SEMINOLE, Fla. (WFLA) — An immigration attorney in the Tampa Bay area has never heard of one applicant receiving two 10-year passports, but he said the glitch that sent a pair to a Seminole man is a security concern.
According to Department of Homeland Security estimates, thousands of immigrants are crossing the Mexican border into the U.S. every day, but Jose Bello struggled to secure documentation to go the other way.
Bello’s ordeal started when he paid extra to expedite his application with the State Department to renew his passport. But nearly two months into the wait, the Seminole resident decided he needed to get an appointment at one of the facilities that can process a passport in a single day.
That forced him on a last-minute flight to Hot Springs, Arkansas where he arrived to discover a line out the door with about 50 people in front of him.
Bello got the passport at the Arkansas office and went to Mexico with his wife and friends but when he got home, there was a surprise. A second 10-year passport with a different identification number was in the mail.
Immigration law is one of Attorney Sam Badawi’s specialties.
“You can hardly get one these days, let alone two,” Badawi said.
The Tampa attorney said he has never heard of anyone receiving two 10-year passports.
“That’s unheard of and I believe that’s an error by the State Department,” Badawi said. “They should’ve paused the issuance of the first one and issued the second one.”
As Bello shared his passport problem with others, he found out he is not alone.
“Not quite as colorful as the experience that I have. Three planes in two days. Thousands of miles. Two countries,” Bello said. “But they’re similar.”
“No,” Badawi said when asked if the issues Bello dealt with surprised him. “Not at all. It’s a zoo.”
Both Bello and Badawi wonder what would happen if someone with bad intentions got ahold of a second 10-year passport.
“A U.S. passport is worth a lot of money on the black market,” Badawi said. “I haven’t shopped for one, but you certainly can’t get one on Amazon.”
Badawi said if this is a hole in the system instead of a glitch it is “absolutely” a national security issue.
“Yes, because they should have checked what’s in the queue and what’s been issued right then and there,” Badawi said. “And they should’ve hit the pause button.”
A State Department spokesperson said no one should have two 10-year passports, but in certain situations citizens can get a second one that is valid for four years.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress in March that the State Department reached records for weekly applications this winter.
According to the State Department, a record number of passports were processed last year and so far this year applications are up 30% to 40%.
