New Birth Certificate Requirements for Passport Applications - Expedited Passports

If you’re applying for a passport, you should be aware that the Department of State just revised its guidelines concerning which birth certificates it will accept as proof of citizenship.

As of April 1st, 2011, all birth certificates submitted with passport applications must include your parent or parents’ names. So, before you send in your paperwork, take your birth certificate and double-check to make sure that your parents’ names are on the document.

Even if the birth certificate you’re holding has your parents’ names on it, though, the State Department has other requirements for birth certificates that could trip you up.  Here’s how to make sure your application passes muster:

• Use an original or certified copy of your birth certificate.  It should have a raised, embossed, engraved or multicolored seal on the top.
• Whether it was designed to look cute or designed to look “official,” a birth certificate issued by the hospital where you were born is NOT considered proof of citizenship.
• The birth certificate  must have your name, the date you were born, the place you were born and a registrar’s signature on it to be considered valid.
• Check the date that the birth certificate was filed with the registrar’s office. If it was filed late, more than one year after you were born, you won’t be issued a passport unless you can back it up with  secondary evidence of US citizenship.

If the certificate you have doesn’t meet the Department  of State’s requirements, you can use the CDC’s website to find out where to go to get a new certified copy, or you can order a copy through Vitalchek.

Applying for a passport can be tricky, but it doesn’t have to be that way. When you apply with RushMyPassport, your case manager will make sure you know exactly what you need, helping to prevent common errors that could delay the processing of your application.

Even better, we’ll personally deliver your application to the Department of State, for processing in as little as 24 hours.

Don’t wait – submit your passport application today!

The US Department of State is releasing new passport application forms on March 1st. The new forms will have some minor tweaks, such as the use of “mother or parent 1″ and “father or parent 2″ to make the application more friendly for same-sex families.

After March 1st, if you’re applying for a passport it’s important to use the new versions of the forms for the fastest service. If you print the forms yourself from the Department of State’s website you’ll have the latest version, but if you apply in person at an acceptance office (like a post office), you may be given the old forms until they are used up. However, if you care about getting your passport in a timely manner, it’s better to ask for the new forms instead.

For example, Edwina DeRosa of Alamance County Passport Services told the TimesNews.com that old forms would be offered to applicants with a warning that “the use of the old form may significantly delay the processing of the passport application.” If you don’t like the sound of that, know that the new forms will also be available at passport acceptance facilities and that the acceptance agents will offer the new forms to you as well.

Another minor change to the passport application process: You no longer have to send in 2 passport photos. Now, only one is required.

Passport processing times vary depending on how many passport applications the Department of State has to deal with at any given time. Generally, however, it’s about 6 weeks if you apply with standard processing and about 3 weeks if you expedite it.

If you can’t wait that long, you can set up an appointment at a Regional Passport Agency office or take the easy way and let RushMyPassport submit your application for you. We’ll walk you through the new paperwork, answer your questions and deliver your application to the Department of State for processing times as low as 24 hours.

Let us help you with your passport application today!

New Orleans is famous for the wild party that is Mardi Gras, but the rowdy, bawdy celebration that Americans are so familiar with is just one of many Carnival celebrations happening across the world.

Mardi Gras is New Orleans’ version of Carnival, a festival to mark the beginning of Lent that is celebrated in many countries with a Catholic heritage. “Mardi Gras” means “Fat Tuesday.” The day after, called Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of the Lenten season, marked by an ascetic diet, prayer and penance that lasts until Easter. The idea behind Carnival celebrations is to cram about 40 days of partying into a single week. Some places stretch the Carnival season out even longer, basically partying twice as hard as normal throughout February.

Here are 5 Carnival festivals around the world that are well worth the bother of turning in your passport application to see them in person: (more…)

Starting in May, the number of passport offices in your area may become fewer. As reported on local Maine news website WLBZ2.com, “The State Department will no longer allow offices that process vital records like a birth certificate or marriage license to process passports or passport cards.”

In Maine alone, 25 passport acceptance facilities will be forced to stop accepting passport applications as of May 1st, 2011. The new regulations are designed to make passport fraud and identity theft more difficult.

Fortunately, neither post offices nor libraries handle birth certificates, marriage certificates or similar records. So, if your local post office or library accepts passport applications, they should be able to continue doing so. You can always find a list of the passport acceptance offices close to you by looking online at the US Department of State’s website.

Of course, it’s important to make sure that you’re applying at the right type of passport office to meet your needs. Passport acceptance facilities offer two types of service: routine service and expedited service. Routine service generally takes at least 6 weeks, and you should allow at least 8 weeks. Expedited service costs an additional $60 and gets your passport to you in about 3 weeks.

If you need your passport more quickly, your options are to either to visit a regional passport agency office or to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport. There are only 21 passport agencies in the entire US right now, so depending on where you live you may find that a passport agency office is much less accessible than a passport acceptance office. If that’s the case, a private passport expediting company is probably going to be more convenient for you.

We deliver your application directly to the Department of State, resulting in processing times as low as 24 hours! Plus, you don’t have to make an appointment like you would at a passport agency and you’ll have access to a passport specialist to walk you through the process.

Can’t get to a passport agency office? Let us help!

“We come from the land of the ice and snow, where the midnight sun and the harsh winds blow…” Led Zeppelin, “Immigrant Song”

If you’ve always wanted to visit “the land of the ice and snow,” check out the new contest on the “Faces of Scandinavia” website. (h/t Gadling)

To enter, all you have to do is comment on one of the many personal stories posted on the site. The comment stream is pretty active, so you do have some competition, but in January a winner will be randomly selected from amongst the commenters-and who knows, it could be you!

If you win, you get 2 nights each in Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm. The prize includes transportation to Scandinavia via Icelandair, and transportation between each city via trains and a cruise. Lodging is also included, naturally.

Unfortunately, the contest’s “blackout dates” pretty much exclude the winner from being able to enjoy the “midnight sun” phenomenon that occurs from around the middle of May to the middle of summer, depending on where you are in Scandinavia. Still, Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm are interesting and fun cities no matter when you go-and it’s hard to argue with free!

Of course, if you win, you’ll need a valid passport to go. You’ll want to get your passport application in as soon as possible, as it can take 6 weeks or even longer if you request regular processing. Expedited processing is available but costs an additional $60, and it can still take 3 weeks for you to get your passport in the mail.

The fastest way for you to get your passport application processed is to make an appointment at a US passport agency office or use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com. RushMyPassport will deliver your paperwork directly to the Department of State, and can have your passport application processed in as little as 24 hours.

Submit your passport application today!

For most Americans, one of the first steps in the process of submitting a passport application is to stand in front of a white background and have the photo clerk at the nearest drugstore take your picture. But that wasn’t always the case. In fact, according to the Oxford University Press blog, passports did not have to include a photo of the bearer until 1914.  Before that time, the Department of State relied on detailed written physical descriptions to ensure that passports were not used fraudulently.

If you think the picture on your passport looks like a mug shot, you’re not alone.  Nor is this a new problem-people have been complaining about how much they hate their passport photos ever since passport photos became mandatory. The Oxford University press blog notes:

This “distortion” was the product of the clashing of two particular traditions of photographing people: the portrait and the “scientific” image (generally used in criminal identification photographs).  Most passport applicants associated representational truth with the specific articulation of realism in photographic portraits.  This association gave rise to complaints that a standardized passport photograph was unflattering, and in fact did not look like the bearer.  From the inception of passport photographs, people experienced “a pang of horrid surprise, almost disbelief, upon first looking at the photograph which [was] to identify them in a foreign country;” at least according to a New York Times editorial from 1930…

It already takes at least 6 weeks to get your passport if you apply with normal processing. Even if you apply with expedited processing, it could still take up to 3 weeks.  However, if your passport photo isn’t up to snuff, you could be looking at an even longer processing time.  To keep your application from being delayed, see Passport Photos: How to Get Them Right the First Time.

If 3 weeks is too long to wait for your passport, RushMyPassport can help. We’ll walk you through  the application process and deliver your application directly to the Department of State for lightning-fast processing.

Submit your passport application today!

It’s hard to believe, but there was a time when you didn’t have to fill out a passport application to travel internationally. In fact, passports weren’t required for international travel until the first World War, though governments had been issuing passports or “documents of safe conduct” for centuries prior.

After World War I, the League of Nations decided that passport requirements should be maintained for international travel in peacetime as well. Although today we think of passports as essential, when passport applications became a requirement, many people were not happy. Over at the Oxford University Press blog, Craig Robertson, author of The Passport in America: The History of A Document, explains:

Middle-class and the more well-to-do resisted the implementation of passport requirements creating what was labeled the “passport nuisance” in the 1920s. With little experience of the need to prove identity through documents the passport became the site where people objected to perceived affront of a government not trusting its citizens. Identity documents were for people who could not be trusted such as criminals and the insane. They were not for people who simply wanted to travel.

Other interesting facts about the history of the passport:

• Before passports became mandatory, immigration officers decided who let into the country based on what amounts to gut instinct. Can you imagine how much trouble that must have caused for American citizens who didn’t fit the officials’ mental image of an American?
• Early passports didn’t necessarily have photographs-instead, a written description of the bearer’s physical characteristics was usually included.
• According to the Guardian, the Pope always carries Vatican Passport Number One.

These days, if you want to leave the US, you need to fill out a passport application. See How to Apply for a New Passport for more details. Make sure to allow sufficient time for processing-it can take 6 weeks or even longer if you apply for regular processing, and around 3 weeks if you apply for the government’s expedited processing.

If you need your passport more quickly, RushMyPassport can deliver your paperwork directly to the Department of State for processing times as low as 24 hours.

Let us help you expedite your passport application today!

Geese migrate south in the fall, and now you can, too.  According to Jaunted, Virgin America is scheduled to start flights south of the border in the fall, to Cancun and Cab0 San Lucas.  The new route was announced at an anniversary party commemorating the launch of Virgin America’s first international destination, Toronto, last year.

If you’d like to be one of the first to fly Virgin’s new Mexican routes, you’d better get your passport application in now. Flights are expected to leave from San Francisco and Los Angeles starting this fall. Jaunted explains:

Virgin America CEO David Cush says that there’s no official date yet set for the first Mexico flights, but we’re guessing they’ll begin when fall temperatures drop the US back into jacket weather and people start dreaming of hot sun and bikinis again.

Passports are required for flights to Mexico, and you won’t be able to board the plane without one.

When you order a passport, you should expect to wait at least 6 weeks for it to arrive in the mail, assuming you order it with normal processing. If you need it sooner, you can expedite your passport application with the Department of State, but you should still allow at least 3 weeks for it to arrive.

What do you do if you find a great last-minute deal? If you have tickets to leave for Mexico in less than 2 weeks and you don’t have a valid passport, you can make an appointment at a Regional Passport Agency office to get one issued. However, bear in mind that the passport agency is appointment only-you can’t just walk in whenever it’s convenient for you to turn in your passport application.  Also, passport agency offices have limited office hours, and are usually only open on weekdays. Finally, there are only 18 of these passport offices to serve the entire US.

A more convenient option is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport. RushMyPassport delivers your passport application directly to the Department of State, for processing times as quick as 24 hours and no need to wait in line or visit a passport agency.

Let us expedite your passport application today!

US citizens born to midwives near the US-Mexican border will get a chance to get new passports next month by applying at special mobile units set up by the Department of State.  The mobile units are being set up as part of the settlement for a class-action lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of American citizens who were born at home to midwives near the border.

Because the government suspected some midwives of fraudulently issuing American birth certificates to children born in Mexico, many citizens who had lived their entire lives as US citizens were unable to get a passport.

Now, “certified class members” who have birth certificates signed by midwives, applied for a new passport between April 8, 2003 and Aug. 14, 2009 and had their applications “”filed without further action, “abandoned” or “closed” will be able to reapply for a new passport free of charge. In order to apply at one of the special sites, you will need to have the Department of State verify that you are indeed a certified class member. You can request to be certified as a member of the class here. Getting verified can take up to 4 weeks, but the Brownsville Herald is reporting that it is often much faster.

The mobile units will be set up in the following Texas cities from May 18th to May 23rd: Laredo, San Antonio, El Paso, McAllen, San Antonio, Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Brownsville. For more details, please see the Department of State’s website (link above).

If you qualify as a member of the class, you can reapply without having to pay an application fee. If you apply at one of the sites listed above or at a Regional Passport Agency office, you will also be exempt from paying the $25 execution fee. However, if you resubmit your passport application at an acceptance facility (like your local post office), you will have to pay the $25.00 execution fee.

Getting a new passport generally takes about 6 weeks if you apply with regular processing and about 3 weeks if you apply using the government’s expedited service. Need it faster? RushMyPassport  can submit your passport application directly to the Department of State, resulting in processing times as low as 24 hours.

Apply for your new passport today!

What, exactly, is a “‘honeymoon tester?” Basically, it’s a dream job for any couple that likes to travel.  Here’s the job description, from Runawaybrideandgroom.com:

“Would you be able to sip champagne, while lying in a hammock slung between two palm trees on a white, sandy beach, with your romantically linked partner beside you, without spilling your drink? Well then, you may just have what it takes for the Ultimate Job in Ireland (and probably the world!).”

Sounds like heaven, right? Then hop on over to RunawayBrideandGroom’s website to apply. The Irish travel agency is hiring one lucky couple to spend 6  months testing out luxury honeymoon accommodations in exotic locations like the Maldives, Zanzibar and Thailand.  Not only are all of your (and your significant other’s) travel expenses paid for, Runaway Bride and Groom will also pay you €20,000 to compensate you for all of your “hard work.”

To apply, you and your significant other need to create an 80 second webcast describing why Ireland is an excellent wedding destination and why you and your significant other are the right team for the job.  Entries are due by April 7th.

Travel starts May 10th, 2010, so you should also get your passport application in now, just in case! Typically, it takes at least 6 weeks for your passport application to be processed if you apply for regular service. If you apply for expedited service, you should still allow at least 3 weeks, and that’s cutting it close. Too close for comfort, in my opinion!

If you need your passport sooner, you have two options: making an appointment at the nearest US passport office or using a private passport expediting company to submit your application.  A private passport expediting company is usually the easiest, most convenient way to go, especially if you aren’t located near a US passport agency office.

RushMyPassport will hand-deliver your US passport application to the US Department of State, bumping you up to the “top of the stack” for processing times as low as 24 hours!

Submit your US passport application with us today!