Way back when....I travelled around the world and met innumerable embassy officials, CIA, Political officers and the like. The story was universal. Travellers out of money would lose, quote-unquote, their passports (actually sold them for 5 or 10 thousand ( a fortune back then when a Chevy Impala cost less than $4,000) in order to continure their travels. Later the passport would show up at some checkpoint with a Chinese fotograph or other asiatic or middle eastern face, and then the poopy hit the fan...
Nowadays it is a lot harder, but they still try and some get by...
Dominicans travel oneach other's passports.
Previously, the page with the US Visa was taken out of one booklet and placed in another. Now this can't be done....
HB