What Exactly are Puerto Rican Passports?

Image by stuart.mundy via FlickrIf you ever came across the phrase 'Puerto Rico passports', you would have definitely wondered whether Puerto Rico is an independent country. Well, it is not. Puerto Rico is an integral part of the United States of America and its residents are US citizens. If this is so, how and why has this phrase been used?

Many people are not aware that the USA has two major commonwealths: (1) Puerto Rico, which was always considered a highly advantageous military location in the Caribbean for America, and (2) Northern Marianas. Besides these, there are 12 unincorporated territories or possessions out of which only four are inhabited: US Virgin Islands, Guam, Midway Islands, and American Samoa. The residents of these US Commonwealths and possessions, except for those of American Samoa, are all US citizens. The latter are only US nationals, but not US citizens.

Puerto Rico has always been one of the most wanted destinations for tourists from all over the world. During the 1930s however, this amazing island was far from popular. The reason was that a large group of terrorists was caught during that period, where the majority was found in possession of ids and travel documents issued in Puerto Rico.

The false documents, particularly the Puerto Rico passports and Puerto Rico birth certificates, which permitted these terrorists to travel as US citizens throughout the world, caused immense embarrassment and pain to the citizens of Puerto Rico as they unexpectedly became synonymous with nefarious activities. The phrase 'Puerto Rico passports' had been coined at that time. Many people, even travel agencies, still harbor the misconception that such documents, which are supposedly issued in Puerto Rico, were and are outside the jurisdiction of the United States.

The truth was that in the past, no American required a passport for traveling back and forth to the Caribbean. There are no such documents known as Puerto Rico passports. However, with effect from 23 January 2007, US citizens were required to present a valid US passport or any equivalent travel document such as Air Nexus Card, passport card or US Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document when they re-entered the United States by air.

Under the directives of WHTI (Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative) from 1 June 2009 onwards, these rules would be extended to all US citizens who travel to Bermuda, Caribbean, Mexico, Central, and South America regardless of whether they travel by air, land, or sea. Such travel would require that all US citizens carry a valid passport, WHTI approved document or passport card when they return to the USA.