Stolen Passports Increasingly Common in El Paso, Texas - Expedited Passports

If you live in El Paso, keep a close eye on your US passport.  According to local TV station NewsChannel9,  stolen passports are on the rise as thieves target US citizens for their travel documents.

In a story published on March 17th, the station advised that the local passport office had noticed a trend of people being mugged not for cash or jewelry, but for their US passports.  On April 19th, they reported that the trend had continued, and that according to supervisor at the local passport office, about 6 of every 10 passport forms filed were filed to report a stolen passport.

No matter where you live, if you own a passport it is important to know what to do if it is lost or stolen.  Below are the steps for reporting and replacing a stolen passport:

Step 1: Report the Theft

To report a stolen passport, you have two choices.  You can call 1-877-487-2778 and speak to representative between 8am and 10pm Eastern Time, except on weekends and holidays. Or you can fill out form DS-64, Statement Regarding a Lost or Stolen Passport.

Whichever method you choose, your passport will be permanently invalidated once you report it stolen.  If it turns out it wasn’t stolen and you find it the next day, you won’t be able to use it to travel.

Step 2: Apply for a New Passport in Person

To apply for a new passport, you must go to a passport office in person with the following documents:

• Proof of identity (the original and a photocopy)
• Proof of citizenship
• 2 passport photos
• The appropriate fees
• Passport Application Form DS-11
• Passport form DS-64, Statement Regarding a Lost or Stolen Passport

After you submit your application, you will need to wait for your new passport to arrive in the mail.  This can take anywhere from 6 weeks if you submitted it with regular processing to 3 weeks if you requested the government’s expedited processing.

If you need it sooner, you can make an appointment at a Regional Passport Agency office during their business hours to get it replaced immediately. However, a private passport expediting service like RushMyPassport.com is usually much more convenient-no need to take off work or drive to a passport office (in many cities and towns the nearest office is hours away by car), and your application can be processed in as little as 24 hours.

Stolen passports stink, but replacing them doesn’t have to. Apply with us today!

It’s Earth Day, and to celebrate we’d like to highlight 5 top eco-tourism destinations. Obtaining a passport is the first step to visiting one of these earth-friendly hotels or resorts:

Avalon Coastal Retreat, Australia

This eco-resort is located along the coast of Great Oyster Bay in Tasmania. Attractions include seabirds, whales, dolphins, penguins, and of course, Tasmanian devils.

Spannocchia, Italy

Tenuta di Spannocchia is located in the Italian countryside, near Siena.  Rent a farmhouse or a room in the bed and breakfast, which is located in a renovated castle.  Spannocchia is a working organic farm, and you can purchase  farm-raised meat, vegetables and honey for your meals. Cooking classes, hiking trails and a swimming pool are also available.

Punta Islita, Costa Rica

This gorgeous hotel is located on a gorgeous Costa Rican beach. Here, sustainable practices combine with luxurious accommodations and activities like zooming through the rainforest canopy on a zip line, hiking, swimming and horseback riding.  There’s also a day spa, should you feel like you need a little extra pampering.

Centro Ecologico Sian Ka’an (CESiak), Mexico

This eco-resort is located in Mexico, near the Mayan ruins of Tulum. It is powered by wind and solar energy and employs rainwater collection techniques to conserve water.

Tiamo Resort, Bahamas

This sustainably-built resort is located along a spectacular beachfront and offers sailing, snorkeling and nature tours.

All of these destinations are worthy of inclusion on any green traveler’s life list. Obtaining a passport is a must to visit any of them, however.

If you don’t have a valid passport at the moment, you can expect to wait at least 6 weeks for your passport application to be processed.  If you choose the government’s expedited service, you can cut the wait time down to about  3 weeks. But what if you need a passport sooner than that?

RushMyPassport can help you expedite your passport application for processing times as fast as 24 hours. We make obtaining a passport easy and quick, providing assistance with the application process and hand-delivering your paperwork to the Department of State for the fastest processing available.

Need help obtaining a passport? Apply with us today!

Have you applied for a US passport card recently? If so, your card may be defective. The US Department of State has announced that 658  passport cards were found to be defective.

The cards in question are invalid,  which means that if you try to use them to cross into Mexico or Canada, you could find yourself in a bit of a pickle as border officers will have to use other means to verify that you are a US citizen.

How do you know if your US passport card is defective? According to the Department of State, the defective cards were all issued on March 29th. If you got a passport card on that day, check the number. If it’s between C03612551 and C03613550, you may have a defective card and will need to get it replaced.

Defective cardholders are being notified by the Department of State, so if this is an issue for you, you are probably already aware of it.  But just in case, if your passport card number falls in the range above and you have questions, you can call  the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778. That line is open between 8am and 10pm Eastern, weekdays only.

Naturally, the government is issuing “immediate replacements” for the defective cards.

Passport cards are small, wallet-sized cards that can be used as proof of citizenship for land and sea travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.  However, the cards are no good for travel to countries other than those listed above, and they are no good for air travel anywhere.  For that, you need the full-sized US passport book.

If you need a US passport in a hurry, RushMyPassport can help. We provide you with clear, easy-to-follow instructions to simplify the application process. Then, we hand-deliver your passport application to the Department of State for processing in as little as 24 hours.

Apply for your US passport today!

Getting a child passport is a bit more complicated of a process than getting a passport for an adult. This is primarily due to regulations enacted to prevent child abduction.  To help you through the process, here is a step-by-step breakdown of what is required:

Step 1- Apply in Person

All minors must apply in person to get a passport, either at a passport acceptance facility (like a post office) or a Regional Passport Agency office (for rush passports, requires an appointment).

Step 2: Gather Documents

To apply for a child passport, the following documents are required:

• Proof of identity for you. You will need to bring the original to the passport office and also make a copy to send in with your application.
• Proof of citizenship for your child.
• Evidence of your relationship to your child, such as a birth certificate or adoption decree with your name on it or a court order establishing custody or guardianship. Nope, it doesn’t matter if little Jane or Johnny is the spitting image of you-the government still needs to see proof.
• 2 identical passport photos

Step 3: Establish Parental Consent

In most cases, the consent of both parents is required for a child to be issued a US passport.  You have a few different options for proving parental consent:

• Both parents can show up in person when the child applies for a passport
• One parent shows up bringing a notarized statement of consent from the other parent (Form DS-3053). The consent form must have been completed within the past 3 months to be usable.
• One parent with sole custody of the child can bring proof that he or she has sole custody, such as  a birth certificate/adoption decree with only that parent’s name on it or a court order.
• If the other parent’s consent cannot be obtained, you must bring a notarized statement explaining why it cannot be obtained. These requests are handled on a case-by-case basis.

Step 4:  Submit Passport Application with Required Documents and Fees

At the passport office, you will need to submit a copy of passport application form DS-11 along with all of the documents listed above. Don’t sign the form until you are instructed to do so by the passport agent.  You will also need to pay the appropriate fees, currently $85 for a child passport book plus an additional $60 if you need it expedited.  These fees are expected to increase in the near future, so see the Department of State’s web site for current information.

If you need to get a passport for your child in a hurry,the quickest and easiest way to do so is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com. We’ve helped tens of thousands of people get their passports, with processing times as low as 24 hours.

Get a passport for your child today!

A Massachusetts woman whose purse was stolen lost more than her wallet-she also lost her passport, complicating her plans to adopt  a little girl from Ethiopia.

According to WBZTV.com , Colleen MacRae was shopping inside a Home Depot store when a man distracted her and then made off with her purse. Inside was her passport.

The lost passport is potentially more than an inconvenience-it also puts her and her husband’s plans to adopt a child in Ethiopia next month in jeopardy.

As Mrs. MacRae explained to WBZTV:

“Anybody who has ever been through the adoption process knows having to change one number on your home study, your application, your dossier, means possibly getting lost. It could mean that some bureaucrat is going to put that wall down on you and prohibit you from adopting all together.”

Since there is so little time for Mrs. MacRae to replace her lost passport, Senator John Kerry’s office has stepped in to try to speed the process up.

Whether you have a lost passport or a stolen passport, the replacement process is the same: First, you must report the lost passport to the Department of State at 1-877-487-2778 between 8 am and 10pm, Monday through Friday.  This invalidates the passport so that no one else can use it.

Then, apply in person for a new passport. You must submit the following documents:

• Form DS-64: Statement Regarding a Lost or Stolen Passport
• New Passport Application Form DS-11
• Proof of identity
• Proof of citizenship
• 2 passport photos
• Appropriate fees: Currently, it costs $100 to replace a lost or stolen adult passport and $85 for a child passport (minors under age 16). However, these fees are likely to increase in the near future, so be sure to check the Department of State’s web site.

It usually takes 6 weeks to get your new passport back in the mail for regular passport processing and 3 weeks if you use the government’s expedited processing.

However, if you need your passport sooner, you can either make an appointment at a Regional Passport Agency office, or use a private passport expediting service. The latter option is quicker and easier-considering the cost of taking off work and getting to a passport office if there isn’t one nearby, the extra expense is usually worth it and you may even save money in the long run.

Replace your lost passport today!

A new 24-hour passport office will be opening in Portsmouth, New Hampshire later this year.  The office will be located at the National Passport Center in Portsmouth, which has 840 employees but is not open to the public yet.

Starting in October, workers at the center will be able to assist customers who need emergency passport services by issuing US passport books and US passport cards on site.  This will be a relief to many New Hampshire residents, as previously obtaining 24-hour passport service required a trip to Boston or Connecticut.

Fosters.com quotes U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen discussing the announcement:

“The new services available in Portsmouth will help New Hampshire residents who need an expedited passport get the help they need in a more convenient place, and I’m glad these services will be available this year.”

One important point to keep in mind, however, is that residents who need 24-hour passport services will not be able to simply walk in to the Portsmouth passport office and get one. Before you can be seen at the office, you need to make an appointment during business hours. If you work during the day, expect to have to take some time off work, too- Regional Passport Agency offices are  not open on evenings, weekends or holidays.

If you don’t want to go through the trouble of making an appointment and traveling to the passport office or you simply can’t take any more time off work, there is another way to get your passport quickly.

By using a private passport expediting service like RushMyPassport.com, you get passport processing times as low as 24 hours without having to make an appointment, take time off work or drive to a Regional Passport Agency office.  Plus, you get personal service from a trained passport specialist, reducing the likelihood of common mistakes that can hold up your application.

Need 24 hour passport services? We can help! Apply with us today!

Jimmy Woodson had no idea it could take so long to get passport services.  According to the South Bend Tribune, the Niles, Indiana man applied for a new passport 6 months ago, at the same time as his wife and 11-year-old son. They got their passports a few weeks later, but Mr. Woodson is still waiting.

The problem? He was born in Nacogdoches, Texas in 1951. Instead of going to the hospital to give birth, his mother chose to have him at home with the help of a midwife. Unfortunately for Mr. Woodson, his mother thought the midwife had also taken care of filing the birth certificate. She didn’t. Mr. Woodson’s mother didn’t find out that the birth certificate wasn’t filed until 6 years later.  She filed for a birth certificate for her son at that time, but any birth certificate filed more than a year after the birth of a child raises red flags at the State Department.

In the South Bend Tribune article, Mr. Woodson described how frustrating the process of applying for passport services has been for him:

“They refused me, because the birth certificate my mother applied for was six years late,” he said. “They sent me two affidavits to be filled out by relatives, so I did that. Then they sent me two more affidavits. They said the information wasn’t acceptable.”

Currently, Mr. Woodson’s Congressional Representative is attempting to resolve the issue for him.

Mr. Woodson’s experience illustrates why it is important to apply for your passport well in advance of a planned vacation.  If your birth certificate was filed late, you can increase your chances of having your application processed on the first try by also submitting early public records, such as census records, baptismal records, records of post-natal care,  or a family Bible record. See the Department of State’s web site for more information about secondary proof of citizenship.

However, if you are relying on secondary proof of citizenship, be aware that the State Department considers each of these applications on a case-by-case basis.

A private expediting company like RushMyPassport.com can help make the process of applying for passport services easier and less intimidating. Although we can’t make the Department of State issue a passport if they’ve determined they need more documentation, we can help you avoid common mistakes that can hold up your application.

Plus, we hand-deliver your application to the Department of State for super-fast processing times-often as short as 24 hours!

Apply for passport services with us today!

A UK woman got a bit of a surprise when she opened the envelope containing her new passport. According to the Manchester Evening News, the document she received had her name…but her husband’s face!

Terence and Marilyn Walker apparently sent off their passport renewal applications at the same time. His was processed correctly, but hers came back with the wrong passport photo.  Instead of her passport photo, the passport agency had placed a photo of her husband.

Mrs. Walker told the Manchester Evening News,  “I was flabbergasted. I thought I had picked up my husband’s passport by accident and then I saw it. I couldn’t believe they would make such a simple mistake.”

She has been asked to redo her passport application and provide new passport pictures.

Although this happened across the pond, the US Department of State occasionally makes mistakes and printing errors as well.

To fix a printing error on a US passport, complete passport form DS-5504. Send it in with evidence of the mistake (a copy of your birth certificate, marriage certificate or perhaps a court order, depending on what needs to be corrected.)

The US Department of State corrects printing errors free of charge. You can use this form to correct an error at any time while the passport is valid, although if it is due to expire in the next year you may wish to go ahead and apply for a passport renewal.

The US Department of State does not charge for correcting printing errors, and passports that need to be corrected are given priority, so processing times are about the same for correcting errors as they are for the government’s expedited service. You can expect to wait about 3 weeks to get your new passport back in the mail.

If you need your passport corrected more quickly, you have two options: Make an appointment at a US passport agency office, or use  a private passport expediting company. For many people, the extra fee paid to the expediting company is worth it because it they don’t have to take time off work or travel to a Regional Passport Agency office, which could easily be quite expensive if you don’t have one nearby.

RushMyPassport will hand-deliver your paperwork to the Department of State, cutting processing times to as little as 24 hours.

Apply for your new passport today!

Is your passport due to expire within the next 6 months to a year?  While you may not feel like shelling out the extra cash for a new one, it’s still a good idea to go ahead and get it renewed. In many cases, a passport with an expiration date 6 months or less in the future is almost as useless as one that’s expired.

Consider, for instance, the case of Charles Herman. According to the Chicago Tribune, he attended a friend’s wedding last year in Uganda.  Before he went, he researched the country’s visa requirements at the US State Department’s website. His passport was good for just a little less than 6 months, and the Department of State website said that it only needed to be good for 3 months.

However,when he tried to board his flight, he was told by the airline that he needed to have at least 6 months left on his passport, not three. Instead of letting him get on the flight to Uganda, the airline made him fly into Kenya instead, at an additional cost of $855.66.

Yikes! The airline then refused to refund the price difference, even after Mr. Herman referred them to the incorrect information on the Department of State’s website (which has since been corrected.)

The moral of the story, according to Steve Lott, a spokesman for the IATA, is to check multiple sources for your travel requirements. Mr. Lott told the Tribune:

“If there’s a dispute, if you get mixed messages or mixed information, the ultimate authority here is the country you’re going to,” Lott said. “Make sure you get something in writing, and make sure you cross reference with your airline.”

One way to ensure that this doesn’t happen to you is to renew your passport more than 6 months before it expires.  Of course, it’s easy for your passport expiration date to creep up on you, and it can take up to 3 weeks to get your new passport back in the mail even if you apply for expedited service.

Using a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport is the way to go if you need to get your passport renewed in a hurry and you want to avoid the hassle of making an appointment and driving to a Regional Passport Agency office. We hand-deliver your application to the Department of State, so you can renew your passport in as little as 24 hours!

Renew your passport with us today!

If you need a lot of dental work done, the costs can be prohibitive.  For example, according to Wikipedia, the average cost for a root canal in the US ranges from $699 to $1300.  One root canal and crown is enough to exhaust the annual benefit limit of many dental policies, so what happens if you need more than one?

One possible solution involves getting a passport and flying to somewhere where dental care is less expensive. This is called dental tourism.  While the thought of getting dental care overseas may be intimidating, summoning visions of scary-looking old-timey dental instruments, in reality most of the “dental tourism” hot spots have well-trained staff and facilities that are quite modern and cater to English-speaking tourists.

The most common dental tourism countries for Americans are Mexico and certain countries in Central and South America, particularly Costa Rica and Brazil.  Thailand and Hungary are also known for providing quality dental care at a reasonable cost, though of course you may pay more for flights because they are farther away.

Is getting a passport and catching a plane the best way to take care of your dental needs? Well, it depends on your individual situation. While drooling in a dentist’s chair may not be your favorite way to spend a vacation, if you need a lot of work done you can save enough money to take a vacation, see someplace new  and still come out way ahead. For example,  the Dentavac clinic in Costa Rica quotes an average price for a root canal of $125 – $250.

However, there are concerns. For example,  USA Today quotes American Dental Association consumer adviser Matt Messina:

“My concerns are not for the quality of dentistry received … but for the patient when it comes to long-term follow-up and possible complications. The term ‘buyer beware’ is very much in play here, as you may have fewer options after treatment if you feel it has not gone well.”

If you decide to go to another country for dental treatment, make sure that the dentist you choose is reputable.  Check their accreditation and seek out reviews from former patients. I would recommend actually trying to contact some of those patients by phone as well-forums and review sites can be a great place to start, but you need to know that the person who just gave the dentist you plan to see a glowing review is actually a person, not a spammer.

If you decide that dental tourism is right for you, you should begin the process of getting a passport as soon as possible.  It usually takes about 6 weeks for your passport to arrive if you apply for regular service.  If you apply for the government’s expedited service, expect to wait at least three weeks.

Obviously, if you’re having a dental emergency, you should seek care immediately here in the States. But, if you need to get a passport in a hurry, a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com can help.

An expediting company can deliver your application directly to the Department of State. cutting processing times to as little as 24 hours.

See how easy getting a passport can be- apply with us today!