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Posted by VT_Syrup on 2/13/21 8:26pm
I glanced at the bill, and noticed they propose to allow an unstamped passport as ID if the signer is outside the US when doing an online notarization. This suggests to me the bill author(s) have little knowledge of credential analysis or international travel.
The FL notary handbook says "a passport issued by a foreign government if the document is stamped by the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services" may be used to ID a signer. This has two problems. First, for foreign visitors who don't need visas (like Canadians or Brits) there is usually no stamp, just an electronic I-94 form that can be viewed online. Second, people who are here a long time may renew their foreign passports at their embassy or consulate without leaving the US, and the new passport won't have any stamp. (This happened to me with a Japan/US dual citizen. She had to show me the Japanese passport to verify how her name is written in Japanese documents, and it had no stamp.)
Another problem is that from what I've read, the credential analysis systems currently available only work for US driver licenses (and maybe state non-driver IDs). They don't even work for US passports, let alone foreign passports. (Although it doesn't hurt to write the law in a way that allows for future progress.)
So while they're fixing things, maybe they could update their ID requirements to reflect the way international travel actually works today. |
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