At DFW, an Officer Told a Global Entry Traveler to Bring His Old Passport to Be Seized. The Rules Say Otherwise.
A traveler arriving from London Heathrow says a CBP officer updated his Global Entry record — then asked for his old passport, 'because it's government property.' The State Department's own guidance returns old passports to their holders.
DALLAS–FORT WORTH AIRPORT — The mistake was the traveler's own, and he says so: arriving at DFW from London Heathrow on October 30, he had forgotten to update his passport number on the Trusted Traveler website for his Global Entry membership, and a CBP officer sent him to a different line to fix it. What surprised him, in his account published by TheTravel, came next. The officer updated the number — and then asked where his old passport was, so that he could 'seize' it. 'That agent updated my passport number but also asked me where my old passport is,' the traveler wrote. 'I told him probably at home somewhere. He became a little irritated and told me next time I travel, I need to carry the old passport with me so they can seize it. I asked him why, and he said, 'Because it's government property!'
The published rules do not back the demand. CBP officers generally do not confiscate a valid U.S. passport, and they do not collect old or expired ones; the authority to revoke a passport or demand its return rests with the State Department. The State Department's own renewal guide tells holders the opposite of seizure: 'We will return your old passport when you renew by mail unless it is damaged or intentionally altered,' it says, noting the old book may arrive up to four weeks after the new one — and for online renewals, 'you will keep your most recent passport and do not send it to us.' CBP can temporarily hold or inspect a passport during a secondary inspection, and can take one as evidence if it is suspected of being fraudulent, altered or illegally used — none of which describes an ordinary renewal.
For DFW's international travelers, the practical guidance is simple. Keep your old passport — at home is fine. If it still holds a valid foreign visa, it remains useful: present the old book alongside your new passport at entry. And if your passport number changes, update it on the Trusted Traveler site before you fly, so the Global Entry fix never needs an officer's desk in the first place. TheTravel says it contacted CBP for more information on the encounter; no agency response was published with the account.
