Your US Passport: Don’t Leave For Canada Without It! - Expedited Passports

When you head out to catch a flight to Canada, what’s the one thing you shouldn’t leave home without? Hint: It’s not your American Express card! It’s your US passport, which you’ll need to get on the flight.

Evan Longoria, the third baseman for the Tampa Rays, found that out the hard way when he tried to catch a charter flight with his teammates to Toronto. As he explained to the St. Petersburg Times, “First road trip of the year into Toronto, I packed everything, I was up early, took my dog for a walk and just didn’t even think about bringing my passport.”

Fortunately for him, he was traveling with a sports team on their own chartered flight, so the team simply waited at the airport until someone showed up with his passport. His trip wasn’t ruined; he just has to deal with the VERY public razzing of his teammates, one of whom immediately took to Twitter to make fun of him. Meanwhile, team manager Joe Maddon told the St. Petersburg Times that Longoria “probably owes somebody or all of us some kind of a meal or something. We’ll figure out something. … There’s got to be some kind of due punishment.”

This story would have a had a much less happy ending if you or I had shown up at the airport without a passport. Most people don’t have access to a private chartered plane, after all, and commercial airlines won’t wait for your passport to be brought to you. Plus, if you miss your flight, you’re likely to be on the hook for all sorts of hefty change fees. The best thing to do is to check and make sure you know where your passport is at least a month before you plan to leave. Then, put it somewhere safe.

That way, if your passport isn’t where you thought it was you’ll have time to locate it or get it replaced. Regular processing takes at least six weeks, and expedited processing from the Department of State takes at least three. If you get caught without a passport at the last minute, you’ll have to either make an appointment at the nearest US passport agency office, or use a private company like RushMyPassport.

We’ll walk you through the application process and then personally hand your paperwork over to the Department of State for processing in as little as 24 hours without the hassle of travel to a passport agency office.

For fast US passport processing, contact us today!

Have you ever wanted to drop everything and travel the world for a while? Well, what are you waiting for? When it comes to making a major life change like that, there’s never going to be a “perfect” time to do it, so you might as well start planning now. To help you get started, I’ve collected a list of resources from around the intertubes:

• TravelHacking.org: Chris Guillebeau of the popular travel blog The Art of Nonconformity wants to let you in on his travel hacking secrets. If you’re like most aspiring world travelers, money is an issue, and joining the Travel Hacking Cartel can help you learn how to game the system and maximize frequent flyer miles so you can fly for free.
• Almost Fearless: This travel blog by writer Christine Gilbert describes her life as a digital nomad with her husband and extremely cute baby. There’s also an excellent selection of ebooks and resources to help you take the plunge yourself.
• 11 Reasons to Stop Dreaming and Start Planning Your Round the World Trip: Print this off and tape it somewhere highly visible in case you need motivation to kick yourself in the butt and get moving.
• NomadicMatt.com: Nomadic Matt’s site is an awesome resource. His blog posts are always entertaining, and the travel guide section is full of helpful goodies like average costs and things to see and do in each country.
• Location Independent: Traveling the world for long periods of time is more financially feasible if you can work from wherever you are. This blog shows you how.

While you’re daydreaming about living it up in India or Thailand, don’t forget to make arrangements to get a passport if you don’t have one already. You should allow at least 6 weeks to get a new passport if you apply with regular service, and at least 3 weeks if you use the government’s expedited service. Also, note that if the government shuts down for any length of time, passport processing services will be affected. And when they start back up again, there may be a backlog of applications in the system that could increase processing times.

If you need your passport in a hurry, your best bet is either to make an appointment at a regional passport agency office or use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport. We’ll hand-deliver your application to the Department of State for processing in as little as 24 hours, with no need to travel to an agency or wait in line.

Apply for your new passport today!

On Monday, April 4th, San Diego residents who desperately need a new passport to travel can breathe a sigh of relief. That’s the day the new San Diego Passport Agency office officially opens to offer same-day passport services to San Diego residents with imminent international travel plans and no passports. According to this press release from the Department of State, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be hosted by Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick F. Kennedy to celebrate the opening of the new facility.

Unlike your local post office, a passport agency office has the ability to offer same day passport service.  You are eligible to make an appointment at a passport agency office if you need a passport for travel within the next 14 days, or if you are traveling within 4 weeks and also need to apply for a visa.  Previously, San Diego residents in need of these services had to go all the way to either Los Angeles or San Francisco.

The new passport agency office is located at 401 West A Street. Operating hours are 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m, Monday through Friday.

The State Department featured the new agency office in a spotlight on its website recently, and said that “Undoubtedly, the San Diego Passport Agency will join the ranks as a saving grace for travelers who bought their ticket to paradise, before checking the expiration date of their passport.”

That will no doubt be true for many people. But what if you can’t get the time off work to make it to the office when it’s open? Or what if you just don’t want to deal with the hassle of going down to the office?

There is an easier way : with a private passport expediting service like RushMyPassport, you don’t have to make an appointment or wait in line. We’ll meet with the Department of State for you to deliver your application, resulting in processing times as low as 24 hours.

Need same day passport processing? Contact us today!

Getting a passport photo is one of those tasks that never seems to go as planned. It’s like school picture day all over again: Blemishes pop up unexpectedly in all the wrong places, carefully styled hair gets blown every which way by the wind on the way into the store, the fluorescent lighting wreaks havoc with your complexion, and the picture that will represent you to foreign immigration officials for the next 10 years ends up looking more like a mug shot.

For example, when I renewed my passport for a trip this summer, I actually ended up trying two different stores. I stopped in my local Walgreens first. When I saw that the nice gentleman behind the photography counter squinting at me like Mr. Magoo, that should have been my cue to leave. Even after two retakes, the resulting picture wasn’t exactly a mug shot, but it was so out-of-focus that I wasn’t even sure the State Department would accept it. I’m not the argumentative type, so I paid and left, deciding to take my chances on a redo elsewhere. Fortunately, Wal-Mart also takes passport photos, and their photo department was staffed by a young guy who could actually, you know, see. That helped immensely!

Joan Rusek of the Sun News had an even worse experience at a different drugstore when she went to get her passport photo taken. Apparently, the employee who helped her was not in the mood for an additional work responsibility that day. After the employee caught by surprise with the first shot, she asked for a retake and tried on a pleasant smile. Here’s how well that worked out, in her own words: (more…)

Are you getting a refund this year? Why not use the money to go out and see the world, or at least part of it? Travel blog Jaunted suggests a trip to the Bahamas, but that’s definitely not your only option. To help you make the most of your tax refund, here are 4 travel deals worth investigating:

• 3 Nights in Columbia for $999 : Offered by LivingSocial, this package gets you and someone else four days and three nights in Bogota, Columbia from Mantaraya Travel. While you’ll need to make your own flight arrangements, the package does include accommodations, breakfast, airport transfers and coffee. Also included is a tour of the city and the Museo del Oro, or you can pay a little more and get a whitewater rafting trip for a total price of $1,100.
• 4 Nights in Mexico for $1630: This LivingSocial escape takes you to Flamingos Beach on Mexico’s Banderas Bay, where you’ll stay at the luxe Villa La Estancia Beach Resort and Spa. Lodging for two and all meals are included, as is one bottle of wine to share and unlimited massages for both of you. Nice! You will need to arrange your own airfare.
• 3 Day Iceland Package, $599 per person: This package from IcelandAir includes roundtrip airfare from your choice of Boston or New York, 2 nights at the Hotel Loftleidir and a “Golden Circle” tour of some of Iceland’s many natural and geological wonders.
• If you’re really making bank from Uncle Sam this year, why not take off to Tahiti? These packages start at $1459 per person and include air from Los Angeles, lodging and some meals.

Of course, if you want to leave the country, you’ll need to get a passport first. Make sure to allow enough time to do so – it normally takes about 6 weeks for the State Department to process your application, while requesting expedited service for an extra $60 will get your passport in 3 weeks. For faster service, the most convenient option is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport. We hand-deliver your application to the Department of State for processing in as little as 24 hours.

Need to get a passport? Let us help!

The US Department of State has announced that they’re bringing back “Passport Day in the USA” for the third year in a row on Saturday, April 9th. Just like last year, acceptance facilities (post offices,etc) and regional passport agencies alike will be to open and waiting to accept your new passport application.

During last year’s event, at least 57,000 people used the opportunity to turn in their passport applications on a weekend (per Jaunted). Since many acceptance facilities and all of the regional passport agency offices are usually open weekdays only, events like this make it easier to apply for a new passport without having to take time off work.

However, if this year’s event is like last year’s, be aware that it’s not for people who waited until the last minute to apply. There’s some potential for confusion because typically, Regional Passport Agency offices issue emergency or same day passports to people with urgent travel needs and an itinerary to prove it. However, for this event only, these offices will be accepting applications from the general public. Even if you apply at a regional passport agency office on Passport Day in the USA, you won’t be able to get same day service. You will be able to get expedited service for an additional $60, but that only cuts the processing time down to 2 or 3 weeks instead of the usual 6 weeks.

If you’re leaving the country in 14 days or less and you need to submit an emergency passport application, you must make an appointment at the nearest regional passport agency office and go during normal business hours.

At the moment, there are only 22 regional passport agency offices serving the entire country, and they are open during limited hours on weekdays only. If you don’t live near one, can’t make it to the office while they’re open or just don’t feel like going through the hassle of making an appointment, RushMyPassport can help.

Our passport specialists will help you get your documents together and walk you through the paperwork. Then, we hand-deliver your passport application to the Department of State for processing in as little as 24 hours.

Let us help you get your new passport today!

If you’ve found yourself staring at the expiration date on your passport in shock, wondering how a decade could pass in a blink of an eye, you should know that you’re not alone. The same thing happens even to people who travel for a living.

For example, travel writer Crai S. Bower recently planned to jet off to Mexico with his family. Unfortunately, as he explained on the Huffington Post:

Like the cobbler who fails to provide his kids with footwear, this writer of more than 100 travel stories a year failed to get his kids’ passports together for a weeklong multigenerational trip to Sayulita, Mexico, forcing him to cancel the trip, an especially aggravating gaffe considering said travel writer’s partner is a sun-starved school administrator with limited vacation windows.

In his defense, it’s easier to overlook the expiration date on a child’s passport because they are only good for 5 years after they’re issued, instead of 10 years like an adult passport is. Mr. Bower ended up canceling the trip to Mexico and heading to California instead. However, if you find yourself in this predicament, there are ways that you can get your passport renewal rushed. Depending on the method you use and when you discovered the issue, there’s a good chance you can even keep your original travel plans.

If you have at least three weeks to go, you can simply request expedited passport renewal service from the Department of State. This will set you back an additional $60, and you should get your passport back within 3 weeks. Do check the processing timelines at the Department of State’s website, though – they sometimes vary depending on the number of applications that need to be processed.

If you’re really short on time, you can make an appointment to get your passport renewal at a regional passport agency office. The issue here is that there are only 22 of these offices serving the entire US, so it may be a trip in and of itself to get there. Plus, they have limited operating hours, like a bank but more so. If you work during the day, this means you’ll definitely have to take time off.

The third option is to use a private company like RushMyPassport. We’ll personally deliver your passport renewal application to the Department of State for processing in as little as 24 hours.

Apply for your passport renewal today!

Are you planning an international trip? Good for you, but you’d better check your passport expiration date. An expired passport, or a passport that expires in the near future, can cause an unexpected change of plans – never a good thing when it comes to travel.

At RushMyPassport, we help travelers get expedited passport renewals every single day – in fact, one of the most common reasons people come to us is that they’ve forgotten to renew. This isn’t just an American problem, either. A survey from Sunshine.co.uk, a popular British travel agency, revealed that an expired passport had changed or affected travel plans for 8% of respondents, or almost 1 in 10.

I haven’t been able to find a similar study for the US, but this quote from Sunshine.co.uk founder Chris Brown is equally true on this side of the pond:

“Our customer service team often receive enquiries about passport regulations and it’s surprising how confused some people are on the matter. If you’re going on holiday, it’s important you do your homework and check that everything is in place to make your trip run smoothly. You’d be surprised how common it is for people to turn up at the airport, only to be told they cannot fly because they only have a few months left before their passport expires. Even if you are due to return to the UK before your passport expires, you often need a few months left on your passport to be able to travel in the first place.”

That last sentence is key, actually. Even if your passport is technically still valid, many countries won’t let you in if it expires in the next 6 months, or sometimes 3. This applies even if you plan to leave the country in question long before your passport expires. (more…)

Do you need a passport to keep up with Joneses? The answer might depend, in part, on where you live. C. G. P. Grey, a professional time management coach currently living in London, used data from the government website Data.gov to come up with an infographic that shows what percentage of people in each state have a valid US passport.

In the infographic, published on his blog, you can see that New Jersey, Delaware, Alaska, Massachusetts, New York and California have the most well-traveled residents. Out of these states, New Jersey wins the passport race: 68.36% of its residents have a US passport.

The state with the lowest percentage is Mississippi, where only 19.86% of the residents have passports.

Travel blog Gadling noted that, oddly enough, Grey’s data suggest that at least 45% of Americans have a passport. That’s a significantly larger percentage than the 30% reported by CNN and other news outlets last month. Re-reading the CNN article, I’m not able to determine where they got that number. They reference a report from the US Department of Commerce, but it doesn’t mention the percentage of Americans with passports. So, I’m wondering if Grey’s numbers might be more accurate.

If you don’t have a passport, it’s a good idea to apply for one before you need it. They’re good for 10 years, and it makes planning an international trip much easier if you don’t have to worry about getting your passport in time. At the moment, normal passport processing takes about 6 weeks, though if the government shuts down again this could increase. An additional $60 will get you expedited processing, but you should allow at least 3 weeks even for that.

If you need your US passport sooner, don’t worry: there are ways that you can get one in time! Citizens who need a US passport for travel in 14 days are less are eligible to make an appointment at one of twenty-two regional passport agency offices in the US; or skip the lines and the hassle and use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.

Americans have always been somewhat obsessed with royalty. When Britain’s Prince Charles married Princess Diana in 1981, over 750 million people tuned in to watch. Now, there’s a new royal wedding on the horizon. Barring any “runaway bride” incidents, Prince William is set to marry fiancée Kate Middleton on April 29th. Unless you have mad connections, you’re not going to be able to attend the wedding itself. However, if you can make it to London for the festivities, there’s still plenty of excitement to be had.

Royal wedding tour packages abound. Celebrity Planet has a walking tour called “Will and Kate’s Royal Wedding Walk” that will take you past important sites in the royal couple’s childhood and courtship. If you don’t feel like camping out to secure a place along the wedding processional route, you can join one of the many viewing parties around the city. In fact, this is probably the best option. Sure, being along the processional gives you bragging rights, but you’ll get a better view of the action on a big screen TV.

The wedding date is a public holiday, so most major attractions will be closed. However, there will be plenty of celebrations happening throughout the city that you can join in on. For example, this year the Festival of Britain coincides with the wedding and to celebrate, there will be a concert on the fairgrounds featuring Billy Bragg.

Be prepared to jostle with larger than usual crowds if you go – according to The Star, London will be absorbing an additional 600,000 tourists the week of the event.

Also, you’ll need to get a passport if you don’t already have one. The passport application process takes about 6 weeks if you apply with normal processing, and about 3 weeks if you apply for expedited processing via the Department of State. Obviously, that’s cutting it a little close- possibly too close for comfort.

If you need to get a you have two options: make an appointment at a Regional Passport Agency office by calling 1-877-487-2778, or get the royal treatment by using a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport. We’ll walk you through the paperwork, answer all of your questions and hand carry your application to the Department of State for processing in as little as 24 hours.

Get a passport the easy way – contact us today!