One of the benefits of United States citizenship is that with this status you can use a United States passport. With an official US passport you can be secure in knowing that no matter where you go, the US will have a diplomatic mission or embassy nearby willing to assist you.
Foreign nationals can become US citizens by first becoming Permanent Residents. To get permanent residency one can apply for the Green Card Lottery, the simplest and easiest way to get permanent residency.
The United States passport is quite similar to many other passports and comes in the form of a small blue book with the national seal on the cover. The back page contains a citizen’s biographical and identifiable data.
Recently the US has created a useful companion to the passport book: the passport card.
This card is about the size of a credit card and can be used for visits to nearby countries.
The card is primarily used for returning to the United States and if the country that you are going to needs to see your passport you will have to have it on you as well. You can go to Canada, Mexico, countries in the Caribbean and Bermuda.
You must use either a land or sea crossing with the passport card. Air travel requires the full passport booklet.
The passport card costs $55 for first time applicants and lasts for ten years. If you already have a passport, the card only costs $30.