Submit Your Passport Application Without an Appointment - Expedited Passports

If you need a passport and you’re having trouble finding the time to turn your passport application in, mark your calendar for Saturday, March 10. That’s when the Department of State will be holding the 4th annual “Passport Day in the USA” to encourage busy Americans to apply for passports.

What is Passport Day? If you’re lucky enough to live in one of the 24 cities that boast a regional passport agency office, it’s the only day each year when you can just waltz in and submit your passport application without making an appointment. It’s also the only day the office is open on weekends.

Even if you’re not located near a regional passport agency, many local passport acceptance facilities (like post offices, libraries and municipal buildings) are participating in the celebration as well. These offices may not require an appointment to submit your passport application (though some do), but they often have extremely limited or no weekend hours. On March 10, they’ll be open to accept passport applications on Saturday afternoon, which is much more convenient for people who work during the day. To find the nearest acceptance facility that’s participating in Passport Day, visit the Department of State website. Read the rest of this entry »

Would you buy someone else’s long-expired passport? What if the passport showed that, many years ago, the person lived in the same place where you live now?

For Nuno Fonseca, a Portuguese medical student studying in Paris, the pull of the mystery represented by a 60-year-old passport he found at a flea market was too strong to resist. The long-lost passport was covered in stamps from Europe and the Middle East, and its original owner had once lived in the exact same student housing complex as Mr. Fonseca.

As Mr. Fonseca told a reporter from the University of Berkeley, “I knew I had to have the passport of someone who, 60 years before me, took the adventure of going to Paris and lived at the same address. And, of course, I wanted the thrill of finding the passport’s rightful owner.”

When it came to returning the lost passport, Fonseca didn’t have much to go on. He had a name, of course – the passport once belonged to a young woman named Betty Hatfield. Other than that, all he really had was a birth date and birthplace. Read the rest of this entry »

Spring Break is just around the corner, and that means it’s time to start planning for some fun in the sun. Here’s a rundown of some of the most popular spring break destinations, but be careful: you’ll need a valid US passport!

Cancun, Mexico

Cancun has made virtually every “Top 10 Spring Destinations” list, ever. At this point, generations of American teens and college students have been heading to Cancun to party next to the crystal-blue ocean. If drowning yourself in alcohol is not your preferred method of bidding winter goodbye, consider quieter nearby towns like Tulum instead.

If you are flying to Cancun, you absolutely have to have a passport. In the unlikely event that you’re driving, you can get by using one of the new wallet-sized passport cards, or, if you’re a member, a trusted traveler card from one of the following programs: NEXUS, FAST or SENTRI. These requirements went into effect in 2009 as part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which governs travel between the US, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Cabo San Lucas

Located on the other side of Mexico from Cancun, Cabo boasts excellent surfing, scuba diving, beaches and exciting nightlife. Along the “Golden Corridor,” you’ll find lots of hotels, resorts and rentals to serve as your base of operations while you relax and regroup. Don’t forget to visit El Arco de Cabo San Lucas, the area’s most distinctive rock formation.

Since Cabo San Lucas is also in Mexico, passport requirements are the same as those listed above for Cancun.

Barbados

Less frenetically insane and more buttoned-down than Mexico’s spring break cities, Barbados is a good option for those of you whose ideal spring break involves activities other than beer pong,  like lounging on the beach (including one of the 10 best beaches in the world), swimming in the ocean, surfing and scuba-diving.

As in Mexico, Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative passport rules apply. Since driving into Barbados isn’t an option, the only way you could possibly get out of having a passport would be to see the island as part of a closed-loop cruise embarking from a US port. Read the rest of this entry »

A friendly reminder, folks – just because your passport hasn’t expired yet, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can use it for travel.

That sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s true: just ask the Patton family of Ottawa, Canada. Although all four family members had valid passports (in the sense that they had not expired yet), Costa Rica refused to admit them when they arrived in the airport. Instead, they put them right back on the plane and sent them home. The reason? Costa Rica requires all visitors to have at least three months left on their passports, and three of the four family members had passports that expired before then.

The mishap was frustrating, emotionally grueling and expensive, costing them about $6,000. Unless the spotlight of publicity causes the airline and/or the travel agency that the family used to book the tickets to relent, they aren’t getting any of that money back, either. Both United Airlines and travel agency Travel by Jen are pointing the finger at each other as well as the family for not catching the mistake in time. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s completely normal to feel just a wee bit nervous after you drop your passport application in the mail, especially if you’re on a deadline. After all, not only do you need your passport for travel, the application packet also contains important personal documents like your birth certificate.

Being able to track your passport application provides peace of mind while you wait for your new passport to arrive at your doorstep. The Department of State provides the ability to track applications via its website using the following steps:

• Go to the passport section of the State Department website.
• Select “Application Status” from the menu on the left side of the screen.
• Click on the “Check Application Status” link.
• Read the relevant privacy disclosures and hit “OK.”
• Look up your application using your last name (including hyphens and suffixes when appropriate), your date of birth and the last four digits of your social security number. Read the rest of this entry »

Most travel experts tell you to apply for a passport at least a couple of months before you plan to leave the country, and that’s definitely the safest way to go. However, depending on how much time and energy you’re willing to put into the endeavor, you may be able to acquire one much more quickly than that.

Regular  Processing

If you apply for your passport by mail or at the post office and don’t request any sort of special handling, you can expect to get it back in around six weeks, depending on the State Department’s workload at the time. Be sure you read the application instructions carefully, as mistakes can delay your passport.

Expedited Processing

If regular processing takes too long, the Department of State does offer an expedited processing option for an additional $60 charge. If you pay the $60 and spring for overnight delivery to and from the passport office, you should have your passport in about three weeks’ time.

If that still doesn’t cut it, you can get your passport even more quickly by making an appointment at one of the country’s 24 regional passport agency offices. These offices issue emergency passports only, so in order to make an appointment you must have already booked a trip out of the country that leaves in the next 14 days.

However, if you also need to get a visa for your destination country, you have a little bit more leeway and can make an appointment within four weeks of your travel date. Once at the office, you should have your passport within 24 hours provided you brought all of the required documents.

Of course, with only 24 offices serving the entire country, visiting a regional passport agency in person is extremely inconvenient for many people. Office hours tend to be limited, so people who work during the day have to take additional time off.  Plus, depending on where you live, it could take hours to get to the nearest office, or you might even have to take a plane.

An expediting service like RushMyPassport is a worthwhile investment because you don’t have to make an appointment or travel. Just go to the nearest post office, get your documents officially “sealed,” and send them to us. We personally deliver them to the Department of State, then FedEx your passport right back to you, often in as little as 24 hours. Plus, we take you through the application process one step at a time,  so you can avoid making common mistakes that might slow down your passport.

Need to get a passport quickly? Contact us today!

One of America’s oldest cities, Boston has been one of the country’s gateways to the rest of the world since before the US even existed.  Today at Logan International Airport, you can catch a plane that will take you directly to Canada. Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa. Later this year, Japan Airlines will add service to Asia, as well.

Renewing Your Passport in Boston

Of course, to take advantage of these convenient international travel opportunities, you’ll need a valid passport. If yours has been gathering dust in a drawer for too long, here’s what you need to know to renew it.

The first step is figuring out whether or not you are eligible to apply for your passport renewal by mail. Take this quick quiz to see whether or not this will be an option for you:

• Is your current passport still undamaged and in your possession?
• Was your current passport issued to you after your 16th birthday?
• Was your current passport issued to you less than 15 years ago?
• Are you still using the name that your last passport was issued under, OR do you have legal documents to support a name change request?

If you answered yes to all of the following questions, you can apply for your passport renewal by mail. Here’s how:

• Fill out passport renewal form DS-82, and send it in to the address listed on the form. Also include the following items:
• Your current passport.
• One new passport photo
• If you need to change your name on your next passport, include legal documents like a marriage certificate or court order to support your request.
• A check or money order to cover the required passport fees. Read the rest of this entry »

One question that keeps coming up again and again in the comments section is this: “Do babies need passports of their own?” It’s not necessarily an unreasonable question– after all, they don’t necessarily need their own plane tickets, so why would they need their own ID?

Alas, in most countries the era of the “family passport” has long since passed.  Even the smallest infants now require their own documents for most international travel. Let’s take a look at the question in a little bit more depth:

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) governs travel between the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.  Within these areas, your baby may be able to travel passport-free as long as you are not flying. Here are the applicable rules:

• All air travel requires a passport, no matter how young your baby is.
• For land or sea travel, adults should have a passport, a passport card, or another WHTI-compliant ID like a NEXUS card, FAST card, SENTRI card or an enhanced driver’s license (offered in a limited number of states at this time.)
• Babies (and any other children under the age of 16) traveling by land or sea may do so with just a birth certificate.
• US citizens of any age traveling on a closed-loop cruise (one that begins and ends at the same US port) may cruise with just state-issued ID (if adults) and a birth certificate.

Outside the Western Hemisphere

If you are going outside of the Western Hemisphere, your baby needs a passport no matter what your mode of travel.

Also, when taking your baby to any foreign country, if you aren’t traveling with the other parent, you may need a signed, notarized letter granting permission for the trip. Some countries require this as a safeguard to prevent child abduction. Contact the embassy of your destination country for details.

Now that you know whether or not you need a passport for your baby, here’s  How to Get a Child Passport.

Bear in mind that your child’s new passport may take six weeks to come in if you apply with regular processing.  Pay an additional $60 for expedited processing, and you’re still looking at 3 weeks processing time. For faster service, either make an appointment at one of the nation’s 24 regional passport agencies, or use a private company like RushMyPassport. We personally deliver your child’s paperwork to the Department of State for processing in as little as 24 hours. Plus, there’s no need to make an appointment or wait in line at a passport agency with a fussy infant.

For help getting your child a passport quickly, contact us today!

Until yesterday, it was impossible to apply for a US passport exclusively online. Sure, there are application forms and other resources available to get the ball rolling, but you had to use snail mail to send in the application. Now, if you already have a passport and would like a passport card as well, you can take advantage of a new online application procedure that allows you to send off for the card without entering a post office or even licking an envelope.

This option may not be around forever- at the moment, it is part of a 90-day pilot program being conducted by the Department of State.  According to a State Department press release, “This pilot program is the Department’s signature initiative under Presidential Executive Order 13571 to simplify customer service interactions and streamline related processes, making them more efficient.”

The online application is available here. To be eligible to participate, you must already have a US passport book, valid for ten years from the date on which it was issued.  You’ll also need a digital passport photo that meets the applicable State Department requirements, and a credit card and/or a bank account so that you can pay for your passport card on the Pay.gov website.Finally, you must have an email address so that the Department of State can communicate with you about your application. Read the rest of this entry »

You can apply for everything from a credit card to a driver’s license via the Internet these days. But how do you apply for a passport online?

Unfortunately, the Department of State’s procedures do not allow you to complete the entire passport application process online. If you’re applying for a passport renewal, you’ll have to use snail mail to send the documents in. If you’re applying for a new passport, a visit to a passport office is in your future.

This may seem inconvenient, but it does guard against passport fraud. However, there are a variety of online resources available that make the passport application process easier.

Online Passport Application Forms 

Passport application forms are available online for new passport applications, passport renewals, corrections, adding pages and more. You can either print copies of the form to fill out by hand or fill them out online and print them. Either way, remember to sign  the forms by hand where requested and to use a black ink pen.

Locating Passport Offices

Some passport renewals can be handled by mail, but other passport situations require you to apply in person at a passport office.  To help you locate the nearest office,  the Department of State has a handy search page that allows you to search by zip code or by city and state.

Ordering Documents Online

If you need a copy of your birth certificate to include with your application as proof of citizenship, you can order online from Vitalchek in order to save yourself a trek to the Department of Vital Records where you were born. There are a range of shipping options available if you need your documents in a hurry.

Expedited Passports Online

Regular passport processing takes about six weeks. Expedited service is available through the State Department for an additional $60 fee, but even if you choose this option you should allow at least three weeks to receive your passport.

If you need faster passport service and you don’t want to travel to one of the country’s 24 regional passport agency locations, you can apply online with a service like RushMyPassport.com. We walk you through the paperwork one step at a time, and then hand-deliver it to the Department of State for processing in as little as 24 hours. With super-fast shipping through FedEx, you get your passport ASAP and can track your package every step of the way.

Need a passport fast? Apply online with us today!