Expedited Passports

The government of Scotland is preparing to make a formal request to the British government: hand over William Wallace’s passport.  William Wallace, the Scottish hero who inspired the movie Braveheart, may have had the passport with him when he was arrested by the English. The English never gave it back, instead storing it in their National Archives.

The Times Online quotes Scottish official Christine Grahame explaining why the passport should be returned:

“This is a very significant historical document related to [one of] Scotland’s most iconic and lasting national heroes. There are very few artefacts in existence which are believed to have been handled directly by Wallace and the return of his Safe Conduct would be an important step in better understanding this period. It is entirely inappropriate that it should languish, forgotten in some closed drawer in Surrey and I urge the UK National Archive to pass it to the National Museum of Scotland where it can be properly displayed.”

Naturally, William Wallace’s passport looked nothing like the familiar passport books you see today. In fact, in those days a passport was actually a letter written by a head of state, granting “Safe Conduct” to the bearer. Wallace’s letter was written by King Philip IV of France, granting Wallace safe conduct to travel to Rome where he hope to gain the support of the Pope.

A copy of the letter, as well as a translation, is viewable online here.

Fortunately, today you don’t have to petition a head of state directly for your passport. However, applying for one can still be a difficult and time-consuming process. RushMyPassport can help. We provide you with professional assistance and handy checklists that make filling out the forms a snap and reduce the chance of mistakes that could hold up your application. Then, we hand-deliver your application to the Department of State, cutting processing time down to as little as 24 hours.

Apply for your passport today!

It may still be cold and gloomy outside in many parts of the country, but make no mistake: spring is coming! That means it’s time to start planning for Spring Break.  And if your Spring Break plans are taking you outside of the country, you may need to get a passport.

To help you with your travel plans, here are the passport requirements for some of the more popular spring break travel destinations:

Mexico

Warm blue water,  gorgeous beaches and margaritas galore-what more could you want in a spring break destination? You probably need to get a passport before you can go party in Cancun, though.  For more details, see:

Do You Need a Passport to Go to Mexico?

US Citizens Visiting Mexico Face New Passport Requirements

Canada

If you prefer skiing and other winter sports to lazing around on the beach, Canada has some excellent ski resorts.  Most trips to Canada will require a passport.  For details of Canada’s passport requirements, see Do You Need a Passport to Go to Canada?

Europe

If you have the funds, springtime is one of the best times to visit Europe. The weather is nice, and because “high season” for travel to most European destinations is in the summer, visiting Europe in the spring means you get lower prices and fewer crowds.

Travel to Europe always and without exception requires a US passport.

The Caribbean

The Caribbean is another great place to go for a laid-back vacation filled with sun and sand.  However, most Caribbean travelers will need to get a passport before they leave.  For details, see:

Do You Need a Passport to Go to the Caribbean?

Cruises

A spring break cruise allows you to easily visit many different destinations for a great price.  Passport requirements for cruises depend on where you go. For more details, see:

Do You Need a Passport to Go On a Cruise?

If you need to get a passport for Spring Break, you’d better hurry-you don’t have much time. Regular passport processing can take at least 6 weeks. The government’s expedited processing option takes 2 to 3 weeks and costs an additional $60 plus overnight delivery fees.

If you need to get  a passport sooner than that, the most convenient way  is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com.  An expediting company will deliver your documents to directly to the Department of State, for processing times as low as 24 hours.

Get a passport today!

Did you know that the first US passports were actually printed by Ben Franklin? According to this book review of “The Passport: The History Of Man’s Most Travelled Document,” the first US passports were made especially for the  United States legation in Paris, France around 1777. Franklin modeled them after the French passports of the time, and printed them from his own printing press.

However, passports did not become commonplace until 1918, when carrying them abroad became mandatory instead of merely advisable.  According to the US Department of State’s blog, passports during this period consisted of a large sheet of paper with the bearer’s photo and other information, pasted into a book cover, and were “bulky and inconvenient to carry.”  By 1926, a lighter, more durable design had been unveiled, which more closely resembles the passport books we carry today.

Additional modifications were made to the design of US passports over the years, usually with the aim of making them harder to forge. For example, background watermark images were added and the binding was tied with special knots. Today, passports contain an RFID chip to that connects to the Department of State’s database, making them even more difficult to forge. We also have the smaller, wallet-sized passport card, although it is only valid for land and sea crossings to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

When applying for a passport today, it is important to allow enough time for the government to process your request. If you apply for regular service, allow at least 6 weeks (maybe longer if the Passport Office is going through a busy period). If you apply for the government’s expedited service, expect to wait at least 3 weeks.

To get your passport faster, a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com can be a real help. With RushMyPassport.com, your application could be processed in as little as 24 hours!

Apply for you US Passport today!

It seems like every time you turn around, there’s a new security rule you have to remember at the airport.  Now, TSA has begun a new program called “Secure Flight,” which attempts to reduce the number of people who are misidentified as being on the government’s no-fly list for suspected terrorists. As a result, your airline will now ask you to provide your name exactly as it appears on your driver’s license or passport-whichever ID you plan to present at the gate.

The New York Times’ Practical Traveler blog has a great article about the Secure Flight initiative and what it means for you. Basically, you need to start making sure that your name is the same on all of the documents you use for travel (passport, driver’s license, frequent-flier accounts, etc).  Right now, Secure Flight is still being phased in, and small differences such as having your full middle name on your passport and your middle initial only on the ticket should not keep you from flying.

However, more significant differences between the name on your passport and the name on your ticket can lead airline security to pull you aside for the dreaded “secondary screening.” For example, going by your middle name on your ticket when your passport has your full name can cause problems when you try to board the plane, even if you go by your middle name in everyday life. Whether or not you will be allowed to eventually board the plane is a toss-up, and depends on the judgment of the agent screening you. (more…)

The new Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, just came out yesterday. Hardcore Harry Potter fans have probably already seen it, maybe even more than once. The next film, the first installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is not going to be out until next November. What’s a Harry Potter fan (young or old) to do until then?

Well, you could get a passport and take a plane to Great Britain, where the books were set and the movies were filmed.  Naturally, Harry Potter-themed tours have sprung up in London, as well as in other locations used in the films. For example,  you can see Platform 9 3/4 in King’s Cross station, (or, rather, a baggage cart that appears to be disappearing into the wall where Platform 9 3/4 would be if Muggles like us could see it).

Other London locations that were featured in Harry Potter films include the London Zoo (Little Whinging Zoo), the Australian High Commission (Gringotts Wizarding Bank) and Charing Cross Road (Diagon Alley). You can get a free PDF  of a self-directed Harry Potter London walking tour here.

You can also visit Oxford, where many of the scenes from inside Hogwarts’ library and dining room were filmed.  Other scenes from inside Hogwarts were filmed inside Gloucester Cathedral. Don’t forget to visit Glenfinnan Viaduct (Hogwart’s Express) and Alnwick Castle, too! (more…)

Today, Border Patrol officials began asking Americans for passports at the American and Canadian borders.  The final phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative is in effect, and a passport or another government-approved document is now required to re-enter the country.

How has this affected traffic across the borders? Not much, it seems. The Houston Chronicle is reporting that wait times at both the northern border with Canada and the southern border with Mexico are normal today, and that the new rules haven’t caused an increase in travel time for most American citizens.

However, not everyone who regularly crosses the border has the correct documents.  FoxTV in El Paso reported that a flood of people applying for a last-minute passport has led some residents to camp out at the local county courthouse to make sure that their passport application gets in.

The new regulations require that American citizens returning from Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean show a US passport, US passport card, or other approved ID to reenter the country. There are some exceptions for children and certain cruise passengers.  For more on the new regulations, see Do I Need a Passport For Travel To Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean?

For now, the government is letting people through without passports with a written warning, often after delaying them for a background check. However, they aren’t saying how long that policy will continue, so if you’re planning on visiting our neighbors to the north and south anytime soon, you need to apply for a passport.

Passport applications usually about two months to process, so you should apply well in advance. Even if you ask for the government’s expedited processing service, expect to wait at least a month. For faster service, you can submit your application through a private passport expediting company instead. These companies will carry your application to the Department of State by hand for processing times that can be as quick as 24 hours. Unlike the process of applying for an emergency passport directly through the government, there are no appointments necessary and you don’t have to travel out of your way to a Passport Agency office. The expediting company handles all of that for you!

Don’t get caught unprepared at the border-order your passport today!

A BBC show called “Flog It” has unearthed a 400-year-old passport signed by King Charles the 1st. The document was issued to a 17th-century ship Captain, Captain Bradshaw, and is being valued at up to $20,000 pounds. The lucky owner received it as a birthday present from her husband, who paid only a hundred pounds for it.

What did passports look like that long ago? Unsurprisingly, a passport from 1641 bears little resemblance to its modern counterpart. There is no photo on the front, and no place for visa stamps.  The document was written by hand on vellum parchment, made from calfskin. According to the BBC, the writing on the scroll ” gives passage to a Captain Bradshaw and his wife and servants to travel the oceans on behalf of the king.”

These days, if you tried to enter another country with a document like that, you’d be detained immediately. So, it’s important to make sure you have a passport before you leave on an international trip. You should apply for your passport early, too-preferably at least 2 or three months before your scheduled departure date.

If you need to get a passport in a hurry, a private expediting company like RushmyPassport.com is the way to go. You’ll get personal attention and service, along with superfast processing times. An expediting company will had-deliver your application, and can have it processed in as little as 24 hours.

Get ready for your trip today by ordering your passport now!

Naturally, this is a critical question for anyone planning an international trip. If you don’t have your passport in hand when it’s time to board the plane, you won’t be allowed on.  If you have to cancel or even postpone an international trip, you’ll lose a good deal of money! (more…)