[Morpheus]

Author #2,

Here's my initial cut at the attachment:

Quote:

United States Department of State

Seattle Passport Agency

915 Second Avenue, Suite 992

Seattle, WA 98174-1091

November 7, 2005

Re: Passport Application

Dear Passport Agency:

The perjury statement in block 23 of the passport application is ambiguous in regards to the citizenship status of the applicant, (child's name).? To clarify, the applicant is a Citizen of the United States of America under the Constitution which is equivalent to a ?non-citizen national? under 8 USC? ?1452, not a ?U.S. citizen? under 8 USC ?1401 as he/she was born in (name of state) state, one of the states of the Union.

Similarly, the term ?U.S. citizen? as used in block 21 regarding the applicant's parents is defined to mean ?non-citizen national? under 8 USC? ?1452, not a ?U.S. citizen? under 8 USC ?1401 as they were both born in California state, one of the states of the Union.

DECLARATION: Pursuant to 28 USC ?1746(1), we declare under penalty of perjury under the Laws of the United States of America that the statements made on the passport application and within this statement are true, correct, and complete to the best of our knowledge and belief.

________________________________

(father's name), father

________________________________

(mother's name), mother

At the top of the letter is the child's name, c/o parents'names and address.

The block 21 boxes have been checked “yes” for U.S. citizen on the passport application and no modifications have been made to the DS-11 form (ver. 9/2005).

Any suggestions for imporvement are welcome.

Morpheus

[Morpheus]

I am making up the attachment form today and will post when I am finished. Any suggestions are welcome at that time.

Thank you for your support.

Morpheus

[Morpheus]

Thanks, Author #2.

I found that the latest DS-11 form (9/2005) uses different wording in the oath section now:

Quote:

“I declare under penalty of perjury that I am a United States citizen (or non-citizen national) and have not, since acquiring United State citizenship (or U.S. nationality), performed any of the acts listed under “Acts or Conditions” on this application form (unless explanatory statement is attached). I declare under penalty that the statements made on this application are true and correct.” (color emphasis added)

There appears to be a typo in the oath: “… acquiring United State citizenship …”. I don't think there's another legal meaning here, but I could be wrong.

It appears they now want to placate those substituting “national” for “citizen” so that one's citizenship status is STILL ambiguous after making this declaration. Though it is less objectionable, you could not use a certified copy of your DS-11 form as evidence that you are a US national. However, it cannot be used by the government to claim you are a US citizen either.

Note: the question about the parents' citizenship has not changed. It's still “U.S. citizen”. Do you have any issues with this new form as amended or do I still need to use an attachment? If the word “citizen” was capitalized I think I would be ok with it and I don't think anyone at the agency would notice. (Capitalization can invoke different meanings in law, but this is not generally known by bureaucratic worker bees. 🙂 ) For parents signing this form on behalf of their minor child, it is still important to use the attachment to define US citizen, otherwise you may be making a false statement under penalty of perjury.

Morpheus

P.S. We met in Cancun a few years ago at a PQI event. I'm curious about your recent battle with the feds. How has it played out?