The process will start out simple enough, taking about ten minutes to complete and costing around $8.

The EU estimates it will grant about 95% of the Americans who apply three years of access to the region.

But what if you are part of that unlucky 5%?

Over 12 million Americans travel to Europe each year. So upwards of 600,000 Americans could have trouble entering the EU starting in 2021.

That's if everything goes according to plan…

But if these Americans had a passport from within the region– like Italy or Spain for example, then they wouldn't have to rely on chance.

And having a second passport would help them from some potential serious issues at home, too.

For instance, last year the US government cancelled 362,000 passports, all from people who they believed owed some back taxes.