In February 2023, long lines at Saint Lucia’s Immigration Department had produced a small business: some people arrived early to hold places for passport applicants who would come later. The home affairs minister described the practice publicly, while a government notice acknowledged extended waits and long lines after the transition to e-passports. A passport is a document for crossing borders, but what was being informally traded here was time—the effort of arriving early and preserving a position. The queue shows how access to an ordinary public service can give value to an otherwise invisible resource: one’s place in line.