To establish certain standards for the adjudication of United States passport applications, and for other purposes.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative 
Improvement Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; DEFINITION.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) All claims of United States citizenship and nationality 
        must be treated with the utmost respect and care, with 
        adherence to procedures necessary and sufficient to guard 
        against the serious risk of United States citizens and 
        nationals being deprived of the rights, privileges, and 
        benefits attendant to such citizenship and nationality or the 
        denial of valid claims thereto.
            (2) The right to travel abroad and return home is an 
        important and protected element of United States citizenship. 
        This right should not be denied on the basis of race or 
        ancestry or for reasons that are arbitrary and capricious.
            (3) Millions of United States citizens live in United 
        States border communities and regularly cross the border for 
        family, work, business, and personal reasons. With the Western 
        Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) scheduled to be fully 
        implemented on June 1, 2009, virtually all United States 
        citizens will be required to possess a passport, passport card, 
        or other WHTI-compliant document to cross the land borders of 
        the United States or enter through sea ports of entry. At that 
        time, a passport--already required for international travel by 
        air--will become a fundamental necessity of everyday life for 
        those United States citizens who live along or near United 
        States land borders.
            (4) In recent years, certain United States citizens living 
        or born in States bordering Mexico have been formally or 
        effectively denied United States passports as a result of a 
        process that often lacks due process, imposes a heightened 
        burden of proof on certain passport applicants, and results in 
        decisions that are inadequately supported by an evidentiary 
        record.
    (b) Definitions.--
            (1) Applicant.--The term ``applicant'' means a person who 
        submits a United States passport application.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of State and any individual designated by the Secretary of 
        State to adjudicate United States passport applications under 
        An Act To regulate the issue and validity of passports, and for 
        other purposes (July 3, 1926; 22 U.S.C. 211a).

SEC. 3. CONFIRMATION AND CLARIFICATION OF STANDARDS FOR ADJUDICATION OF 
              UNITED STATES PASSPORT APPLICATIONS BY SECRETARY OF 
              STATE.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall adjudicate United 
        States passport applications in an individualized, evidence-
        based manner.
            (2) Individualized assessment.--At every stage of the 
        passport application adjudicatory process under paragraph (1), 
        including any requests for additional evidence and rulings on 
        the merits of an application, the Secretary's decisions 
        respecting United States passport applications shall be based 
        on an assessment of individual circumstances and evidence.
            (3) Prohibition.--An applicant's race, ethnicity, or 
        ancestry may not be a factor taken into account in the passport 
        application adjudicatory process under paragraph (1).
    (b) Proceedings.--
            (1) In general.--An applicant shall establish by a 
        preponderance of the evidence at all stages of the passport 
        application adjudicatory process, including in proceedings 
        under section 360 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
        U.S.C. 1503), that such applicant is a United States citizen or 
        national.
            (2) Prohibition.--The Secretary shall not utilize or apply 
        any heightened burden of proof when evaluating the citizenship 
        or nationality of an applicant and shall apply such 
        preponderance of the evidence standard required under paragraph 
        (1) in a uniform and consistent manner to all passport 
        applications.
            (3) Writing.--Any determination by the Secretary that an 
        applicant has not met the burden of proving United States 
        citizenship or nationality by a preponderance of the evidence 
        shall be made in writing, state the reasons for the Secretary's 
        determination, and be provided to the applicant in a timely 
        manner.
    (c) Acceptance of Certain Evidence.--A birth certificate signed by 
a midwife, doctor, or other person authorized under State law to sign 
such a document, or a previously-issued United States passport, shall 
constitute prima facie evidence of United States citizenship or 
nationality and, absent individualized evidence that a birth did not 
take place in the United States, shall satisfy the preponderance of the 
evidence standard for demonstrating an applicant's United States 
citizenship or nationality.

Summary: Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative Improvement Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary of State to adjudicate U.S. passport applications in an individualized, evidence-based manner.

Requires the passport application adjudicatory process to be based on an assessment of individual circumstances and evidence.

Prohibits an applicant's race, ethnicity, or ancestry from being taken into account in the passport application adjudicatory process.

Requires: (1) an applicant to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the applicant is a U.S. citizen or national; (2) the preponderance of the evidence standard to be applied in a uniform and consistent manner to all passport applications; and (3) any determination that an applicant has not met the burden of proving U.S. citizenship or nationality by a preponderance of the evidence to be made in writing, state the reasons for the determination, and be provided to the applicant in a timely manner.

States that a birth certificate signed by a person authorized under state law to sign such a document, or a previously-issued U.S. passport, shall constitute prima facie evidence of U.S. citizenship or nationality and, absent individualized evidence that a birth did not take place in the United States, shall satisfy the preponderance of the evidence standard.