Recommendation Contents
The Bureau of Consular Affairs should coordinate with the Office of the Legal Adviser to issue guidance and, if necessary, amend the Foreign Affairs Manual to clarify (1) The differences between retention and confiscation of a passport and any other authority that exists to take a passport, the circumstances under which each is authorized, the types of documentation or data entries the Department must create and maintain in exercising each authority, the notifications and advisements that must be given to the document holders in each case, and the fact that retentions must be limited to a specific temporary period. (2) The circumstances in which individuals whose passports are retained, confiscated, or revoked while overseas are entitled to limited validity passports to return to the United States.