As national security measures become ever more strict, even Americans who have lived here all of their lives sometimes have a hard time getting a new passport.  This is especially true of older Americans, born in a time when record-keeping was not as strict. For example, June Cloud was born 61 years ago at home in Kilgore, Texas, and the doctor who delivered her did not submit the necessary paperwork for her to be issued a birth certificate.

According to an article on  KLTV.com, she applied for a new passport so that she could go on a cruise with her husband, but the delayed birth certificate she got from the state of Texas was not accepted by the Department of State.  The article notes:

Unless she comes up with proof of her first five years, Cloud will remain without a passport, missing the trip of her dreams. She says Congressman Louie Gohmert’s Office, along with the Gregg County Clerk’s Office, are now helping her in her quest for a passport.

Fortunately, this story does have a happy ending. Their efforts were successful, and last week KLTV noted Cloud had been issued a passport after all, just in time for the August cruise.

These stories highlight how important it is to apply for your passport as early as possible.  If you have any reason to be concerned, you might also want to consider using the services of a professional passport expediting company. While these companies can’t change the Department of State’s decision on whether or not to issue you a passport, they can get your application processed more quickly. That way, if there are any problems, you’ll know about them more quickly and can deal with them as soon as possible.

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Charles Chatman was sent to prison  for 27 years for a crime he didn’t commit. Now, 2 years after DNA evidence from the case exonerated him, he is still having trouble getting a US passport.

According to DallasNews.com, Mr. Chatman went to jail in 1981 on a rape conviction, the result of a mistaken identification.  He always maintained his innocence, but it wasn’t until 2001 that Texas state law allowed prisoners to request DNA tests of existing evidence. It took officials two more years to find the evidence in his case, and it was not until 2007 that a test was developed that was sensitive enough to use.

In 2007, Mr. Chatman was exonerated and released from prison. He began building a new life for himself, fell in love and conceived a child.  He wanted to take his partner on a cruise for Valentine’s Day, and to do that, he needed a passport.

However, even though 2 years had passed since he was released from prison, his record still indicated to US passport officials that he was a felon who had not yet completed his sentence. If you are convicted of a felony, in most cases you can get a passport once you’ve served your sentence, but if you are still under supervision, you’re out of luck.

Since the State Department would not issue Mr. Chatman a passport, he was unable to take the cruise, and would have been out all of his money if the media hadn’t gotten involved.  Fortunately, once the situation was publicized, Carnival issued a credit.  Hopefully, he gets his US passport soon and he and his girlfriend get a much-deserved vacation!

This situation demonstrates why it’s important to apply for an expedited passport if you think there’s anything that could possibly go wrong.  The sooner you know that there’s a problem, the sooner you can get it fixed, and the less likely you are to miss your trip.

Apply for your US passport today!

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Jimmy Woodson had no idea it could take so long to get passport services.  According to the South Bend Tribune, the Niles, Indiana man applied for a new passport 6 months ago, at the same time as his wife and 11-year-old son. They got their passports a few weeks later, but Mr. Woodson is still waiting.

The problem? He was born in Nacogdoches, Texas in 1951. Instead of going to the hospital to give birth, his mother chose to have him at home with the help of a midwife. Unfortunately for Mr. Woodson, his mother thought the midwife had also taken care of filing the birth certificate. She didn’t. Mr. Woodson’s mother didn’t find out that the birth certificate wasn’t filed until 6 years later.  She filed for a birth certificate for her son at that time, but any birth certificate filed more than a year after the birth of a child raises red flags at the State Department.

In the South Bend Tribune article, Mr. Woodson described how frustrating the process of applying for passport services has been for him:

“They refused me, because the birth certificate my mother applied for was six years late,” he said. “They sent me two affidavits to be filled out by relatives, so I did that. Then they sent me two more affidavits. They said the information wasn’t acceptable.”

Currently, Mr. Woodson’s Congressional Representative is attempting to resolve the issue for him.

Mr. Woodson’s experience illustrates why it is important to apply for your passport well in advance of a planned vacation.  If your birth certificate was filed late, you can increase your chances of having your application processed on the first try by also submitting early public records, such as census records, baptismal records, records of post-natal care,  or a family Bible record. See the Department of State’s web site for more information about secondary proof of citizenship.

However, if you are relying on secondary proof of citizenship, be aware that the State Department considers each of these applications on a case-by-case basis.

A private expediting company like RushMyPassport.com can help make the process of applying for passport services easier and less intimidating. Although we can’t make the Department of State issue a passport if they’ve determined they need more documentation, we can help you avoid common mistakes that can hold up your application.

Plus, we hand-deliver your application to the Department of State for super-fast processing times-often as short as 24 hours!

Apply for passport services with us today!

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