In recent months, we’ve seen a limited edition “patriotic passport” issued in the United States, prominently featuring President Trump. The Trump administration has now unveiled plans to make permanent changes to the standard passport issued in the United States. There’s good news and bad news, as a lot is changing, so let’s cover the details (thanks to Live and Let’s Fly for flagging this).
What to expect from the new US passport, launching 2028
On September 29, 2026, Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled a redesigned United States passport during the launch of america.gov, which is the Trump administration’s new portal for accessing federal services. The new US passport will be issued starting in 2028, and a lot will be changing.
First, let’s start with the good news. Starting at some point in 2027, Americans will be able to apply for their first passport entirely online, through the new america.gov portal. Passport renewals are already possible online, so the idea is that the same service will extend to initial applications, including even taking your own passport photo with your smartphone. We’ll see what comes of this, but that would certainly be a positive development.
Second, the US passport will start to be standardized with 38 pages. Currently the standard passport has 26 pages, or you can get a larger passport with 50 pages. The idea is that standardizing passport pages is supposed to make things more efficient. Some people will appreciate the larger standard passport, while some frequent travelers may be frustrated by the inability to get a larger passport.
Third, perhaps the most noticeable change will be the design as such. Unsurprisingly, since the Trump administration is behind this, they’re really stepping up the in-your-face “patriotism” of the design. When us Americans enter another country, we need to make sure they damn well know we’re coming from the greatest country on earth!!
The new US passport will be called “Flight of the Eagle,” and it will feature a much larger golden seal than before. “United States of America” will be moved from below the seal to above the seal.
The passport will have artwork covering a variety of aspects of American history, including the fighting at Lexington during the American Revolution, the Wright brothers, the flag raising at Iwo Jima, and American space exploration. The eagle appears in a slightly different position on each page, so the idea is that it has a flipbook effect when you flip through the pages.
Here’s perhaps the most interesting part — a little over nine minutes into the video, Rubio talks about how the new passport will be “a visual story of the greatest nation in the history of the world.” There are then 16 pictures of pages that tell the “story,” and the first picture is of President Trump, with very similar artwork to what you’ll find in Trump’s limited edition “patriotic passport.”
Now, we’ll see what the finished product actually looks like. C’mon, I can’t imagine any president would try to permanently place their own picture in the passport issued by a country… right? Nobody would be that narcissistic… especially a president who doesn’t take a salary, and who truly took the job to make the country better, rather than to enrich himself. So I’ll assume it’s just an error.
My take on the new US passport design & concept
If passport applications can be moved entirely online, I’d say that’s awesome, so kudos to those working on that initiative. If it eliminates all the paperwork and having to go to get a professional passport picture taken, then I’m a fan.
Obviously the switch to the new size passport is a double-edged sword. On balance it’s probably better for everyone to have more pages, though for super frequent travelers, losing up to 12 extra pages will be less than ideal.
Regarding the new design, well… what can I really say?
Bottom line
The United States will be launching a redesigned passport in 2028. The good news is that the passport will be larger than the old one, and online passport applications should become possible even for first time applicants.
The passport is also getting a much more “patriotic” design, and will prominently highlight “a visual story of the greatest nation in the history of the world,” and that could include Trump’s picture…
What do you make of the new United States passport?
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