
It could protect your voting rights. If passed into law, pending legislation, called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, would require people to prove citizenship in person to register to vote. While a driver’s license wouldn’t meet that requirement, a passport would. Voting rights advocates warn that you might run into trouble using a birth certificate if your current legal name doesn’t match the name on the certificate, such as if you’re married and have taken your spouse’s name.
It facilitates personal growth. Traveling overseas and in the United States gave Bashir insights into other people and herself. “The best part of the experience of having this passport is meeting myself and recognizing all the ways that I've been able to stretch myself — all the ways in which I've been able to grow as a woman, as a mother, and as a partner,” Bashir says.
How to get a passport
To get a passport, you’ll need to find one of more than 7,000 passport acceptance facilities, which include post offices, public libraries, and local government offices. You will need a photo ID and must show evidence of citizenship, such as a U.S. birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, a certificate of citizenship, or a certificate of naturalization. Your documents cannot be photocopies; they must be original or replacement documents. You’ll also need to submit a color photo taken within the last six months. While you can have a friend take the picture (it can’t be a selfie), there are so many stipulations such as the type of background you can use and the type of expression you can have that it’s easier to go to a facility that takes passport photos for you such as a library or a post office. I had my most recent passport photo taken at a local business supply store.
You can get a passport book, a passport card, or both. Passport cards can only be used to travel by land or sea to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and certain Caribbean countries. To travel internationally by air (and travel by land or sea), you’ll need a passport book. The cost of getting a passport is $130 for a passport book and $30 for a passport card, and you can pay via a check or money order. You’ll also have to pay a fee to the acceptance facility. The facility will determine accepted payment methods, but facilities typically accept cash, checks, money orders, and credit cards.
The time it takes for your passport to be processed and sent to you varies based on demand – during busier seasons, it may take longer. Routine processing times generally range from four to six weeks, but you can pay more for expedited shipping.
Passports remain valid for 10 years for those 16 and older and five years for those under 16. Once a passport expires, you can no longer use it as a valid ID for travel or anything else that requires identification. You also may not be able to enter another country if your passport will expire within the next six months.
A passport gives you entry to a world that transcends the country’s borders. Since you can’t control the turnaround time, take steps to get your passport now, even if you don’t have a trip in mind. “Just allow yourself that access,” Bashir says. For more information, go to the U.S. Department of State’s website.
When did you get your first passport, and where did you travel first? Will you apply for a new passport soon? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
