Expedited Passports

As winter storms slam large parts of the US (again), one way to soothe yourself is to book a vacation someplace tropical. If you are planning a trip to the Virgin Islands, you may be wondering whether or not you need a passport to go. The answer depends on whether you are planning to go to the US Virgin Islands or the British Virgin Islands.

The US Virgin Islands are part of the United States.  So, if you’re going directly from the US to St. Thomas, St. Croix or  St. John, you do not need a US passport. Check your itinerary carefully and confirm this with your airline, though, as you will need a passport if you have a layover in another Caribbean country.

However, if you are going to the British Virgin Islands (Virgin Gorda, Anegada, Peter Island, Jost Van Dyke, Cooper Island, Salt Island, or Marina Cay),  you will need a US passport as these islands are owned by the United Kingdom. You will also need a passport if you are staying on one of the US Virgin Islands and plan to hop on over to the British Virgin Islands for a day trip.

Prior to June 1st, 2009, passports weren’t required to travel to the British Virgin Islands by land or by sea, as long as you had a driver’s license and a birth certificate (or a naturalization certificate or a certificate of citizenship). On June 1, the new requirements went into effect, and now you must have a passport to visit the British Virgin Islands.  A passport book is required if you are flying, while sea travelers can also use a passport card, NEXUS card, FAST card or SENTRI card or an enhanced driver’s license.

However, there are a few exceptions:

• If you travel to the British Virgin Islands on a closed-loop cruise (one that begins and ends at the same US port), you can still use a driver’s license and your birth certificate, certificate of naturalization or certificate of citizenship.

• Children under the age of 16 traveling to or from the British Virgin Islands by sea can use their birth certificates. Air travel to the British Virgin Islands requires a passport no matter what the age of the child.

• Children under the age of 19 traveling with a school group, church group, sports team or volunteer organization chaperoned by an adult can use their birth certificates as well, so long as they are traveling by  sea. Again, air travel requires a passport book.

If you need a passport in a hurry, RushMyPassport.com can help. We hand-deliver your passport application to the Department of State for processing times as low as 24 hours. Apply for your passport with us today!

What is the Passport Denial Program, and could it keep you from getting your passport?

The Passport Denial Program was set up to prevent parents who owe child support from being able to get a passport and leave the country.  Although it doesn’t say so on the passport application form, all passport applications are checked against a list of people who owe more than $2,500 in child support.

If you owe more child support than that and you apply f9r a passport, your application will be returned along with a letter explaining why you aren’t getting your passport book.  However, the fee you paid along with your application will not be returned. The State Department keeps it-no backsies.

Don’t expect this program to go anywhere anytime soon, either. According to this article on the Fayetteville Observer website, the Passport Denial Program has proven its worth:

The Passport Denial Program has been in place since 1998 and, by the end of 2006, had collected more than $22 million in past-due child support. That figure swelled in 2007 when passports began to be required of people traveling to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

To avoid wasting $175 on a passport application that won’t be accepted, if you make child support payments and you think you might be behind, call your state child support agency to check your balance first. If your passport application does get denied for nonpayment of child support, you will have to pay everything that you owe and apply again when your child support payments are current.

Once you have your child support balance taken care of, it still takes approximately 6 weeks to get your passport if you apply with normal processing and about  3 weeks if you apply with the government’s expedited processing. If you need your passport more quickly, you have two options:

• Make an appointment at the nearest passport agency
• Use a private passport expediting company

Of the two, using an expediting company is often easier, especially if you don’t live near a passport agency office or you can’t get time off work to go when one is open.

RushMyPassport.com hand-delivers your passport application to the Department of State, cutting processing time down to as little as 24 hours. If you need a passport in a hurry, apply with us today!

The University of South Florida’s football team has a chance to compete in the International Bowl in Toronto on January 2nd. There’s just one catch-to fly into Canada, everyone needs to have a passport.

According to this article on TBO.com, the team didn’t hear that they would be going until December 6th, so everyone is having to scramble to get expedited passports. In fact, the passport acceptance facility at the Hillsborough County courthouse ended up processing 178 passport applications for the team in a single week.

The team is having their passports expedited through the Department of State, and officials from the courthouse told TBO.com that they could take up to 4 weeks to process and there was no guarantee that all the players would get their passports back in time. Chris Freet, USF assistant director of athletics, says the team is dealing with the surprise international trip as best they can and keeping their fingers crossed: “It’s not a normal situation and it’s the first time that we’re going,” he told TBO.com. “We tried our best to be as thorough as possible and we hope that nothing gets turned around in Miami.”

Circuit Court Clerk Pat Frank, who helped the team apply for the expedited passports, wished them well, saying “I just hope they get their passports and win that game. We were so happy to do it. They’re excited and nervous. When you take off the padding, they really looked liked fragile kids.”

Getting expedited passports through the Department of State can take 3-4 weeks, but there is another alternative if you need your passport sooner:  a private passport expediting company.  An expediter personally delivers your application to the Department of State, putting your application on the top of the stack for the fastest possible processing.  In fact, if you have your passports expedited through RushMyPassport.com, your application could be processed in as little as 24 hours!

At RushMyPassport, we specialize in expedited passports- apply for yours today!

Need a passport to attend the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver? If you live in Seattle, you’re in luck! The Seattle Regional passport agency just announced that it will be holding a special “Passport Day” event on December 5th, to encourage local residents to apply for passports.

Since June, passports (or other WHTI-compliant documents like enhanced driver’s licenses) are required to cross over the border into Canada. So, if you want to be in the stands for the Winter Olympics in February, you might want to take the opportunity to apply for your passport at the passport office on December 5th, from 9 am to 3 pm.

The Seattle Passport Office is located at the following address:

Jackson Federal Building, 915 Second Ave., Suite 992

You will need government-issued photo ID, like a driver’s license or state ID card, both to apply for your passport and to enter the building.

The advantage of applying directly at the passport office is that trained passport agents will be on hand to assist you. You can submit a regular (6 weeks processing time) or an expedited (3 weeks processing time) application at the Passport Agency during passport day without an appointment.

However, if you need same-day passport processing, please note that you will still need to make an appointment at the passport office to submit your application. If you can’t make it to the Passport Agency office and you need your passport in a hurry, a passport expediting company can help you get your passport application processed quickly, more quickly than the government’s expedited processing option.

Here’s how it works: you fill out your passport application at a passport acceptance facility, often a library or post office. Then, you send your application and supporting documents to the expediting company for super-fast processing, often as quick as 24 hours. There’s no need to go to the passport office at all!

Why wait at the passport office? Apply for your passport today!

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!