Expedited Passports

Are you considering getting a passport?  You’ll save a significant amount of money of money if you get your application in before July 13. That’s the day that the US Department of State’s proposed passport fee increases will go into effect.  The new fee structure will increase fees for getting a passport and for passport renewals, as well as adding a hefty price tag to currently free services like adding passport pages.

Here’s a breakdown of the proposed changes:

New passports (for first-time applicants or people who are not eligible to renew by mail)

The current application fee of $75 will increase to $110. The acceptance fee of $25 will stay the same, for a total price of $135.

Passport Renewals

The current application fee of $75 will increase to $110. When you renew by mail, there is no acceptance fee, so $110 would be the total price.

Child Passports

Passport fees for minors are increasing from $60 to $80. The $25 acceptance fee remains the same, for a total cost of $105.

Passport Cards

For adults applying for a passport card, the fee will increase from $20 to $30. For children, the fee will go from $10 to $15. Add a $25 acceptance fee if you are submitting your application in person ( required for minors and for adults who don’t have a current passport and aren’t eligible to renew by mail).

Adding Pages

Adding pages is currently free, but come July 13th, it will cost $82 to have pages added to the back.

File Search Fee

A file search fee allows the Department of State to search for records of previous passports or Consular Reports of Birth Abroad for those who are unable to include proof of citizenship with their applications.  As of July 13, file search fees will go up from $60 to $150.

Expedited Service

The fee for expedited service will stay the same, at $60 plus the cost of overnight delivery. However, bear in mind that this expedited service will only cut processing time from 6 weeks to approximately 3 weeks. If you need your passport more quickly, you will need to make an appointment at a passport agency office or use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.

Although using an expediting company to submit your application does cost more money, for many people it is worth it because it is so much more convenient. There’s no need to make an appointment or wait in line, and no need to take off work and spend time and money traveling to a passport agency office. Plus, you get help from a professional passport specialist to help you avoid mistakes that could cause your application to be rejected.

Getting a passport? Let us help!

At the beginning of this month,  new passport rules went into effect for travel between the US and Canada,  Mexico and the Caribbean.  Before June 1st, you could have traveled to these countries with a birth certificate and a driver’s license. Now, you need a US passport or another approved document.

Why were these new passport rules necessary? Why isn’t it enough to be able to produce a valid driver’s license or state ID card to prove your identity, and a valid birth certificate to prove that you are a US citizen? Over on the Dual Citizenship blog, there’s a great post by Fred Burton, formerly the Deputy Chief of the Counter-Terrorism Division of the US State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, that explains the rationale behind the new rules.

According to Burton, the main problem with the old system was that driver’s licenses and birth certificates are relatively easy to fake and to obtain on the black market: (more…)

Today is May 1st, which means that in exactly one month, new passport regulations will go into effect as part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. We’ve written about the WHTI pretty extensively, but since it’s about to become reality, here’s  a quick review of the upcoming changes:

• Passports are already required for air travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.  There are no exceptions, and this will continue after June 1st, 2009.
• Starting June 1st, 2009, passports will be required for land and sea travel to these locations, too. Currently, all you have to have is a state-issued photo ID and a birth certificate.
• After June 1, 2009, children under age 16 will be able to use a birth certificate instead of a passport for land and sea travel to these locations only.
• After June 1, 2009, children ages 16-18 traveling with supervised, chaperoned groups like sports teams, church groups, or school groups will be able to use birth certificates instead of passports, as well.
• Passports will still be required for all air travelers, no matter how old.
• Passengers on closed-loop cruises (cruises that begin and end at the same US port) may continue to use an ID and birth certificate.

To help US  citizens who travel across the border frequently, the Department of State has introduced a wallet-sized passport card that is less expensive than a traditional passport book. Unfortunately, it’s also less useful-you can only use it for land and sea travel to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.  You can’t use it for plane travel at all.

If you need a new passport, you should apply well in advance of your scheduled departure date, preferably at least 2 or 3 months before your trip. However, if you just realized you need a passport before June 1, there are ways to get a new passport quickly.

The easiest way to get a passport in a hurry is to use a private passport expediting service. An expediting service will deliver your application to the US Passport Agency directly, so it goes to the top of the pile.  By using an expediting service, you could have your new passport on its way back to you in as little as 24 hours, with no appointments or waiting in line.

Don’t get caught without a passport after June 1-order your new passport today!