Syracuse University students with American passports who make frequent trips outside the country may want to have new visa pages sewn into their books while they still can.

The U.S. Department of State announced last month that beginning Jan. 1, 2016, travelers will no longer be able to have new visa pages sewn into their passports. Instead, when travelers run out of space for stamps, they will need to apply for an entirely new book.

“These are measures that are being taken … that will update (the system) from a technology standpoint,” said Bill Smullen, director of national security studies in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

The move is meant to help bolster national security by making identity checks more effective. The pages of the new passports will contain laser engravings of code that can be scanned, Smullen said.

He added that this will make passports more difficult to forge and allow security personnel to make certain that a traveler is who they say they are.

“If you look at the intent, it is to help with anti-fraud and anti-counterfeit possibilities,” Smullen said.

International students traveling into and out of the country will only have to obey the passport ordinances of their home country, according to a release from the State Department, since the new ordinance extends only to those carrying U.S. passports.

Michelle Wu, an undeclared freshman at SU from Taipei, is one of those students. Wu, who has no plans to pursue American citizenship, has only a Taiwanese passport, so she will not be affected by the policy when she travels to and from Taipei.

The policy will have a different effect on Jeremy Jung, a freshman film major at SU who lives in Los Angeles but was born in South Korea. Jung recently began his application for American citizenship, and will receive his documentation — including his passport — in 2016.

Jung said he makes occasional trips back to South Korea to visit extended family. As he gets his passport stamped upon both entering and exiting the U.S., he said he may be fated to renew his book more often.

“It’s a hassle to get a new passport,” Jung said. “It’s definitely going to concern me, for sure.”

Despite the potential to inconvenience some, Jung said he feels that the new policy is justified for its security benefits in an age when air travel can be dangerous.

“Definitely, from all these attacks that are happening … it makes it better to have tighter security,” Jung said. “I understand where security’s coming from.”

Smullen also argued that while a frequent traveler may be somewhat disadvantaged by the policy, it is a small price to pay to enhance national security.

“Unless you’re a frequent flyer … it’s unlikely that you’re going to need a new passport anytime soon,” Smullen said. “I just think that in the wake of all the security concerns that we face in today’s world … it just makes sense to have additional precautions.”

Students with U.S. passports who expect to run out of pages can still have 24 more sewn in until New Year’s Day, according to the State Department release. The new pages cost $82, and an entirely new book will cost $110.

Published on December 7, 2015 at 9:45 pm

Contact Bridget: blmcalli@syr.edu