I carry a US passport and it works very well. In the Henley & Partners Passport Ranking Index it ranks 8th out of 107 in terms of worldwide visa free acceptance. I do, however, wish that I had picked up Canadian and UK passports when I had the chance. If you already hold passports from more than one country, you already know the advantages – you will often have more flexibility as you travel, and can swap citizenship based on how friendly each destination is. Be aware of the very few hidden downsides (like the Philippines taxing their citizens on worldwide income). Of course there is additional expense to holding passports from additional countries, though this is minimal.
This page is about the little known Second US Passport option. Before I obtained a second I used to get a little anxious each time I lost sight of my document, whether submitting or sending it off on a visa application, or simply being required to leave it with hotel staff during a stay. Now I am utterly sanguine about the prospect of losing one. If I do misplace one, or launder it one too many times (FYI laundering it twice is totally fine), I have a backup to work with until I can get a replacement. The peace of mind alone is worth many times the cost.
In addition to peace of mind your second US passport keeps you from getting stuck in visa application prison – that uncomfortable time spent domestically when you cannot pop off on a weekend to Belize, or really plan anything because you are not sure when you will get your document back. (Even spookier was when, in Liberia, I had to leave my passport with the Cote D’Ivoire Consul for a visa application). With your backup document you are able to submit one booklet with a visa application, travel freely with your backup, and return to a suitably stamped passport waiting for you.
To obtain your second passport, which incidentally has a different number from your first, requires a different photograph, and is valid for only four years, use the standard DS-82 renewal form. What makes this process different is that you must submit a letter in support of your request (because this is an exception to the single passport rule, and must be approved – it is not a right), detailing your need for the additional document. Things to be sure to not write include ‘peace of mind’.
The State Department wants to hear at least one of two reasons. First, you travel often and frequently, to the point that you do not have time to turn around a visa application before your next trip. In my case a tight turnaround before a trip to South America left me no time to obtain a visa for Russia, and that is how I found out about the program. Second, that you have traveled or plan to travel to Israel, because if you have any evidence of a trip to Israel, there are a number of countries that explicitly bar your entry. (Sure, Ben Gurion Airport CBP either does not stamp your document, or gives you a loose paper slip with the stamp on it – but try getting over the land border from Jordan without clear evidence of Israel entry).
In a truly Kafquesque turn, after I included both reasons in my application, it was held up until they sent me a boilerplate request letter to submit with my amended application – it is as if the professor who was grading my term paper wrote the paper for me. Incidentally, the delay blew up my Caribbean outing – lessons learned nearly always cost money, time, inconvenience, or all three.
On the subject of passports – when you renew your original be sure to ask for the extra pages option, to reduce the risk that you run out of pages before the next renewal date. Also, pay the extra to get the US Passport Card. It looks like a fancy driver’s license, satisfies the new Federal Real ID airport screening standards for US domestic travel (which your State driver’s license may not), and allows you to travel to Mexico and Canada (by land or sea, as long as you stay within 20km of the border…so next to useless). I think that, if worst comes to worst and I lose both passports, this additional document will help me establish credibility with a US Consulate.