Besides money. the most important thing for an American who is going abroad is a little blue book called a passport. Getting one used to involve a time-consuming, tiring, often vexing routine. And the applicant was required to have specific plans for a foreign trip.

Nowadays obtaining a passport is relatively easy. In most cases. the mailman will deliver it less than two weeks after application: often. in nonrush periods. within a week; even in a matter of hours if it’s a matter of great urgency and if you submit proof of the urgency along with the required documentation.

And now you can get one even if you have no intention of ever traveling abroad. For the naturalized it will provide instant proof of US. citizenship. For those not planning a faroff foreign trip but who may visit nearby counties which do not require a passport for admission (for example, Canada, Mexico or most Caribbean Islands) obtaining one also is a good investment. To be permitted to return to the United States, you may need to prove American citizenship.f If there's any question, a US passport is positive proof.

For those not planning to go anywhere. anytime, there's a special reason for obtaining a passport this year: a memento of the Bicentennial.

This year's passport has a new look - the 1976 Bicentennial passport is smaller. prettier. easier to keep clean. Its cover. a new. more durable leather-grained vinyl material in a dark blue, corresponding to the field of the US flag is replacing the lighter "horizon blue" of passports issued from 1961 through 1975. and the dull green of the ones before that.

The foil stamping of the lettering and Great Seal is done in silver colored aluminum rather than gold. On the front cover is the inscription, "Bicentennial 1776-1976"; on the back cover, the Bicentennial seal.

There's a new look inside the Bicentennial passport, too. its interior pages feature a Liberty Bell pattern printed with a specially-formulated red and blue ink and a grid pattern is printed on the visa pages to encourage the orderly stamping of entry and exit stamps.

And for the first time, conforming to international practice, the passport is bilingual. The message from the Secretary of State, the captions of the identification data, and the titles of the amendments and endorsements page appear in both English and French.

The Bicentennial passport will be issued onLy this year, but its general format will be retained in future passports, except for the removal of the Bicentennial inscription and seal.

The Bicentennial passport, as all passports. has a validity of five years. and is obtained in the same manner as those issued in other years. No matter where the American citizen personally presents his completed passport application - at the Passport Agency; before the clerk of any federal or state court of record. including the clerk of court in most county seats; or before a certified postal clerk at selected designated post office - the basic requirements for a passport are the same:

Proof of citizenship. You need a birth certificate, which must be presented if the applicant were born in the United States; a certificate of naturalization or certificate of citizenship if it were acquired through naturalization of a parent; or a previously issued passport.

Identification. An applicant is required to establish his identify to the satisfaction of the passport agent or clerk of court, either through personal knowledge. presentation of documentary proof containing his signature (such as a driver's license; municipal, state, or federal government identification card or pass); an old passport; or by an identifying witness who accompanies the applicant at the time of application.

— Two identical duplicate photographs taken within the last six months, both signed by the applicant on the front along the left hand side. They may be in color or in black and white, must be front view, full-faced, on thin, unglazed paper, and not more than 3 by 3 inches or less than 2½ by 2½ inches in size. A relaxed, smiling, natural pose is recommended.

— Payment of fees. The new passport fee is $10. The execution fee is an additional $3. The fee for passport renewals, which may be made by mail on a special pink form, DSP-82, also is $10, but there is no execution fee.

After receiving the passport, the traveler also may need to obtain a visa, from the consular official of the country he's planning to visit. A visa is a stamped notation in the passport indicating that the bearer is to be permitted to enter the specified country for a certain purpose and length of time. However, most Western European countries do not require visas for temporary visits.

Thus armed with a passport and proper visas. Americans can visit all the countries of the world - except Cuba, Cambodia, North Korea, North Vietnam and South Vietnam. For travel to those countries a US. citizen would have to secure a special validation from the Department of State. Mainland China is no longer on the banned list.

Now that you have that passport, first sign it on page 2. It is not valid unless signed by the bearer. Fill in the information required on the inside front cover. Then keep it safe, protect it! Its loss or disappearance can cause you considerable delay and expense.

Those who have valid passports but who wish to obtain the new Bicentennial passport may get one by using the DSP-82 (pink) passport-renewal-by-mail application. accompanied by their current passport which will be canceled and returned along with the new Bicentennial passport. (An American citizen may have only one valid passport at a time.)