It just occurred to me. When I renewed my passport about a year ago (this is the third or fourth time I've done so) I required no proof of birth or citizenship. I followed the instructions on the website, sent in my old passport and a couple of photographs of the required spec. A few weeks later, I not only got my new passport in the mail, I also got my old one back, intact. For a few months, I actually possessed TWO valid passports. The old one has since expired, but I'll hang on to it anyway, you never know when it might come in handy!

My wife also renewed her passport at the same time I got mine, and she experienced the same drill. The old document was also returned, but hers had holes punched in one of the pages, so I suppose that invalidated it immediately. It too has since expired.

We both have my Spanish surname so I don't know why we weren't subjected to the same BS Juan was. Maybe its because S Florida has a lot of Hispanic Americans who regularly vote Republican, and who are, as a rule, not of Mexican or Central American origin or heritage. They get their ass kissed lavishly and regularly by the GOP.

Maybe I just got lucky. I was also delivered by a midwife, in a private residence, (she was the one who signed my birth certificate). No matter, I could always pass for white, and I can quickly conjure up my Cracker accent if I ever really need it. I can always claim, like most dark-skinned, brown-eyed, black haired rednecks do, that "I'm part Cherokee". If they can get away with it, I figure I can too.