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Non-US folks who are wondering what Real ID is, and why this site seems to hate it so much, the United States is best considered in the context of the European

Non-US folks who are wondering what Real ID is, and why this site seems to hate it so much, the United States is best considered in the context of the European Union but with US internal politics regarding data sharing between the federation and its member states. There are fifty member states with full privileges and around ten member states with reduced privileges. The federation issues government IDs in two ways. First, the federation government issues federation IDs in the form of passports. These are accepted as proof of identity only, and grant no additional privileges beyond proof of residency within the federation. Second, each member state issues their own photo IDs following their own independent processes. These are neither proof of citizenship to the federation’s border control, nor to other countries, and data sharing agreements historically did not exist between the states and the federation. The member states of the EU issue passports as the state ID card, and requires each member state to accept those passports as approximately equal to their own for most intents and purposes. The US federation also requires its member states to accept both any member state IDs and also federation passports. “RealID” is an effort by the federation to be able to determine from your state ID card whether you are a federation member. It defines a minimum burden of proof of citizenship that states must require and verify, and presumably share with the federation, in order to issue an ID card with a federation membership indicator. For political reasons, many member states and many citizens do not believe it is appropriate for the federation to make this demand of the member states. I believe this is in contrast to the EU, where data sharing between authorities of member states regarding federation passports is required by the foundation, but I’m not 100% certain. I hope this helps. Please treat this as a teaching example and do not make immigration, travel, taxation, or citizenship decisions based on it. I am not your lawyer.

anonunivgrad 6y ago
Just a minor nitpick: A US Passport is more than proof of residency. It’s proof of citizenship. When you get a job in the US, your employer needs to check your citizenship. A passport alone does the trick. Otherwise, you need both an ID and some other proof of your right to work, like a birth certificate (birthright citizenship), naturalization card, or a work permit of some kind from the US government (green card and such).
- floatingatoll 6y ago
  For teaching purposes, I didn't address social security numbers and other such tangents, as it isn't strictly necessary to help non-US folks understand how the US federation compares to the EU's for the purposes of RealID. Social security numbers are a second federation ID (but not a photo ID) that anyone who pays you money is required to ask you for. You're only required to present the 9-digit ID number, not the actual ID card, oddly enough. Temporary worker visa holders are exempt for whatever reason. Untangling the intricate web between proof of birth, proof of residency of state, proof of residency of federation, and proof of taxability in federation is beyond the scope of my time available here. Disclaimer, I am not your lawyer, please seek professional guidance when making decisions.

anonunivgrad 6y ago

Just a minor nitpick: A US Passport is more than proof of residency. It’s proof of citizenship. When you get a job in the US, your employer needs to check your citizenship. A passport alone does the trick. Otherwise, you need both an ID and some other proof of your right to work, like a birth certificate (birthright citizenship), naturalization card, or a work permit of some kind from the US government (green card and such).

floatingatoll 6y ago
For teaching purposes, I didn't address social security numbers and other such tangents, as it isn't strictly necessary to help non-US folks understand how the US federation compares to the EU's for the purposes of RealID. Social security numbers are a second federation ID (but not a photo ID) that anyone who pays you money is required to ask you for. You're only required to present the 9-digit ID number, not the actual ID card, oddly enough. Temporary worker visa holders are exempt for whatever reason. Untangling the intricate web between proof of birth, proof of residency of state, proof of residency of federation, and proof of taxability in federation is beyond the scope of my time available here. Disclaimer, I am not your lawyer, please seek professional guidance when making decisions.