According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, getting and renewing your passport could be a little easier.
On July 2, Rubio said the State Department was developing a more streamlined system that would allow Americans to take and upload passport photos using their phones or computers.
Americans can already upload passport photos taken from their phones and computers; However, they must meet strict State Department requirements. Rubio said the new system will use real-time, built-in facial recognition technology to make the process even faster.
“You should be able to take that picture on that device instead of having to go somewhere. Now, the CVS people, of course, hate it and Walgreens and all those other places,” Rubio said. “But you’ll be able to take your photo from that device and get it in real time, through our security system, verify facial ID.”
Online applications are also coming
In addition to simplifying the process of taking and submitting passport photos from home, Rubio outlined a plan to allow passport applicants to complete almost the entire process online.
“Now, in addition, I would say that we are also looking at some technological changes, which we will be able to fully announce in the coming months, where it will become much easier to get a passport in terms of the mobility of it. You will actually be able to go online,” Rubio said.
Rubio’s comments came during a reception to launch a commemorative passport marking the country’s 250th anniversary. According to the State Department, only 25,000 limited-edition passports are being issued through July 6.
Controversy regarding new passport
It has been surrounded by controversy since President Donald Trump unveiled a rendering of the new commemorative passport in late June.
The new passport shared by Trump shows an image of him standing at the Resolute Desk with the text of the original Declaration of Independence in the background and his signature at the bottom of a page. Meanwhile, the other page features John Trumbull’s painting “The Declaration of Independence.”
Trump wrote of the design in a June 26 post on Truth Social: “USA’s new passport that says, ‘Welcome, but be nice!’
The new design was opposed by Democrats in Washington, with Virginia Senator Tim Kaine sending a letter to Rubio saying that featuring Trump’s face on the document “would become a unifying national landmark for personal propaganda.”
Kaine said, “To our knowledge, no country carries a photograph of a sitting leader in its passport. Even the most authoritarian and despotic governments have avoided linking national identity to the sitting president.”
USA TODAY’s Saman Shafiq contributed to this report.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at (email protected) and follow him at X @fern_cerv_.