Passports, some common sense please

[MikeC]

On another board I visit a member was asking about how to get rush service on a passport application. Now what is amazing is that this guy has been talking about his trip for at least six months!!! Common sense would have been to apply for the passport once the plans were made, he didn't.

If you need a passport or you need a renewal do it ASAP. If you are talking about a trip, look at your passport and get the paperwork going now, rather than later.

 

[Kat]

MikeC,

Let me say, from the bottom of my heart...thank you.
Excellent advice.
If I had a dollar for every person I've seen denied boarding for citizenship issues, I'd be a wealthy girl.

 

[H2ODog]

I did something crazy like that last year but found a way around it (other documents). It definitely wasn't as easy crossing the border, immigration looked at my documents rather closesly where as they glanced at my wife's passport.

One can get a rush passport but you have to go in person and expect to wait. Planning ahead is much simpler and allows more time to plan other activities.

 

[Kat]

I wish every country would require a passport. It can be tricky now, with different countries allowing/rejecting different types of documents.

 

[MikeC]

BTW, you can download certain US passport forms off the web. Search for "US passports". Don't know what the rules are in other countries, hope they don't make you jump thru hoops.

 

[baitedstorm]

And the thing is Mike, it's not like it's a difficult process... When I did mine, it was back in two weeks (if even that), but when applied for my oldest daughters, it took almost two months. Failure to plan ahead is just stupid.

 

[Dive-aholic]

Excellent advice. We almost missed going on a trip because we waited to make sure we could get our passports before paying. We went in the day after we got them in the mail and got the last 2 spaces. But we wanted to be sure there wouldn't be any problems with getting the passports before we paid for the trip. It would be really bad to pay a few thousand to go somewhere and then not be able to go cause you can't get into the country...

 

[Tom Smedley]

There is nothing fast in the US government except the IRS. I witnessed the heartbreak of a gentleman who wanted to go to Jamaica with his girlfriend in December. He had a birth certificate but it didn't have a raised notary seal.

Passports are cheap and last for ten years. Get one when you don't need it whether you think you need it or not.

 

[Trisha]

Also check around... we heard a horror story about awful customer service in Oklahoma City from one of our friends in our local dive club. We went to Edmond instead, and my daughters and I were out again within thirty minutes.
Now trying to get my daughter's driver's license test is another matter!

 

[miketsp]

..snip..
Passports are cheap and last for ten years. Get one when you don't need it whether you think you need it or not.

In practice 9 1/2 years because many countries require you to arrive with at least 6 months validity. This is something many people forget and then they need a last minute rush renewal.