Expedited Passports

What, exactly, is a “‘honeymoon tester?” Basically, it’s a dream job for any couple that likes to travel.  Here’s the job description, from Runawaybrideandgroom.com:

“Would you be able to sip champagne, while lying in a hammock slung between two palm trees on a white, sandy beach, with your romantically linked partner beside you, without spilling your drink? Well then, you may just have what it takes for the Ultimate Job in Ireland (and probably the world!).”

Sounds like heaven, right? Then hop on over to RunawayBrideandGroom’s website to apply. The Irish travel agency is hiring one lucky couple to spend 6  months testing out luxury honeymoon accommodations in exotic locations like the Maldives, Zanzibar and Thailand.  Not only are all of your (and your significant other’s) travel expenses paid for, Runaway Bride and Groom will also pay you €20,000 to compensate you for all of your “hard work.”

To apply, you and your significant other need to create an 80 second webcast describing why Ireland is an excellent wedding destination and why you and your significant other are the right team for the job.  Entries are due by April 7th.

Travel starts May 10th, 2010, so you should also get your passport application in now, just in case! Typically, it takes at least 6 weeks for your passport application to be processed if you apply for regular service. If you apply for expedited service, you should still allow at least 3 weeks, and that’s cutting it close. Too close for comfort, in my opinion!

If you need your passport sooner, you have two options: making an appointment at the nearest US passport office or using a private passport expediting company to submit your application.  A private passport expediting company is usually the easiest, most convenient way to go, especially if you aren’t located near a US passport agency office.

RushMyPassport will hand-deliver your US passport application to the US Department of State, bumping you up to the “top of the stack” for processing times as low as 24 hours!

Submit your US passport application with us today!

Mexico has long been a playground for Americans on vacation, but lately it’s been in the news due to an unfortunate epidemic of drug-fueled violence. Is it still a safe place to visit? Despite the grisly headlines, the answer is “yes”-as long as you use common sense and stay away from the most lawless, unsafe regions of the country.

With that in mind, here’s  a summary of the areas in Mexico that the US Department of State has warned US passport holders to avoid:

• The state of Durango- The Mexican state of Durango has become one of the epicenters of drug cartel-related violence, and the Department of State notes that 4 visiting US passport holders were murdered there late last year or early in 2010. Now is not a good time to visit the birthplace of Pancho Villa.
• Ciudad Juarez-  In this city, located in the state of Chihuahua along the US/Mexican border,  drug cartels and Mexican government officials have engaged in all-out war, with shootouts occurring during daylight hours and in populated areas like shopping centers.  Over 2,600 people died there last year.
• The northern border area: Cuidad Juarez is the most notorious northern border city, but really, it’s safest to avoid most of the major cities near the US/Mexico border. Violence also occurs fairly frequently in the cities of Tijuana, Nogales,  Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros, to the point that the US Department of State has advised dependents of US personnel in the region to leave until April 12th.

The good news is that the major Mexican resorts and tourist areas are still pretty safe. For more information on how to enjoy your Mexican vacation safely, see the Department of State’s travel warning here.

Also, don’t forget that passport regulations governing travel to Mexico have changed. You will most likely need a US passport-see Do I need a passport to go to Mexico? for the details.

If you need a US passport in a hurry, the easiest way to get one is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com. We hand-deliver your application to the Department of State for processing times as low as 24 hours, with no need for you to make an appointment or travel out of your way to a Regional Passport Agency office.

Apply for your US passport today!

Today was Passport Day in the USA. Did you manage to make it down to your local passport office? To encourage Americans to get passports, the US Department of State opened its Regional Passport Agency Offices for special Saturday hours to give busy Americans a chance to apply for a passport in person without an appointment.

What if you missed it? No worries, you can still get a passport. Just find the nearest passport acceptance facility using the Department of State’s web site. Passport acceptance facilities are usually located in post offices, libraries or County Court Clerks’ offices. Unlike a Regional Passport Agency office, you usually don’t need an appointment.

Before you go, check out the requirements for getting a new passport to make sure you have the required documents:

How to Apply for  a New Passport

You should also probably apply in the very near future, as the Department of State has requested an increase in passport fees and will probably implement it soon.

Of course, if you have travel plans, you also need to allow enough time for your new passport to arrive in the mail. If you apply with normal processing, you can expect to wait at least 6 weeks to get your passport.  The Department of State offers an expedited passport service for an additional $60, but even that will only get your passport to you within 3 weeks.

If you need your passport more quickly, you can make an appointment at a Regional Passport Agency office, assuming there is one nearby. Or, you can use a private passport expediting service like RushMyPassport.com.

An expediting service is the most convenient way to get a passport in a hurry. There’s no need for an appointment at a passport agency office-just go to passport acceptance agency and get your documents “sealed,” then send them to us.

With RushMyPassport, you can get your passport application processed in as little as 24 hours!

Let us help you get a passport today!

Have you gotten one of the new US passport cards yet? If you have one, and you are driving across an international bridge into Mexico or Canada, border officials want you to take that card out of your wallet and “wave it in the air like you just don’t care” before you get to the inspection booth.

No, this isn’t some elaborate prank designed to make you look foolish for border officials’ amusement.  According to the El Paso Times,  this procedure actually helps you get through the border crossing more quickly.

Here’s how it works: about 70 feet before each inspection booth, the government has set up a sensor. Waving your card in front of the sensor allows the officer in the booth to pull up your data before you get to the booth, cutting the time for a routine crossing by about 5 seconds per vehicle.

That doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it all adds up-if everyone who crossed the El Paso border with a passport card used the system, it would save a lot of time. William Molaski, the Customs and Border Patrol port director in El Paso, told the El Paso Times that

“As more people use their cards correctly, wait times will go down. A savings of only five seconds per vehicle reduces overall crossing times by about 30 (collective) hours a day.”

The system currently only works with US passport cards, not the standard US passport books. US passport cards are small, wallet-sized cards introduced to make crossing the border easier for people who have to do it frequently.  They are only good for land and sea travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, and they are no good for plane travel.

If you are on a cruise or traveling more than a short distance over the Mexican or Canadian border, it makes sense to carry a passport book with you instead of a passport card, since you would need it to fly back home in case of an emergency.

Under a relatively new law that went into effect in June of last year, passports are required for most American travelers visiting Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean.  For more information about the requirements, see the following articles:

Do You Need a Passport to Go to Mexico?

Do You Need a Passport to Go to the Caribbean?

Do You Need a Passport to Go to Canada?

If the new regulations have caught you by surprise and you needed to have your passport application in, like, yesterday, RushMyPassport.com can help. With RushMyPassport, you get personal service and attention from an experienced passport specialist, help with your application and much faster service than you can get submitting your application at the post office. In fact, RushMyPassport can have your application processed in as little as 24 hours!

Apply for your US passport today!

At 5,525 miles long, the US/Canadian border  is the longest border in the world.  Not all of that border is paved-some is mountain wilderness, some of it empty prairie, and some of the border runs along the Great Lakes.  If you are crossing from Canada into the United States at a border crossing in a populated area, you need a US passport, passport card or another document that’s compliant with the World Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). For more details, see Do I Need a Passport to Go to Canada?

But what if you are hiking into Canada via the backcountry? In some cases, you don’t just need a US passport, you also need a CANPASS Remote Area Border Crossing permit.  This permit is required by the Canadian government to cross the border in the following areas:

• from Pigeon River through to and including Lake of the Woods
• the Canadian shore of Lake Superior
• Cockburn Island
• Sault Ste. Marie (upper lock system)

To get one, you need to be a US citizen or permanent resident.  You must also meet Canada’s entry requirements, of course, which means you need to be healthy, have enough money to take care of yourself and have no criminal convictions.

You can apply for the permit here, using either a copy of the pages of your US passport that have your photo and your personal information or using other acceptable documentation as described on the web site.

For most people, it’s a good idea to have your US passport book handy if you are traveling to Canada, even if you are traveling by land and able to use alternative documents such as a passport card, enhanced driver’s license (only available in certain states), or a NEXUS, PASS or SENTRI card.  A US passport book is a requirement for air travel to and from Canada, so having one makes it much easier to get home quickly in case of an emergency.

If you need to get a passport quickly, using a private passport expediting service like RushMyPassport.com makes the whole process much faster and more convenient.  With RushMyPassport, you can get your passport application processed in as little as 24 hours, with no need to make an appointment and travel to a US passport agency office.

Apply for your US passport today!

Forget those fluffy marshmallow chicks and those atrocious egg-shaped jelly beans (especially the licorice-flavored ones!) When it comes to Easter candy, chocolate is where it’s at. If you’re looking for something to do this Easter holiday, why grab a fast passport and enjoy the world’s best chocolate, right from the source?  The following destinations are the creme de la creme of the chocolate world:

Cadbury World, Birmingham, England

The folks behind both Cadbury creme eggs and a range of iconic British sweets like the Dairy Milk bars have created an amusement park of sorts where you can learn more than you ever wanted to know about how Cadbury chocolates are made.  After touring the displays, release your inner child in the World’s Biggest Cadbury shop (note: if you have actual children and value your sanity, you should probably limit their purchases!)

Vienna Easter Market

Vienna is famous for its Easter Markets, particularly the one at Schönbrunn Palace. The palace and grounds are decorated for the season, and the market itself features a magical array of painstakingly decorated Easter eggs, handicrafts and of course, chocolate!

Belgium

When it comes to chocolate, Belgian chocolate is considered by many to be the gold standard. Most Belgian chocolate is still made artisan-style, in small batches. You can tour chocolate shops in Belgium just like you can tour wineries or breweries elsewhere.  And yes, they do offer tastings!

Switzerland

Swiss chocolate is valued almost as highly as Belgian chocolate by connoisseurs.  Top Swiss brands include Lindt and Toberlone.  The Swiss also invented hazelnut chocolate. Mmmm!

Around Easter, Swiss shops are filled with chocolate Easter bunnies, some mass-produced, some hand-made.

If you want to travel anywhere outside of the States for Easter, you’re in a race against time to get a passport if you don’t already have one.  Regular passport service takes at least 6 weeks, while expedited passport service takes 3 weeks. If you need your passport sooner, the most convenient option for fast passport service is to use a private passport expediting company.

With an expediting company, you don’t have to go to a Regional Passport Agency, which is inconvenient for many people because they are often far away and require an appointment. Instead, you can send your application to the expediting company, and they will hand-deliver it to the Department of State for lightning-fast passport processing. RushMyPassport can have your application processed in as little as 24 hours!

Apply for your fast passport today!

Two travel industry groups, the ASTA and the Interactive Travel Services Association, are urging the US Department of State to reconsider their plans to institute new, higher passport fees.  The plans, which were announced last month by the Department of State, would increase passport fees for new passports and for replacing lost or stolen passports from from $100 to $135. Fees for passport renewals would go up from $75 to $110.

In addition to increasing fees for getting or renewing a passport, the proposal would also tack on additional $82 fee for adding visa pages to an existing passport, a service that the Department of State currently performs free of charge.

In the statement submitted to the Department of State, the ASTA and ITSA made the following comments:

“While the economy is beginning to show signs of life, it is early days and we have a long way to go before travel returns to anything resembling sustainable growth. This is, therefore, an especially poor time to increase the cost of travel.”

“Respectfully, it is definitely not the time to impose outsized increases in the fee burden for new and repeat travelers which are the groups most affected by the proposed fee increases… Increases of the amounts proposed will place the government at cross-purposes with itself, working, on the one hand, to stimulate business and support the special needs of small businesses for capital and cash flow and, on the other hand, de-stimulating travel by adding costs to the essential instruments of international movement.”

While you might think that foreign tourist establishments are the group that will be most likely to take a hit once passport fees increase, ASTA President and Chair Chris Russo also noted that in reality, U.S.-owned airlines, tour operators, hotel chains and car rental are all harmed by a decline in the number of US citizens traveling internationally.

So, will the ASTA/ISHTA’s entreaties be enough to keep passport fees from going up? At this point, it’s too early to tell. If you need a new passport or your existing passport needs to be renewed, best do it now, before the price goes up.

RushMyPassport.com can make applying for a passport much faster and easier. We’ll walk you through the paperwork, and then submit by hand to the Department of State, for processing times as low as 24 hours!

Apply for your new passport today!

If you’ve ever wanted to visit Paris, why not go this spring? Yes, the whole “Paris in the springtime” thing is a bit of a cliche, but it really is one of the nicest seasons to visit.  The weather is mild, not hot like it gets in the summer, and it’s also less crowded. Even better, you’re more likely to be able to find a good price on a hotel room if you go now than you would in the summer.

There are also lots of special events going on in Paris in the spring. For example, the Foire du Trône, which runs from late March to late April, is a fair packed with roller coasters, games and other fun activities for kids or the young at heart. Foire de Paris runs from late April to May and is a decidedly more grown-up affair, with opportunities for visitors to sample a variety of wines and regional delicacies.

If you are in Paris during the middle of May, you can visit many of the city’s famous museums at night for free when the city celebrates “Museum Night.”  And right now, Smarter Travel reports that Air France is having a sale, with flights from Houston  to Paris for $710 round trip and flights from New York to Nice (well worth a visit in and of itself)  for $676.

Of course, you will need a passport to travel to France. If you don’t already have one, you’ll need to get an express passport. Even the government’s expedited service typically takes about 3 weeks, but with proof of travel you can can get an express passport much more quickly. The easiest way is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com.

We’ll provide you with detailed instructions that make filling out the application and gathering the necessary documents a breeze.  Then, we personally deliver your paperwork to the Department of State for super-fast processing, often in as little as 24 hours! And, there’s no need to make an appointment or take time off work to drive to  a passport agency office.

Ready to fly ? Apply for your express passport today!

When I was kid, I loved animals, so much that I managed to bug my parents into getting me that “Illustrated Wildlife Treasury” set that they used to advertise on TV.  The set basically had a bunch of different cards with pictures of animals and facts about them.  One of my favorite groups of animals in the set were the lemurs.

Lemurs are a type of primate that lives only on the African island of Madagascar. They are more primitive than monkey and apes, and their faces are often more cat-like, with enormous eyes that help them see in the dark.  Madagascar is the world’s 4th largest island, and its relative isolation has made it a hotbed of biodiversity: approximately 5% of the world’s plant and animals species are found here.

However, Madagascar’s unique environment is under threat: an entire third of the island’s native vegetation has disappeared since the 1970’s, and that’s bad news for those adorable bug-eyed lemurs.  In fact, most lemur species are now endangered.

However, you can get a passport and help protect both Madagascar’s rich environment and its people, two thirds of whom live below the international poverty line. UK-based charity Azafady offers a program called “Lemur Venture,” which Lemur Venture gives volunteers the chance to “work on an extensive range of projects from the collection of data on endangered lemur species to environmental education with local communities and tree-planting for reforestation purposes.”

To participate, you need to be willing to work and in good physical shape.  You’ll also need to do some fundraising: the US  equivalent of £1,600 for 4 weeks or £2,200 for 8 weeks.

And, of course, you’ll also need to get a passport if you don’t already have one, or renew your passport if yours has expired.  Remember to allow enough time for your passport to arrive-it generally takes 6 weeks for regular service and 3 weeks for the government’s expedited service.

If you need a passport more quickly,  the most convenient way is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com. An expediting company will personally deliver your application to the Department of State, reducing the amount of time it takes to get a passport to as little as 24 hours!

Get a passport with us today!

Birth certificates don’t usually come with an expiration date, but if you born in Puerto Rico, yours does: July 1st, 2010. After that date, all Puerto Rican birth certificates will be invalidated, per a law passed in Puerto Rico in January.

The law was passed to address the fact that criminals have made a practice of stealing Puerto Rican birth certificates and selling them on the black market.  In Puerto Rico, it used to be quite common to submit a copy of your birth certificate for purposes like school enrollment.

For example, Luis Balzac, regional director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration in Manhattan, told NorthJersey.com that:

“In Puerto Rico, it’s common to give a certified birth certificate when you enroll your child in school, when your child joins a sports league, when they register for summer camp. You leave certified copies of your birth certificate all over the place, there are too many floating around in the street, and they end up in the black market.”

The Department of Homeland Security has stated that 40% of all cases of passport fraud involved stolen Puerto Rican birth certificates.

According to the New York Daily News,  California, Ohio and Nevada have announced a moratorium on accepting Puerto Rican birth certificates for identification, until after the new certificates are issued in July.  Before July 1st, you can try to apply for a new passport with your Puerto Rican birth certificate, BUT due to high number of fraud cases you may be asked to present secondary evidence of US citizenship.  To see examples of secondary evidence, check out the Department of State’s web site.

So, what happens after July1st? If you were born in Puerto Rico, you will need to apply for a new birth certificate. The fee is only $5.00, but the government of Puerto Rico isn’t accepting any applications before then.  So, you should probably expect  a bit of a wait to get your new, official birth certificate issued.  If you don’t immediately need a copy of your birth certificate to get a new passport or a driver’s license, the  Puerto Rican government is asking that you wait to apply so that the people with the greatest need can get their birth certificates first.

If you already have a US passport, there’s no reason to be concerned about the new requirements-as long as you still have your old passport, you can apply for a new passport by mail using the old one as proof of citizenship.

If you need a new passport, you will need a valid birth certificate. Once you have your birth certificate, RushMyPassport can submit your application directly to the Department of State for fast processing-often in as little as 24 hours.  Submitting your application through an expediting company can also help you find out more quickly if the government is going to ask for additional information from you, so you can get the issue addressed in enough time to go on your trip.

Apply for your new passport today!