The New Fifty-two Page U.S. Passport
Several years ago when I had to renew my passport, I debated whether to get the standard 25 page passport or the new 52 page passport, both of which were the same price. Being a frequent traveler, my old passport was nearly full and I could definitely see the advantage of having the additional pages. My only concern was that it might be too thick and bulky and more difficult to carry and use. In the end, I went with the larger passport and have never been sorry. While it is a bit thicker, it is not noticeably so and knowing that I have plenty of room for the stamps and visas that I will obtain over the next ten year period makes it well worth it. In the near future it may be the only option, but in the meantime, if you are a regular traveler I would not hesitate to order the 52 page US Passport.
The passport is actually quite beautiful with background scenes of America in lithograph style on each page, accompanied by an appropriate quote by a well-known American. As it happened, the first time I used my new passport was on a trip to Russia and the first entry was the awesome new ‘three year’ Russian visa. It is quite common for hotel staff to copy the information page with your photo when you check in and I had an amusing experience at one hotel, where a young lady disappeared into a back room with my passport for quite a long time. I was beginning to get nervous, wondering what they were doing with it. After all, only six of the 52 pages had anything on them. I was having visions of my passport being caught up in some international intrigue when the young lady finally returned. When she handed me my passport I could see she was holding a copy of my entire passport, including the 46 blank pages!
