The Department of State revised the new passport application form (DS11) on Dec. 11, 2010 and also intends to add a further inquiry form, the Biographical Questionnaire, the DS-5513, or "personal resume." The additional form contains some very private – and somehow – strange questions, and is expected to be a source of contention and confusion, especially among Koreans and other immigrants.
The DS-5513 asks information on, for example, the status of an applicant's family members, such as parents, step-parents, spouse, siblings, and children – whether living or deceased – including the addresses and telephone numbers where the applicant resided, both domestic and foreign. The form also asks for the names of all of the schools an applicant has attended, past and current; the addresses and telephone numbers of all of the places an applicant has been employed, to the current time, including contact information for the applicant's supervisors. The DS-5513 form even asks the applicant's mother's maiden name and the contact information for her OBGYN at the time of the applicant's birth. Each applicant must also list the names, birth dates, addresses and U.S. citizenship status for all of the applicant's family members.
Perhaps the oddest questions on the form relate to information on non-institutional births or delayed (not reported within one year) reports of birth when an applicant was born in America. In such cases, the applicant must submit the mother's home addresses such as the address at the time of the applicant's birth, an address one year before the birth, and an address one year after the birth.
The DS-5513 form also requests the employment history for the applicant's mother, including addresses and the time of the birth must also be included. The applicant must also state the hospital or facility address where the birth occurred, appointment dates, and the primary doctor at the time of the birth. Furthermore, the mother's legal status at the time of the birth, the applicant's birth circumstance (such as pre-natal or post-natal medical care, etc.) and the names of any attendants, visitors or helpers must be entered.
The name of the provider of baptism or religious rites at the time of birth, or the date and location of the religious ceremony after the birth must be included in the form. The Department of State has said that filling out the form should take approximately 45 minutes (estimated burden). But Korean and other immigrant groups said that it is impossible to remember and write all the addresses, all the telephone numbers, all the names, and all of the information required by the form. Many groups question the Department of State's intentions, and immigration advocacy groups are asking, "Who really remembers the telephone numbers and addresses of former supervisors?"
To get approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Department of State must gather public opinion on the issue for a period of 60 days; the period began on Feb.24, 2011, and goes until April 24, 2011. If this form is passed by the OMB and approved, it is anticipated that many naturalized U.S. applicants will be harmed. Immigration advocacy groups say that this form will block "anchor" babies, born in the U.S to undocumented aliens, but who can automatically gain U.S citizenship. The form is also seen as a possible instrument against the issuance of a green card. Immigration advocacy groups across America are spreading an anti-DS-5513 campaign by during the collection of public opinion.
