Help…I Lost My Passport! - Expedited Passports

A lost passport is always a hassle, especially if you are planning to leave the country any time in the near future.  Don’t panic…follow this 4-step action plan and you’ll be good to go:

Step 1: Look One More Time

How many times have you called the bank to report a missing credit card, only to find it the very next day? Much like a credit card, you can’t re-activate a passport once you report it lost or stolen. So before you make that phone call, look for it once more, slowly and methodically.  See Finding a Lost Passport for some helpful advice.

Step 2: Report It Missing

If you still can’t find your passport, go ahead and call the National Passport Center at 1-877-487-2778  weekdays between 8:00 am and 10:00 pm to report it missing. This will invalidate the passport so that it can no longer be used to travel in or out of the country.

Step 3: Get Thee to a Post Office

Even if you don’t have immediate travel plans, you should replace your lost passport as soon as possible. To do so, you’ll need to appear in person at a post office or another facility that accepts passport applications on behalf of the State Department. If you’re using an expediting company to speed up the application process, you’ll go to the post office with all your paperwork, get it “sealed” by an agent there, and then forward it on to the expediter.

Pro Tip: In addition to the post office, you may also be able to turn your application at a local library or county court clerk.

See Passport Replacement Services for a list of the documents you’ll need to bring with you. (more…)

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. (more…)

At RushMyPassport, people come to us to replace lost passports all the time. For one British man currently living in Australia, though, his passport is impossible to lose- it’s tattooed across his back!

According to the Sun, Richard Ashton decided to have the tattoo done in 2006, to commemorate a backpacking trip to the country he now calls home. The tattoo includes all of the information on the identification page of his passport, including his passport number. What possessed him to have all of that tattooed across his back in permanent ink? He explains:

“I wanted something to remember my holiday by, but also wanted something patriotic. My girlfriend at the time thought I was a bit daft, but eventually she found it hilarious. That seems to be the general reaction.”

Of course, the tattoo is basically useless for international travel. Customs and Border Protection made a point of debunking a Canadian citizen’s claim that he used a scanned copy of his passport stored on his iPad to crossd the border; there’s no way a copy stored in your skin would ever be considered legit.

That said, Mr. Ashton has been able to use his passport tattoo to withdraw money at the bank.   Apparently the teller figured that if he was willing to go through the cost and pain involved in getting the information tattooed on his back, the chances were good that it was actually his information.

Travelers are advised to travel with a printed copy of their passport in addition to the original, which makes it easier to replace a stolen or lost passport overseas. In theory, Mr. Ashton’s tattoo could serve the same purpose, making it so that he can always access his biographical information and passport number. Keep in mind, though, that your passport number changes every time you renew or replace it. Tattoos, on the other hand, are for life.

If you need to replace a lost passport, see Passport Replacement Services for detailed information on how to do that in the United States.  If you are overseas and you’ve lost your passport, see How to Replace a Lost Passport Overseas.

If you’re in the US and you need to replace a lost passport quickly for travel, you have two options: make an appointment on one of the country’s 24 regional passport agency offices or use a private passport agency like RushMyPassport. RushMyPassport hand carries your paperwork to the Department of State for processing in as little as 24 hours. Plus, by going through a private company you avoid the twin hassles of having to make an appointment and having to travel to a passport agency office.

To replace a lost passport in a hurry, contact us today!

It was the travel story of the week:  a 33-year-old Canadian man named  Martin Reisch left on a road trip for the US without his passport, but managed to convince Customs to let him across the border by showing them a scanned copy of the document on his iPad.

As Mr. Reisch told the Montreal Gazette, the US border guard wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about the situation, but after taking his iPad off to another location temporarily, the official waved him on through:

“I guess he looked me up in the computer and saw I’m not a criminal or a terrorist or anything.“He didn’t say much besides ‘Merry Christmas.’ ”

On his return trip, Mr. Reisch also reportedly got into Canada without a hitch, again by bringing up the scanned copy of his passport on his iPad. He told the Montreal Gazette that he believes Steve Jobs would be proud:

“He’d probably say: ‘Here’s something to work on for the future.’ Maybe have some kind of digital certification or encryption to let people travel like this.”

Ah, the triumph of technology over bureaucracy. It makes for a great story, but there’s just one catch- it might not have actually happened. (more…)

If you lost your passport, what would you do? How would you protect your personal information while ensuring that your travel plans are not interrupted?

If you’re not sure how to answer that question, the instructions below should help:

Step 1: Report the Lost Passport

Before you give up on finding your passport, stop, take a deep breath and commit to looking one more time. Try the steps outlined in Finding a Lost Passport. After you’ve reported it missing, you can’t use it to travel again even if it turns up later.

Once you’ve been forced to give up the ghost, however, call the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778 to report the loss so that nobody else will be able to use your passport for travel.

Step 2: Gather Documents

After reporting your lost passport, start gathering the documents needed to replace it. Make sure you have everything outlined below:

• Proof of identity, such as a driver’s license or other government-issued ID.
• Proof of citizenship, such as a certified copy of your birth certificate, previously issued US passport, naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship.
•  A copy of passport application form DS-11.
• A copy of passport application form DS-64.
• One passport photo.
• A check or money order to pay the appropriate fees.

Step 3: Apply for a New Passport in Person

Anyone who needs to replace a lost passport must apply in person at a passport acceptance facility, like a post office or a library. Bring all of the documents listed above, and remember not to sign form DS-11 until the passport agent instructs you to do so.

After you’ve submitted the paperwork, you should receive your replacement passport in the mail within six weeks if you applied for regular service and at least three weeks if you applied for expedited processing via the State Department.

For faster service, you can make an appointment at one of the country’s 24 regional passport agencies if you’re within two weeks of your travel date. Alternately, you can use a private service like RushMyPassport to get your passport application hand-delivered to the State Department, for processing within 24 hours with no need to make an appointment or travel to one of these passport agency locations.

Let RushMyPassport help you get your lost passport replaced quickly!

At first, it seemed like an inspirational Hallmark story, the type of thing that restores your faith in humanity. A British couple, Jeremy and Sally Weaving, lost a bag at the airport containing valuables like money, a digital camera and Mr. Weaving’s passport. They despaired of finding it again, only to wake up one morning to see a package on their doorstep containing the missing bag. In an interview with the Daily Echo, Mrs. Weaving described how delighted they were to see the bag returned:

“When we realised the bag was missing my husband drove straight back to the airport in the hope that it had been handed in but to no avail. To make matters worse he was due to go to France three days later to take part in a 600-mile charity bike ride…You can imagine our surprise when a large parcel arrived at our house.”

Unfortunately, the golden moment was quickly tarnished when the couple opened the bag.

A 2001 study by Reader’s Digest showed that about 67% percent of those who encounter a lost wallet will return it to its owner, along with the cash inside. The woman who returned the Weaving’s bag, however, must have been in the other 33%. The money was there, true, and so was Mr. Weaving’s passport. However, the woman claimed the couple’s digital camera for herself, writing “I am sure your gratitude will extend to let me keep the camera (I never did replace mine) as a reward.”

Even more cheekily, she had the nerve to tell the couple that they should consider it a “travel expense.” She signed the letter “A Good Samaritan, but not that good.”

Unfortunately for the “Not-So-Good Samaritan,” she may get more than she bargained for. The police are treating the case as a theft.

Should you happen to suffer from a lost passport, this story is an important reminder that you shouldn’t depend too heavily on the kindness of strangers. Look for it, give it a short period of time to reappear, and then call the National Passport Center at 1-877-487-2778 to report the lost passport so that nobody else can use it.

For instructions on how to get another valid passport, see How to Replace a Lost Passport.

Regular passport processing takes about six weeks, and even expedited service can take three weeks door-to-door. If you need your new passport sooner, you have two options: Make an appointment at one of 24 regional passport agency offices run by the Department of State, or use a private company like RushMyPassport for passport processing in as little as 24 hours with no appointment necessary.

Contact us today to get your lost passport replaced as quickly and simply as possible!

Lost passports are a perennial hazard for the teams of contestants on “The Amazing Race,” now in its tenth year of production. This time around, a passport mishap almost ended one team’s race before it could even begin.

Kaylani Paliotta and her teammate Lisa Tilley stopped at a gas station en route to Los Angeles International Airport. Unfortunately, Kaylani’s passport didn’t make it out of the gas station.  The film crew, who saw the dropped passport, were unable to intervene- except to call the show’s producers to tell them that the team was toast.

Host Phil Keoghan told the New York Times that “We were planning on eliminating this particular team, because there was no way they were going to travel.”

The duo’s race was saved, however, by an unlikely hero named Ryan Storm. Mr. Storm, a techie with an active Twitter account, saw Kaylani drop her passport and tweeted about it:

“So #Thelife gets crazier. So after being randomly filmed for ‘The Amazing Race,’ I see that one of them dropped there [sic] passport!!!”

His tweet was seen by another Twitter user, someone with a passion for “The Amazing Race” (and perhaps a bit too much time on his or her hands) who was monitoring the social network for mentions of the show. This person urged Mr. Storm to take the passport to the airport ASAP.

How could he say no? As he wrote to the New York Times, “Her dream was going to die right now if I didn’t get her this passport.”

With Kaylani’s lost passport returned, the elimination ceremony was called off and the two women were able to continue the race.

What would have happened if Mr. Storm hadn’t made it to the airport? While it would have been heartbreaking to see them shut out of the race that early, it was understandable that they were slated for elimination given the fact that lost passports take time to replace. Standard processing can take a whole six weeks, while expedited processing can take three.

Faster service is available, with twenty-four hour processing available by appointment only at one of the State Department’s 24 regional passport agency offices or without an appointment through a private expediter like RushMyPassport.com. Unfortunately, when it comes to The Amazing Race, even 24 hour processing is too slow.

Need help replacing a lost passport quickly? Contact us today!

As Rio Grande Valley resident Joe Valdez found out last month, even Customs officers can make mistakes. For Mr. Valdez, what was supposed to be a routine border crossing resulted in a lost passport after a border patrol officer handed Mr. Valdez’ passport to someone else.

As Mr. Valdez explained to local news station KRGV, “I parked there, and another person on a bike parked there on the side. And the officer by mistake or something gave my citizenship passport to the guy on the bike and the guy took off.”

At first, the officer told Mr. Valdez that he would get his passport back, but apparently he was unable to retrieve the document.

Replacing a lost passport isn’t cheap, and at first Customs officials told Mr. Valdez that he might not get his money back, though he was more than welcome to file a claim for it.

Fortunately, a call to Customs and Border from the local news station quickly rectified the situation. According to Mr. Valdez, “Now I went today and talked to them, and they said we’re going to take care of it. So they gave me the forms to send it out and they’re going to be refunding my money back.”

If you lose your passport, the first thing you need to do is report it lost or stolen. This will invalidate the passport so that nobody else can use it (including you if you should happen to find it again.) To report a lost passport, call 1-877-487-2778.

Next, you’ll need to apply in person for a replacement at a passport acceptance facility, like a post office. You’ll need to fill out passport application forms DS-11 and DS-64. Bring proof of identity, proof of citizenship and one passport photo, along with money to pay the fees. It’ll cost $135 for a new passport, plus an additional $60 fee if you need it expedited.

Regular service will take at least six weeks, while expedited service from the Department of State will take at least three weeks. If you need your lost passport replaced more quickly, you should either make an appointment at one of the Department of State’s 24 regional passport agency offices, or for more convenient service use a private expediter like RushMyPassport. We’ll take your passport application directly to the Department of State, for processing in as little as 24 hours!

For help replacing a lost passport in a hurry, contact us today!

NASCAR driver Carl Edwards is used to going places in a hurry, but an upcoming trip from Michigan to Montreal is cutting it a little bit close, even for him. A lost passport, eventually located at his home in Missouri, is not helping matters, either.

According to NASCAR.com, Edwards planned to fly from Michigan to Montreal in time to drive in the Nationwide race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Saturday. For that, of course, he’ll need a passport. Since he left his documents at home, he actually had to have a friend drive them up from Missouri to racetrack in Michigan. Fortunately, Edwards has some generous friends!

Once he has his passport, his next step involves a race to the Montreal airport:

“We are going to go to the airport and fly to Montreal, land at the airport. We have the customs folks and have talked to them and they say they are going to make it somewhat easy on us. We are going to hopefully get a helicopter there and should make it to the race track literally five minutes before the race starts. It is going to be close.”

However, despite the perilously close timing, Edwards isn’t stressing. I know I wouldn’t be able to sound this sanguine about the prospect of having to be somewhere important with literally only a five-minute window:

“There is no pressure involved, you just go there and race. There isn’t enough time to get any anxiety over anything. It is kind of an adventure. That is it. But my passport has to get here first.”

Just as a reminder, if you’re flying to Canada, you absolutely must have a US passport. If you’re driving, you can get into Canada without a passport as long as you have your birth certificate or naturalization certificate and photo ID. However, you will need either a passport or a passport card to ensure a hassle-free return to the United States.

Whether you’re suffering from a lost passport, an expired passport or you simply didn’t realize that you’d need one for your trip to Canada, RushMyPassport can help. We’ll personally deliver your passport application to the Department of State, for processing in as little as 24 hours.

Need to replace a lost passport in a hurry? Let us help!

Losing a passport overseas is a frightening, frustrating experience. Being famous has its perks, however, as singer John Grant, formerly of the Czars, found out last week.

According to News.com.au, Mr. Grant was all set fly from the UK to Ver0na, Italy for an upcoming show, when he realized he’d lost both his passport and his photo ID. He went straight to the US Embassy in London to get an emergency passport, but of course they won’t give passports to any random person who walks in off the street. You do need some form of identification.

That’s where being a celebrity came in handy for Mr. Grant. He was able to use a photo of himself in the Times newspaper as proof of identity. He recounted the story to News.com.au:

‘I said to the security guards, “I haven’t got any ID, but here I am on the front page of The Times today”. They read it, and I saw the look on their faces change from delight to horror as they realised that they had a drug-addicted pervert standing in front of them. Then one of them said, “It’s good enough for me. I doubt you’ve gone to all the trouble of printing a copy just to fool us”.’

Mr. Grant got his passport, and as he explained to the BBC, “In about a half hour I was on my way back to the airport to catch a later flight to Verona and ended up making our stage time, so it all worked out really well.”

Stateside, of course, it doesn’t matter who you are: if you apply to replace a lost passport, you’ll need both proof of identity (such as a driver’s license or state-issued ID) and proof of citizenship. You’ll also need one passport photo and a completed copy of passport application forms DS-11 and DS-64 (explanation regarding a lost or stolen passport). (more…)