New DIY passport photo process to be rolled out

Passport
Passport change FILE PHOTO: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said changes are coming for passport photos. (MEHMET TEKE/Insight Lens - stock.adobe.com)

The U.S. State Department is developing a new way to get a passport photo.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the department is coming up with a more streamlined process that would allow applicants to take and upload passport photos using their computers or photos, USA Today reported.

The agency already has a process to allow people to upload photos on their own, but they must meet the current State Department requirements.

Click here to see the regulations.

The new platform will use built-in real-time facial recognition to speed up the process, allowing a person to do the photo on their own, but they won’t have to go to a third party to get it done.

“You should be able to take that picture on that device as opposed to going somewhere. Now, the CVS people, of course, hate this, and the Walgreens and all those other places,” Rubio said during an event rolling out a new, commemorative passport this month. “But you’ll be able to take your picture from that device and be able to have it in real time, through our security system, verify the facial ID.”

Rubio also promised more changes to the process for easier passport applications.

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