No. 7.
Washington, January 10, 1872.
[Circular No. 16.]
Information reaches the Department of State that persons present themselves in some foreign countries to the diplomatic or consular representatives of this Government with certificates of citizenship issued by local or municipal officers, such as the mayor of a city, and ask to be registered as American citizens, and desire to travel under the protection, of such certificates.
The laws of the United States authorize the Secretary of State alone to grant or issue passports in the United States, and prohibit all persons “acting, or claiming to act, in any office or capacity, under the United States, or any of the States of the United States, who shall not be lawfully authorized so to do,” from granting or issuing “any passport or other instrument in the nature of a passport, to or for any citizen of the United States or to or for any person claiming to be or designated as such, in such passport or verification.”
As the diplomatic and consular representatives of the United States are expressly forbidden to recognize any certificates of citizenship other than those issued in the form of passports, by authority of law, persons who visit foreign countries in which passports are required, are exposed to risk, and the possibility of serious detention and annoyance, if not provided with a legal passport. Certificates given by State, municipal, or local officers afford no protection and cannot be recognized by the diplomatic or consular representatives of the United States.
All citizens leaving the United States for foreign countries are advised to provide themselves with passports, which are issued by the Department of State on application, accompanied by the proper evidence, without charge.
Secretary.