Expedited Passports

Are you ready to get out of the United States for a while? If you don’t have a passport already, you’ll need to  apply for a new passport before you leave. When you apply for  a passport, knowing what you need before you apply will simplify the process for you.

Here’s how the passport application process works:

Unless you are renewing your passport, you will need to fill out your passport application form in person. (If you are renewing your passport, you may be able to renew by mail-read this post to see if you qualify.) Passport applications are accepted at passport acceptance facilities, usually places like libraries, county court clerks and post offices.  You can find the nearest one here.

Next, you’ll need to gather the required documents:

• Proof of citizenship (such as a birth certificate, Consular Report of Birth Abroad or Certification of Birth, Naturalization Certificate, Certificate of Citizenship, or an undamaged US passport).
• Proof of identity (usually a driver’s license or state-issued ID card)
• Photocopy of the ID you submitted.
• Form DS-11, an application for a new passport (it’s okay to fill this out in advance. but don’t sign it until you get to the acceptance agency and an agent gives you the go-ahead.)
• 2 passport photos.

You’ll also need to pay the required fees:

• For adults, a $75 application fee plus a $25 execution fee.
• For children under 16, a $60 application fee plus a $25 execution fee.
• For expedited service, a $60.00 expediting fee plus $14.95 for overnight delivery (optional, but recommended).

Currently, it takes about 6 weeks for a normal passport application to be processed and about 3 weeks for an expedited application. If you need your passport more quickly, a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com is the easiest way to go. We can have your application processed in as little as 24 hours!

Getting a passport can be a long, drawn-out process. As they say, the waiting is the hardest part-especially when you have a plane or a boat waiting for you! The US Department of State urges people to apply well in advance, but sometimes, unavoidable circumstances or accidents make applying in advance impossible. Here are the the top 5 reasons that you might have to rush your passport:

Reason #1: Your passport went AWOL

It’s 11:00 pm. Do you know where your passport is? No matter how careful you are about keeping it someplace safe, a lost passport can happen to anyone.  And if you don’t realize it’s missing until a week or even a few days before you are supposed to depart, you’ll have no choice but to rush your passport.

Reason #2: Sudden Need to Travel

If you have friends or family overseas, you should try to keep a valid passport at all times. You never know when something, either good or bad, will come up that requires your immediate presence in another country.

Reason #3: Your Passport is Expired

Passports are good for 10 years. That’s a long time-but sometimes it goes by more quickly than you’d think.  If you have a trip planned and don’t notice that your passport is expired until it’s too late, you could be in trouble.  Also, keep in mind that some countries won’t let you in unless you have at least 6 months left before your passport expires.

Reason #4: Application Problems

On the other hand, you might have applied for your passport in plenty of time, but if you made a mistake on the application, forget to enclose a check or a document, or submitted a photo that wasn’t up to par, you could have to re-submit in a hurry!

For more information on common mistakes, see our post: The Top 10 Reasons for Delays in Getting Your Passport

Reason #5: You Didn’t Know You Needed It Until It Was Too Late!

Recent changes in passport law have left a lot of people confused about whether or not they need a passport for certain trips. Back in the day, you didn’t need a passport to go to Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean.  Now, in most cases, you do.

No matter why you need to rush your passport, RushMyPassport can help. We will assist you with your application, providing personal help from a trained passport specialist and an easy-to-read checklist to help you navigate the required paperwork. Then, we forward your application by hand to the US Department of State, for processing times as quick as 24 hours!

Have you ever had to get an emergency passport? Share your stories with is on RushMyPassport.com’s Facebook page!

Lost a passport (or any other luggage) at the Phoenix airport lately? You might want to ask this couple if they’ve seen it. Police allege that Keith King and Stacy Legg-King had approximately 1,000 stolen bags from the Phoenix airport in their house when they were finally apprehended.

Can you imagine living in a house with that many suitcases? Even the officers that followed Keith King home after watching him steal a bag from the baggage carousel at the airport were boggled when they entered the home.   According to AOL news, one officer wrote in a court document that “The amount of luggage being stored inside of the residence was almost surreal.”

To keep your passport from ending up in the hands of people like the Kings, keep it on your person while you are in the airport. Lost passports should be reported as soon as possible to the US Department of State, by calling 1-877-487-2778.

Also, you’ll need to apply for a new passport and submit form DS-64, Statement Regarding a Lost/Stolen Passport along with your passport application. You’ll also need the following:

• Identification
• Proof of Citizenship
• Two passport photos
• The required government fees: there is a $75 application fee and a $25 execution fee to replace your lost passport, plus expedited passport service costs an additional $60.

Even with the $60 expedited service, it could be at least 3 weeks before you receive your passport. If you need it sooner than that, you have two options: make an appointment at a Regional Passport Agency office, assuming that there is one near you and that you can make it by the office while they are open, or use a private passport expediting service like RushMyPassport.com.

With RushMyPassport, you get help with the paperwork required to replace your lost passport, plus we deliver your application in pers0n to the Department of State, resulting in processing times as quick as 24 hours.

Replace your lost passport today!

At RushMyPassport, we help people get new passports quickly every day. However, using our passport services is a little bit different than getting a passport on your own.  Here’s what you can expect when you apply for a passport with us:

First, after you request passport services and make your payment, you will receive an email confirming your payment,  plus step-by-instructions to guide you through the process and let you know what documents you’ll need to submit with your application.

Your order will also be assigned to a trained, professional passport specialist, who will contact you personally to make sure you understand what to do and to answer any questions you may have.

Once you have all you documents together, if you need to apply for passport in person, we can help you find the nearest passport acceptance facility (often a library, post office, or county court clerk) to “seal” your documents.

Don’t sign your application until you get to the acceptance facility and the acceptance agent tells you to, or you’ll have to start all over! Once you sign the application, the agent will seal the envelope shut using a special seal. Note: If you already have a passport and are eligible to renew by mail, this step doesn’t apply to you because you don’t need your documents sealed.

Once you have your documents sealed and all of the required information together, you’ll mail it all to us and we take care of the rest. We’ll keep you posted via email as your application is processed and your new passport is sent out.

Customer Scott Cate recently used our passport services and posted a review on his blog. Here’s what he had to say about the experience:

“All in all, I’m very happy with the services from RushMyPassport.com and I would recommend them to anyone else who finds them selves in a “OMG I need a new passport” moment like I did ”

Having an “OMG I need a new passport” moment? Apply for passport services with us today!

Here’s some good news for Florida travelers who desperately need a passport: the Department of State just opened an improved same day passport office in Miami.  The  new passport office is located in the Omni Center, and it boasts more than double the windows its predecessor.

The bad news? To get same day passport service, you can’t just stroll on over to the Omni Center and pick one up. You’ll still have to make an appointment first, go to the passport office at the appointed time, and wait your turn.  For a complete description of what you’ll need,  see Emergency Passport Checklist.

Another potential disadvantage to using the passport office is that it is  only open for  a limited time each day, from 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. If you work the day shift, you may have to ask for a little bit of time off work.

Another option for same-day passport processing is  to use a private passport expediting company, and let the expediting company handle going to the passport office and waiting in line.  RushMyPassport has an office in West Palm Beach, and we welcome walk-ins from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm,  Monday through Friday, with no appointment needed.

We’re located at 412 Clematis St, West Palm Beach, Florida 33401.

Also, a private passport expediting service is a good option for people who don’t live near a Regional Passport Agency office.  Many Americans don’t live within easy driving distance of one of these facilities, so an expediting company could save you a lot of time and gas, not to mention a stiff, aching back. You can mail in your documents, and in most cases get them processed within 24 hours of the time they are received.

Need a passport in a hurry? Apply for a same day passport today!

Commercial space travel is still out of reach for everyone but the richest of the rich. However, Chile’s “Valle de La Luna” (Spanish for “Valley of The Moon”) is as close to walking on the surface of the moon as you can get without actually leaving the planet.

Environmental Graffiti has an awesome post up with incredible pictures of this desolate valley. It really does look like a moonscape-the valley is barren of any plant life, and over the centuries the forces of nature have sculpted the rock and sand into fantastic, almost otherworldly formations.

The valley is situated in between the Andes mountains and the Atacama Desert, and immense, towering volcanoes rise up in the background, providing a suitably “lunar” backdrop for the valley. Dry lakebeds are coated in shimmering salt crystals. The most interesting and famous landforms in the Valley of the Moon are three vaguely humanoid rock towers called the Three Marias.

If you want to visit the Valley of the Moon, you’ll need a US passport to travel to Chile.  When you apply for your passport, make sure to allow enough time for the government to process your application.

If you apply through the mail with regular processing, expect it to take at least 6 weeks for your US passport to make it back to you.  To get it faster, you can request expedited processing from the government and pay an extra $60 to State Department. However, you still allow at least a month for your passport to arrive.

Find a last-minute travel deal that you don’t want to pass up?  A private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com can help you get your US passport more quickly.  We help you with the application, provide you with a checklist that helps you avoid common mistakes, and then submit your application directly to the Department of State by hand, resulting in processing times as low as 24 hours.

Apply for your US passport today!

It’s officially October, and that means Halloween is just around the corner. To help you get in the holiday spirit, we’ve compiled a list of the 10 spookiest places to spend Halloween.  Tired of the same old Halloween activities? Get an express passport and spend this year’s Halloween at one of these famous haunted locations:

• The Catacomb Museum in Paris, France- As if thousands of skeletons stacked on top of each other wasn’t creepy enough, at the Catacomb Museum, people have also reported seeing spirits and hearing voices.
• BallyGally Castle Hotel in BallyGally, Nothern Ireland-The ghost of this old castle’s first mistress, Lady  Isobella Shaw, is said to haunt a room called the “ghost room.” Lady Isobella was either murdered or driven to suicide by her husband James Shaw. Other ghosts have been reported as well.
• Monte Cristo Homestead, Australia- This old mansion is advertised as Australia’s “most haunted house.” Unexplained phenomena include ghostly voices and mysterious lights.
• The Tower of London- If you’re looking for ghosts with a royal pedigree, check out the Tower of London.  It’s no secret that the Tower has a bloody history. Reportedly, the spirits of Lady Jane Grey, Anne Boleyn, Sir Walter Raleigh and others have been spotted in the Tower.
• The Skirrid Mountain Inn, Wales- The Skirrid Mountain Inn is Wales’ oldest public house. Although it is an inn today, it has also been used as a jail and was the site of many public executions. In fact, you can still see the original rafter beam where prisoners were once hung!

If you want to spend Halloween at any of these macabre destinations, you will need to get an express passport if you don’t already have one.  With regular passport service, you can expect to wait at least 6 weeks for your passport. With the government’s express passport service, you can still expect to wait at least 3 weeks.

If you really want an express passport for Halloween, the easiest way to get one is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com. With RushMyPassport, your application could be processed in as little as 24 hours!

Apply for an express passport today!

Travel writers have an awesome job.  I mean, really, getting paid to travel the world,  see cool stuff, eat delicious local foods, etc.  Awesome!

If you’ve always wanted to become a travel writer but aren’t sure how to get started, there’s a new online course available to help you get your feet wet.  The Matador Network, which bills itself as the world’s largest independent travel magazine, is offering a program called MatadorU aimed at teaching aspiring travel writers the tricks of the trade.

According to this review of the course on the Sharing Experiences website, for $225 you’ll get professional critiques of your work to help you improve your writing style, information on how to pitch articles and how to find job leads, and information on how to build your career using tools like social media.

In addition to tips from industry insiders, the MatadorU course also comes with a guarantee-if you don’t like it, you can cancel within 3 weeks to get your money back. All in all, it doesn’t seem like a bad deal-especially compared to learning the craft of travel writing the traditional way, through the school of hard knocks!

Of course, for an aspiring travel writer, there are a few accessories that you absolutely won’t be able to go without.  Obviously, you’ll need either a laptop,  or a pen and paper if you’re old-fashioned. You’ll also need a valid US passport.

Since many countries require your passport to be valid for at least 6 months after your trip, you should renew your passport well before it expires. In most cases, you can renew your passport by mail- see Passport Renewal or a New Passport? to see if you will be eligible for passport renewal by mail.

Remember, it can take at least 6 weeks to renew your passport using normal processing, and at least 3 weeks if you use the government’s expedited processing.  If you need your passport renewed more quickly, an expediting agency is the easiest and fastest way to go. With RushMyPassport.com, y0u could have your passport renewal processed in as little as 24 hours!

Renew your passport with us today!

Good news for Arizona residents who need emergency passports: The US Department of State opened a new passport office in Tucson, Arizona on September 8, 2009, according to this press release.

The new Western Passport Center is located  at 7373 East Rosewood Street and is open by appointment only to help travelers who need a passport issued for travel within the next 14 days. It brings the total number of passport processing centers in the country up to 23, of which 19 are open to the public.

At this point, if you’re mathematically inclined, you might be thinking “Wait a minute…only 19 passport offices in the entire country? Is that enough for everyone?” It’s true, a lot of Americans don’t live within easy driving distance of one of these facilities.  In fact, the closest passport offices to the one in Tucson are in Los Angeles and Aurora, Colorado.

Plus, the offices operate on an appointment-only basis and they have limited hours of operation.  For example, the Tucson office is only open from 8:30am to 3:00pm from Monday through Friday. Even if you live near Tucson, that can make things difficult if you work during the day. If you already have an overseas trip coming up, you might not be able to take additional time off work to go to the passport office.

Oh well, getting an emergency passport is supposed to be difficult, right? Wrong! With a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com, you can get an emergency passport without having to make an appointment at a passport office. All you have to do is go to a passport acceptance facility (often a post office or library), get your application and documents sealed and send them in. The expediting company then hand-delivers your documents to the Department of State, where they will be processed in as little as 24 hours.  Doesn’t that sound easier?

Apply for your passport with us today!

Fall is almost here, the air is starting to feel just a tad crisp, and its time for Homer Simpson’s favorite holiday-Oktoberfest!  Americans are always eager for an excuse to drink beer and listen to music, so there are plenty of small local Oktoberfests to go to, but wouldn’t it be great to go to the mother of all Oktoberfests in Munich, Germany?

According to Wikipedia, the original Oktoberfest was actually held in 1812, to celebrate the marriage of King Ludwig the 1st to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The citizens of Munich had so much fun at the party that they decided to make it an annual event. And really, with beer, cheese and sausages galore, what’s not to like?

Oktoberfest is celebrated in the same meadow as it was in 1812, the Theresienwiese, named after King Ludwig’s bride. However, the event has grown, and is now the largest public festival in the world.  Entrance is free, but it’s not a bad idea to book seats inside one of the beer tents-they do tend to fill up. Some beer tents have free seats available, too. You can find out more at the Oktoberfest website.

This year’s Oktoberfest runs from September 18th  to  October 3rd. Originally, the festival was held in the middle of October, but the date was moved up to take advantage of the gorgeous weather at the end of September.

If you want to attend this year’s Oktoberfest, you’ll need to get a fast passport! Applying for a passport via the government’s expedited processing can still take 3 weeks or longer, and that’s cutting it much too close!

The safest way to go is to get a fast passport from a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com. An expediting company can hand-deliver your application to the Department of State to put your paperwork on the top of the stack, resulting in super-fast passport processing times. With RushMyPassport, your new passport could be on its way to you in as little as 24 hours!

Don’t miss out on this year’s Oktoberfest-apply for a fast passport today!