[ChrisMarshallNY]

I just got my passport renewed.

The new US passport is pretty crazy. The photo page appears to be one giant NFC chip. The picture is barely visible. I suspect that it is meant to be inserted into some kind of reader machine, that will display a high-resolution version to the Customs agent.

[kube-system]

The new ones in 2021 added more features (the photo page is polycarbonate instead of paper), but they've had RFID embedded in the cover since 2006

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_passport#Biometr...

[bombcar]

This is exactly what happens, you lay your passport on a scanner thing machine, and the guard never looks at the title page, just stamps the visa, etc.

Or if you have an older passport, you lay it on the scanner machine five or six times, then an assistant comes and tries it on four or five of the machines, then gives up and hands you and the passport to the guard.