Expedited Passports

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!

Except for the time he spent fighting in the Philippines, Tony Lopez, a World War II veteran, has never left the United States. According to the Denver Post, that was supposed to change on February 16th, when a combat reunion will be held in the Philippines to mark the 65th anniversary of the Battle for the Recapture of Corregidor, which Mr. Lopez participated in.

Mr. Lopez, who was awarded both a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his service, was supposed to “raise the colors” in the ceremony, but when he applied for a new passport, he was turned down. The reason? His birth certificate wasn’t issued within a year of his birth. According to an earlier article from the Denver Post, he was born in a very small town in New Mexico, and getting a copy of his birth certificate was a challenge:

“The Catholic church burned down, and all the records were lost,” he said. “In 1990, my brother and I traced our baptismal records to Santa Fe. The state took those and gave us our birth certificates based on that.”

Unfortunately, since Mr. Lopez applied with normal processing, he didn’t find out about the problem until 6 weeks later, when his wife got her new passport back and he got a rejection letter from the Department of State.

This is another illustration of how easily problems can arise when current requirements for documentation are applied to people who were born in times and places where strict-recordkeeping wasn’t the norm.  It’s also another good reason to expedite your passport application even if you think you have plenty of time.

Sen. Michael Bennet was able to get a one-year temporary passport for Mr. Lopez, but it didn’t reach him soon enough for him to make the necessary arrangements.  Fortunately, he will get a second chance:

“It’s all right. There’s another reunion on March 3, the anniversary of MacArthur accepting the island back from the Japanese,” he said. “Maybe I can get to that one.”

If you need to get a passport quickly, RushMyPassport.com cen help. We’ll assist you with the paperwork and hand-deliver it to the Department of State for processing times as low as 24 hours! Plus, our unique tracking system tells you where your passport application is at all times. That means that if there are any problems with your application, you’ll know about them as soon as possible, so you can get them fixed as soon as possible.

Need a new passport? Apply with us today!

Peaches Geldof, the 20-year daughter of Sir Bob Geldof  (the former lead singer of the Boomtown Rats and the actor who played “Pink” in Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall”) recently lost her passport in a London park.  Unfortunately, she also had plans to  go to Mexico next month. Without a passport, those plans would have to be postponed.

Fortunately for Peaches, she is something of a celebrity and she has a Twitter account.  So, when it was discovered, the woman who found it recognized her name and sent Peaches a tweet to let her know it was safe. The Mail Online quotes an unidentified “friend” who explained that Peaches   “was resigned to the fact that she would need to apply for a passport.  Then she received a Twitter message from someone telling her that they had found it – she was over the moon.”

Now, unless you are celebrity, if you lose your passport it is unlikely that a random stranger will be able to find you on Twitter.  So, you will need to report it lost/stolen  to the US Department of State by calling 1-877-487-2778. Then, you will need to replace it.   For step-by-step instructions, see How to Replace a Lost Passport.

Normal passport processing takes about 6 weeks. If you order expedited service from the government, it can still take 3 weeks.  What if you need to replace your lost passport more quickly?

If you’re traveling within 14 days, you can go to a Regional Passport Acceptance Agency to replace your lost passport. However, Passport Agency offices are only located in select cities, have limited hours of operation and are appointment-only. In most cases, using a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport. com is a more convenient option.

As a licensed hand-courier, RushMyPassport can deliver your application personally to the Department of State, putting your application at the top of the list for super-fast processing. With RushMyPassport.com, your application can be processed in as little as 24 hours.

Apply for your passport with us today!

One name is enough for most of us mortals, but celebrities often have two-their actual legal name and the name they perform under.  So, Tony Bennett is actually Anthony Benedetto, Marilyn Manson is actually Brian Warner and Joan Rivers is actually Joan Rosenberg, the last name of her late husband.

Earlier this month, amid increased security after the thwarted Christmas Day bombing, Rivers’ alias got her into a little bit of a pickle, according to the New York Daily News.  The comedienne was heading home from New Year’s Day in Costa Rica, when she got held up by gate agent who questioned the legitimacy of her US passport.  On her passport, her name is listed as “Joan Rosenberg aka Joan Rivers.”

The misunderstanding caused Ms. Rivers to be bumped from her flight to Newark, leaving her stranded in Costa Rica with no ATM card and only $100 in her pocket.

Although some news reports say that the police were called to the airport, now that she is back home she was able to laugh at the situation with the New York Daily News:

“If I were going to make up an alias, I wouldn’t pick Rosenberg. I’d pick Jolie or Pitt. Do terrorists wear Manolo Blahniks? I can tell you Donna Karan does not make anything that hides a bomb.”

“I tried the tears; they didn’t work. I tried reasoning. I couldn’t bribe because I didn’t have any money,” she said. “I said ‘I’m going to have a heart attack over this,’ so the woman called the paramedics.”

Although most of us don’t have aliases, this story underscores how important it is to make sure all of the information on your passport is correct and up-to-date. Joan Rivers may be laughing about it now, but the prospect of being stranded in airport unexpectedly is no fun!

If you have an international trip coming up and you need to get a passport name change or make a correction, RushMyPassport.com can help. We offer a variety of different packages and depending on the option you select, we can have your application processed in as little as 24 hours.

Submit your passport application with us today!

Getting a passport is exciting. This is undoubtedly a cliche, but a new passport really does open up a whole new world of travel opportunities.  Where can your new passport take you 2010? The possibilities are almost endless, but we’ve picked out 5 of our favorite up-and coming destinations:

• Gargano, Italy: Unspoiled, uncrowded beaches? Check.  Ancient churches and historic fishing villages? Check.  Excellent food? Check! Gargano, Italy is a peninsula located on the “heel” of the boot-shaped country. Since much of the area is national parkland, it’s a great place to experience a quieter, more peaceful Italy.
• Sri Lanka: The civil war that wracked the country ended last May, making a visit to this beautiful island more appealing to tourists.  Stay at one of the attractive modern hotels that are springing up like daisies and see elephants, water buffaloes and crystal-clear beaches.
• Iceland: The country has always had a lot to offer tourists: glaciers, hot springs and winter sports, plus a vibrant nightlife in the capital of Reykjavík.  Due to the state of the country’s economy, it is now offering these things for less.
• Argentina:  Looking to take a wine tour somewhere a little more exotic than Sonoma Valley? According to the New York Times, wines from the Argentinian wine country of Patagonia have been raking in awards recently.
• Copenhagen, Denmark:  If you’re looking to make your trip abroad as green as possible, Copenhagen is an excellent choice. The New York Times notes that the city has transformed itself into an eco-friendly mecca, with free bikes for tourists and a thriving nightlife.

If you don’t have a passport yet,  see How to Apply for a New Passport for a detailed description of the application process. Remember that it takes about 6 weeks if you apply with regular processing, and at least 3 weeks if you use the government’s expedited service.

However, with RushMyPassport.com, you can get your passport much faster.  Depending on the service you choose, we can often have your new passport application processed in as little as 24 hours.

Apply for your new passport today!

If you’re living under an assumed name, here’s a tip for you: Don’t apply for a US passport.  Arturo Puente, a chief petty officer in the US Navy, learned this particular lesson the hard way.  You see, according to this article on Jacksonville.com, Arturo Puente isn’t the officer’s real name. The real Arturo Puente died of asthma attack in 1980, when he was only 11 years old.

Shortly before his death, the boy’s birth certificate was stolen from the family car. It’s unclear how or why the man who is now referred to as John Doe in court and who has since signed legal papers as Guillermo Salinas Guzman assumed the dead boy’s identity, but he has been using it at least since 1987, when he joined the Navy.

“John Doe” had apparently used the name Arturo Puente on 6 different passport applications filed over the past 2 decades. However, it was his latest passport application form for a diplomatic passport that blew his cover.

The Diplomatic Security Service was looking specifically for people using the names of deceased Oregon citizens on their passport application forms. When they found that Mr. Doe had applied for the passport using the same name, birthday and birth certificate as the deceased child, they sprung into action and he was charged with passport fraud.

In an affidavit, State Department Special Agent Mark P. Baird wrote that the “Subject’s true identity is unknown.” However, for the moment he is still working on the Mayport Naval Base, pending prosecution.

Obviously, living under an assumed identity is a bad idea anyway, but applying for a US passport under an identity that isn’t yours is even worse.

If you do need a passport, RushMyPassport can help-provided you are using your own name and have the necessary documents to prove your identity and US citizenship, of course! We can walk you through the application process and personally deliver your application to the Department of State, resulting in processing times as low as 24 hours.

Apply for your passport with us today!

Usually, getting passport service  is a fairly straightforward process. You fill out a passport application at a passport acceptance facility (often a post office, library, or County Clerk’s office) and provide them with the following documents to send to the Department of State along with your application:

• Proof of US Citizenship (such as a previously issued passport, a birth certificate, a Certificate of Citizenship or a Naturalization Certificate)
• Proof of identity (such as a driver’s license or state-issued ID)
• A photocopy of your proof of identity
• 2 passport photos
• The appropriate fees.

However, for 86-year-old Katherine Young, getting passport service wasn’t that easy.  When she applied for a passport, she had long ago lost her birth certificate.  Usually, this is not a problem-you can simply purchase another copy from the Department of Vital Records in the state you were born in. Or, if you are in a big hurry, you can pay an extra fee to have the Department of State look up your birth record for you. For more information, see How to Get a Passport Quickly Without a Birth Certificate.

Unfortunately for Katherine Young, who needed a passport to go on a Caribbean cruise with her son, the South Carolina Department of Vital Records didn’t have a copy of her birth certificate on file.  And, she was the only surviving sibling in her family.

Don’t worry, this story does have a happy ending: Mrs. Young’s congressman’s office was able to help her obtain passport service, tracking down a 103-year-old woman from her hometown in South Carolina who remembered when she was born. The woman signed an affidavit, the State Department accepted it as proof Katherine Young was born in the US, and she was issued a passport in time to go on the cruise.

If you have all of the documents you need to apply and just need to speed up the application process, RushMyPassport.com can help. Our easy-to-use checklist makes it simple to fill out the paperwork and assemble the necessary documents. Then, once you send them to us, we deliver them by hand to the Department of State, to be processed in as little as 24 hours.

Apply for passport service with us today!

Where is your US passport right now? Is it squirreled away in your desk drawer? In your purse? Still in the passport holder you wore around your neck on your last trip?

Wrong, says Jean Chatzky of The Daily Journal.  According to Chatzky, because your passport is such an important document, it needs to be located somewhere safe, where you can find it instantly if you have to leave your house in an emergency.  She suggests making a list of all things you would want to take with you in an emergency-your US passport, birth certificate, backups of important family photos, bank account information and any other documents that are important and hard to replace.

You might think that the best place to store these original documents would be in a bank vault somewhere, but Chatzky advises against this because you might need the documents in a hurry. She says that it’s best to store copies of your US passport and other important documents in a safe deposit box. However, your original passport should be located with the other documents somewhere in your house.

Of course, disasters don’t always wait until you are home to strike. So, ideally, you should store your US passport and everything else in a fireproof, waterproof safe.  Just don’t lose the key or forget the combination!

It’s 10:30 pm. Do you know where your US passport is? If you do happen to lose your passport, you need to report is missing immediately by calling 1-877-487-2778 between 8 am and 10 pm. Then, you’ll need to submit Forms DS-11 (Passport Application) and DS-64 (Statement Regarding a Lost or Stolen Passport).

Passport applications normally take about 6 weeks to process if you request normal processing, and about 3 weeks if you request the government’s expedited processing. If you need your passport faster, using a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com is the quickest and easiest option. Depending on the processing option you choose, RushMyPassport can have your passport processed in as little as 24 hours!

Apply for a passport with us today.

Are you looking for a cheap way to see the Caribbean? If you don’t mind working and learning new skills, you can often find a position as a crew member on a private boat. If you have experience sailing, you might even make a little bit of cash. But don’t worry, some boats will take you even if you are a complete landlubber, although you might have to pay a small fee each night for the privilege.

The New York Times’ Frugal Traveler wrote an excellent article about his experiences as  part of the crew on a schooner called the S.V. Illusion, which took him around the Caribbean for the bargain price of $55 per day. Go read the entire article…it sounds like he had one heck of a trip!

You may not need prior sailing experience to get a job on a schooner, but there’s one thing you definitely do need: a US passport. This is true even if you are just sailing to the Mexico, Caribbean or to Canada.  In June of this year, the final phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) became effective, requiring that US citizens traveling to Mexico, the Caribbean or Canada by land or by sea carry US passports prove their identity and citizenship.

One of the exceptions to the WHTI is for cruise ship passengers on closed-loop cruises (cruises that begin and end at the same US port).  However, joining the crew of a private boat is not the same as sailing on a cruise ship. You must have a US passport to re-enter the country.

Don’t let the ship sail without you-make sure to allow enough time for your new passport to arrive in the mail. If you apply with regular service, you should allow at least 6 weeks for it to arrive in the mail. The government’s expedited service takes about 3 weeks.

For faster passport service, a private passport expediting service like RushMyPassport.com is a great investment. With RushMyPassport, you’ll be assigned a case manager who will help you with the process of filling out your paperwork and gathering the necessary documents. Then, we’ll hand-deliver your application to the Department of State, for processing times as low as 24 hours.

Apply for your US passport today!

Borders are, for the most part, imaginary lines in the sand.  For a long time, the border between the US and Canada was just that-an imaginary line in the dirt.  Communities grew up that straddled the border, different towns in name only.

For example, Stanstead, Canada and Derby Line, Vermont are technically two towns, but they were a single community until June of this year, when the imaginary line in the dirt turned into a real border that requires a passport to cross.

Plus, barricades have been set up to separate the towns, cutting off people that still consider each other neighbors.

In an article posted by AFP, Raymond Fluet, a resident of Stanstead, said that “It used to be a friendly place. The people on both sides of the border, they’re our parents, our friends, our cousins. This is home for all of us. But because of the crackdown, we don’t go visit as often.”

However, according to the mayor of Stanstead, not everyone passing through town was quite so neighborly:

“There was a lot of traffic. People used these roads to smuggle drugs, tobacco or alcohol, even illegal immigrants into the United States.”

The bottom line is that the new passport regulations are here to stay. If you plan on crossing the border into either Mexico or Canada, you will need to apply for a new passport if you don’t have one already.

When you make travel plans, make sure to allow enough time for your new passport to arrive. Typically, it takes at least 6 weeks for your passport application to be processed if you request regular processing, and 3 weeks if you request the government’s expedited service at the post office.

To get your passport faster, you can make an appointment at a US passport agency office or use a private passport expediting service. An expediting service is often the most convenient option, since you don’t have to make an appointment or wait in line.

Let RushMyPassport.com help you apply for your new passport today!