Expedited Passports

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!

Do you fantasize about quitting your day job and traveling the world? Many people dream about it, but only a small percentage actually do it. And yet, it is definitely possible- if you willing to step outside of your comfort zone!  Bef0re you bid your 9-to-5 job adieu, however, you’ll need to do some research. After all, it’s always better to learn from other people’s mistakes rather than your own.

To help you get started, here are 5 great resources for wannabe world travelers:

1. For motivation and inspiration, check out The Art of Non-Comformity’s classic blog post, Why Should Quit Your Job and Travel the World
2. For more motivation, plus a healthy dose of practical, basic tips for survival on the road in another country, check out How to Quit Your Job and Travel the World by 5dolla on Kuro5hin.  Geeks (like yours truly) will also appreciate the sci-fi/fantasy references.
3. Nomadic Matt has a series of travel tips that covers everything from getting a job in another country to finding accommodations.
4. Nomadic Backpackers’ how-to archive covers everything from dealing with community bathrooms in a hostel to dealing with culture shock when you come home.
5. Almost Fearless is doing an excellent series on how to quit your job and travel the world this month:  30 ways in 30 days to Redesign Your Life And Travel the World.

Of course, before you can put your world travel plans in action, you need to renew your passport (or get a new one if you’ve never traveled overseas before).  Without a passport, you aren’t going anywhere!

Also, when you renew your passport, make sure you allow enough time for the Department of State to process your application. Regular passport renewals take 6 weeks or longer to process, and the government’s expedited service still takes about 3 weeks. If you have a departure date looming and you still haven’t applied for your passport, the safest option is to renew your passport with a private passport expediting company. You’ll get help with the paperwork and much faster service. In fact, if you use RushMyPassport.com, your application could be processed in as little as 24 hours!

Renew your passport with us today!

Residents of Dallas, Texas (and nearby cities) who need emergency passports have been able to apply for them at the new Dallas passport agency office since July. However, according to this article from the Dallas News, many  area residents are not aware that the office, located in at 1100 Commerce St, is even there.

In the article, Britany Williams, the regional director of the Dallas passport agency, told the newspaper that “We actually don’t have a lot of traffic right now because a lot of people don’t know we are here.”

The office, which can issue emergency passports, probably won’t remain an open secret for long. Also, applying for a same-day passport at an agency office is not a viable option for everyone, even if you live in the Dallas area. First of all, the office may not be busy, but it is by appointment only. Second, the office hours are not convenient for people who work during the day, and if you are already leaving the country unexpectedly, you may not be able to get additional time off work.  The Dallas office is open from 8am to 3pm, weekdays only.

Third, many people don’t live anywhere near one of these offices. The Dallas office is one of only 18 regional passport agency offices scattered across the country. Depending on where you live, your nearest office  could be a long drive or even a plane ride away!

Fortunately, there is an easier way to get an emergency passport. A private passport expediting service, like RushMyPassport.com, can hand-deliver your application to the Department of State for immediate processing.  There’s no need to wait in line or make an appointment, and your application can be processed in as little as 24 hours!

Need an emergency passport? Apply for one today!

Ahh, Jamaica…home to beautiful white-sand beaches, sublime scenery, friendly people and excellent coffee! If you’d like to sneak in the beach getaway to end all beach getaways before the summer’s gone for good, get a passport, quick, to score an affordable flight.

Right now, according to Smartertravel.com, you can fly to Montego Bay, Jamaica, from Miami, Florida for just $198 round trip! Once you’re there, you can relax on the beach, go shopping, even waste away at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville restaurant (and yes, you really can order a “Cheeseburger in Paradise.”)

To score this flight deal, you’ll need to book your flight as soon as possible, no later than September 7th.  You can travel anytime between now and December 10th. If you don’t already have a passport, you’ll need to remedy that ASAP to be able to fly.

Currently, the US Department of State takes about 6 weeks to send your passport back if you submit the application with regular processing. Expedited processing takes at least two to three weeks, and that’s only if you order overnight delivery service both to and from the Department of State.

The easiest way to get a passport, quick is to use a private passport expediting service, like RushMyPassport.com.  An expediting service will hand-deliver your passport application so that it moves to the “top of the stack” and gets processed quickly-often in as little as 24 hours.

Get ready to book your dream vacation-Get a passport, quick with RushMyPassport.com!

If you need a 24 hour passport in Minnesota, you’re in luck-you now have a Regional Passport Agency where you can apply for one. According to this press  release from the of Department of State, the Minneapolis Regional Passport Agency was officially inaugurated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier today with a visit from United States Senator Amy Klobuchar, Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick F. Kennedy, and Janice L. Jacobs, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs.

The Minneapolis Regional Passport Agency is one of 17 US passport agencies available to the public. Before it opened, the closest place that Minnesotans could go for emergency passport services was the passport office in Chicago or Detroit.

The Minneapolis Regional Passport Agency is located at 212 South Third Avenue.  To get a 24 hour passport, you must first call and make an appointment. The office is only open from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm, so be prepared to take time off work. Make sure you bring all necessary documents: proof of identity, proof of citizenship, 2 passport photos and a copy of your itinerary showing that you plan to depart in less than 14 days.

But what if you aren’t able to take time off work? What if you live hours away from the city? Is there an easier way to get emergency passport services without having to jump through all of those hoops? (more…)

In June, getting a passport became mandatory for Americans traveling to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean via land or sea. However, there is an exception: You don’t need a passport if you are traveling to these areas on a closed-loop cruise, which is a cruise that begins and ends at the same US port.

Technically, all you need to go on a closed-loop cruise to any of these three regions is photo ID and a state-issued copy of your birth certificate or naturalization certificate to prove that you are a US citizen.   In this article from The Washington Post, a representative from the US State Department also recommends bringing  legal proof of a name change, such as a marriage certificate, divorce decree or court order,  if your name has changed since your birth certificate was issued.

However, even if you don’t need a passport for your cruise, you should consider getting one anyway.  For one thing, ALL US citizens returning from Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean by air must present passports to re-enter the country.  Hopefully, your cruise goes off without a hitch-but what if there were an emergency and you did need to fly home? (more…)

Where can you go to apply for a passport renewal in New York City? Actually, most people are eligible to renew their passports by mail and do not have to go to the New York Passport Office. There’s no need to apply in person unless one of the following statements are true:

• Your old passport has been lost or stolen. You must turn it in with your passport renewal application.
• Your passport was issued when you were under the age of 16 or was issued more than 15 years ago.
• You have changed your name on your US passport and you don’t have legal documentation of the name change.

If any of the above statements apply to you, you are not eligible to renew by mail and must apply in person at a Passport Acceptance Facility, usually a library or a post office, for a brand-new passport.  If you are eligible to renew by mail, you can fill out passport renewal form DS-82 and send it in to the US Department of State. You’ll need to include the following documents:

• Your old US passport.
• Two passport photos
• Legal proof of any name changes since you got your last passport, i.e. a court order, marriage certificate or divorce certificate.
• A check or money order for the $75.00 application fee, plus an additional $60 if you need your passport expedited.

Easy enough, right? Well, as that old song goes, “the waiting is the hardest part.” If you apply with regular service, you can expect to wait at least 6 weeks for your new passport to arrive in the mail. If you apply with the government’s expedited service, it will take at least 3 weeks.  (more…)