22 U.S.C. § 211a
Authority to grant, issue, and verify passports
United States · Title 22 — FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE · Status: effective
Cite this
- Citation
- 22 U.S.C. § 211a, Authority to grant, issue, and verify passports, United States, version 1 as recorded 2026-07-09, yourstate.us, https://yourstate.us/provision/454972
- Permanent ID
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Full text
The Secretary of State may grant and issue passports, and cause passports to be granted, issued, and verified in foreign countries by diplomatic and consular officers of the United States, and by such other employees of the Department of State who are citizens of the United States as the Secretary of State may designate, and by the chief or other executive officer of the insular possessions of the United States, and through the use of Department of State electronic systems, under such rules as the President shall designate and prescribe for and on behalf of the United States, and no other entity shall grant, issue, or verify such passports. Unless authorized by law, a passport may not be designated as restricted for travel to or for use in any country other than a country with which the United States is at war, where armed hostilities are in progress, or where there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of United States travellers.
Legislative history
The public laws that enacted or amended this section. Tallies are for the whole bill as it passed each chamber — often an omnibus covering far more than this provision — not a vote on this section alone. The law that originally enacted this section predates the public laws loaded here, so only later amendments are listed.
- Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1979House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
- Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995
- To make certain technical amendments relating to the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948, and other provisions of law.House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
- Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025House: 281–140Senate: no recorded tally