Getting a Passport For a Family Cruise - Expedited Passports

Are you trying to decide what to do when the kids get out of school for summer vacation? Here’s a surprisingly cheap idea: take the family on  a cruise! B-Net.com has a post up that describes the deep discounts the cruise industry is offering to keep itself afloat.  According to the post, some cruises are even cheaper than staying in a nice hotel!

Of course, if you have little ones, you’ll want to make sure they have fun, too.  Royal Caribbean is offering family-friendly Nickelodeon-themed cruises over the summer. So, adults get all the luxuries of life at sea, and kids get green slime and their favorite Nickelodeon characters. Everyone wins!

If you decide to take the family on a cruise, remember that you may need passports. Currently, only air passengers need US passports to enter the country from Mexico or the Caribbean. However, on June 1st, 2009, the rules change and getting a passport will become a necessity for land and sea passengers as well.  (more…)

Effective June 1, 2009, the final phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) will go into effect.  Any change in federal regulations is likely to cause some confusion, and the WHTI is no exception to this rule.  One common question people have been asking is this: Do I need to renew my passport to comply with the new travel regulations?

The answer, fortunately, is simple: only if it’s expired! The final phase of the WHTI requires that anyone traveling to Mexico, Canada, or the Caribbean by land, sea or air present a valid US passport when they re-enter the country.  Currently, US passports are only required if you are traveling by plane.

So, if your passport is expired and you’re planning a trip to any of the regions listed above, you will need to renew your passport before you go. If you already have a valid passport, there’s no need to renew it early. Just remember to bring it with you! Passport renewal is usually a simple process. You may even be eligible to renew your passport by mail!

However, you do need to allow enough time before your trip for your passport renewal to be processed. You should allow at least 6 weeks if you request regular processing with your passport renewal, and you may need to allow even more time if you are applying near the June 1st deadline.

If you need to get your passport more quickly, a private passport expediting company can get it back to you much faster. With an expediting company, your application is delivered by hand to the US Passport Agency, where it goes to the “top of the pile” for faster processing.

For great service, renew your passport with RushMyPassport.com today!

Travel requirements have been changing so quickly, it can be hard to keep track of what documents are required to go where. However, it’s important to stay up-to-date, since not having the correct paperwork can derail your trip!  One of the common questions about travel requirements involves travel to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean, countries covered under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).

Do you need a passport for travel to Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean? Currently, it depends on how you are traveling. If you travel by plane, you have to have a valid US passport to travel from the US to any of these countries. However, if you are driving or traveling by sea, you just need to carry proof of identity (like a driver’s license) and proof of citizenship (such as your birth certificate).  No matter what method of travel you choose, it’s still a good idea to get a passport if you are leaving the country. What if you have an emergency and you need to fly back home? When it comes to foreign travel, it’s always a good idea to think like a Boy Scout!

Also, on June 1, 2009, the travel requirements are changing again. On this day, the final phase of the WHTI will go into effect, and land and sea travelers will also be required to have a passport to travel to Mexico, Canada, or the Caribbean. The only exceptions are people who have other types of WHTI-compliant identification (such as the Enhanced Driver’s Licenses offered in some states) and children under the age of 16. A passport will still be required for all international air travel.

If you need to get a new passport quickly, consider using the services of a private expediting company. An expediting company can cut through the red tape to help you get your passport quickly and easily, in as little as 24 hours!

Have you ever called your bank or credit card company to report a lost or stolen card, only to find it the very next day? What if the same thing happens after you call to report a lost passport? Here’s what you need to know if you find your passport after reporting it lost or stolen:

• Just like a credit card, a passport is invalid after it’s reported lost or stolen. Don’t try to use your passport to travel-you’ll have to wait until you get a new one!
• Send the passport in to the following address:

• U.S. Department of State
  Passport Services
  Consular Lost/Stolen Passport Section
  1111 19th Street, NW, Suite 500
  Washington, DC 20036

• If you’d like, when you send in your lost passport you can include a written request to have your passport returned to you once it’s canceled. The Department of State will cancel the passport and then send it back so that you can keep it as a souvenir of your international travels.

If you’ve lost your passport and you have an international trip planned in the near future, you can get your new passport expedited. The US Passport Agency offers expedited service to replace a lost passport for an additional charge of $60.00 plus overnight shipping. With this option, you’ll get your new passport within 2 weeks. If you need it sooner, you can apply in person at a US Passport Agency office. If you don’t have the time to spare or there isn’t an office near you, a private expediting company can get your passport for you in as little as 24 hours, with no appointments or waiting in line necessary!

Alaska is vast and beautiful, rugged and wild. In recent years, cruises to Alaska have become increasingly popular. On an Alaskan cruise, you get to experience the decadent luxury of life aboard a cruise ship while still getting to experience the 49th state’s breathtaking wilderness vistas. Now, Alaska is part of the United States, so you should be able to get there and back without a passport, right?

Not necessarily. Starting June 1st, if your Alaskan cruise makes any stops in a Canadian port,  all passengers must show US passports to re-enter the US. Many Alaskan cruises leave from the continental United States, sailing out of ports in the Pacific Northwest. These cruises often stop in Canada along the way, so US passports are required for boarding.  The Seattle Times posted an article recently describing the great Alaskan cruises available in Seattle. In the article,  Holland America Line spokesman Erik Elvejord was asked what would happen if someone tried to board the cruise ship without passport after June 1. He replied, “If they don’t have a passport (or other approved ID), we’ll have to deny boarding.”

If your cruise leaves from US soil and doesn’t make any stops in Canada, US passports are not required. However, it’s an excellent idea to double-check before you leave! Also, if you are flying to Alaska, check and see if you’ll have to catch a connecting flight in Canada. If so, you need a passport. US citizens are required to have US passports to enter and return from Canada, even if they never step foot outside of the airport! However, if you have a direct flight from the US to Canada, a passport is not required.

If you need to get your US passport quickly, the most fool-proof way to do so is to go through a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com. Your application will be handled by trained passport specialists and delivered to the US Passport Agency by hand, so you can have it ready in as little as 24 hours!

Wouldn’t it be nice to have an extra passport? The New York Times has an article up about the advantages of getting a passport from more than one country.  Although traveling with more than one passport may seem sneaky, like something a spy would do, if you have dual nationality it’s perfectly legal. Getting a passport from more than one country allows you to pick and choose which customs lines you go through, and prevents you from having to advertise your nationality in places where it’s safer not to be an American. Plus, it can make it easier to live and work abroad.

How do you go about getting a second passport? According to the New York Times article referenced above, many American citizens qualify for dual nationality for one reason or another, including “ethnic heritage, religion, country of birth or where their spouse was born.” So, you may qualify for an additional passport without even knowing it!  If do you qualify, you should be aware that getting a passport from another country could subject you to additional obligations, too, including tax obligations and military service in some countries. However, in many cases you can secure an exemption as an American citizen.

Also, if you’re an American citizen, you still need a US passport to enter and leave the US. A foreign passport won’t work! When it comes to getting a US passport, you have two options. You can go through the US Passport Agency, or use a private expediting company. Although the US Passport Agency does offer expedited service for an additional fee, if you’re running on a tight schedule, a private passport expediter is your best bet. They can help you with all the necessary paperwork and ensure that you get your passport in  as little as 24 hours!

Businesses on both sides of the Mexican and Canadian borders are concerned about the potential impact of new passport laws for travelers crossing into Mexico and Canada by land or sea. At one time, you didn’t need a passport to travel to Mexico or Canada. However, in 2007, under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, the government began requiring passports for people re-entering the US from Mexico or Canada by air. Starting in June of 2009, the government will also require passports for people traveling to Mexico, Canada and Bermuda by land and sea.

As MSNBC reports, businesses that depend on tourists from across the Mexican and Canadian borders are concerned that the new requirements may adversely affect on their business. For example, at the Jay Peak Ski Resort in Vermont, almost half of the visitors are Canadian.  Resort owners fear that many of these visitors are not yet aware of the new passport requirements for driving across the border, which could cause people without passports to change or even cancel their travel plans.

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It used to be so easy to pop in for a visit to our neighbors in Mexico and Canada. Years ago, all you had to do was verbally declare your citizenship at the border. Then, the government passed the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).  WHTI tightened identification requirements for people traveling to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. So, do you need a passport to go to Canada? Do you need a passport to go to Mexico? Right now, you don’t need a passport to go to either of these countries by land or by sea, but you do if you’re flying in. However, starting June 1, 2009, you will need a passport or another form of WHTI-compliant ID to cross the border, period. For most people, a passport or a passport card is the easiest WHTI-compliant document to obtain.

According to this interesting post on the LA Times’ Daily Deal blog, it’s a good idea to get your passport application in now if you plan to travel out of the country in 2009.  In the past, changes in passport requirements have caused massive increases in the number of passport applications the department has to process.  In 2007, a deluge of extra passport applications increased the processing time required for new or updated passports. It’s possible that the new 2009 passport laws could have the same effect. Of course, the fastest and most foolproof way to apply for your passport is to use a passport expediting service like RushMyPassport.com.  With an expediting service, you have a professional to review your passport application, catch any mistakes, and personally see that it gets processed in the promised amount of time.  It’s hard to beat that type of service!

For international travelers, the economic crisis has a silver lining: the recovery of the US Dollar. Earlier this year, international travel was like putting a vacuum hose into your bank account. The dollar was so weak that you would lose money just by changing it to a local currency! Suddenly, international travel is much more affordable, but nobody’s sure how long that will last. Now is the time to take that overseas trip you’ve been dreaming of.

Before you go, don’t forget to check the expiration date on your passport! Even if it hasn’t expired yet, some countries won’t let you in if it expires in less than 6 months. You can renew your passport by mail as long as all of the following are true:

• Your old passport hasn’t been lost or damaged.
• Your old passport is less than 15 years old and you were over 16 when you received it.
• You have legal documents to support any name changes you’ve made since your last passport was issued.

To renew your passport by mail, complete the following steps:

1. Fill out the Department of State’s passport renewal Form DS-82. Send it along with your old passport, 2 passport photos, and any legal name change documents.
   
2. Show the government the money: renewing your passport by mail costs $75.00. An expedited passport costs an additional $60.00.
   
3. Regular passport renewal requests should be processed in 3 weeks, although it may take longer. Expedited passport renewal requests take about 2 weeks.

What if you need your passport renewed more quickly? (more…)