The State Department announced on Thursday that it will make an additional 250,000 special commemorative passports available to the public due to popular demand.
The limited-edition passports were introduced to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Starting Aug. 8, applicants can apply for an America 250th commemorative passport at a passport agency.
The special edition travel document includes a redesigned cover and interior artwork celebrating the nation's semiquincentennial.
It also features a portrait of President Donald Trump on one of the interior pages, alongside an image of the Declaration of Independence. The only U.S. presidents currently depicted in standard American passports are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, who appear together across a two-page illustration of Mount Rushmore.
The newly-designed travel document also features a small gold laminate American flag, with the number 250 encircled by stars at the bottom of the back cover. The front cover has the words “United States of America” in bold gold print at the top and “Passport” at the bottom.
According to the State Department, the changes are purely commemorative.
Supporters view the Patriot Passport as a unique collectible honoring the nation's 250th birthday, while critics have questioned the decision to feature a living president in an official U.S. passport for the first time.
The commemorative passports are the latest in a series of efforts to feature Trump's name and image on high-profile government items. His likeness appears on a new gold-finished commemorative coin celebrating the nation's founding, and there is also a push to add his signature to all newly printed U.S. paper currency, a first for a sitting president.
Despite the differing opinions about the limited-edition passport, the State Department said it remains a fully valid U.S. travel document that carries the same rights and security standards as the current passport.
Passport agencies in Centennial, Colorado; Chicago; Dallas; Detroit; New Orleans; New York; and Stamford, Connecticut will distribute the commemorative Trump passports during one-day special events starting on Aug. 8.
Additional passport offices across the country are expected to join the rollout throughout the month.