AlanWald
Contributor
USA Passport fees going up in March 2010. I forgot to ask how much.
I was at the LA Times Travel show yesterday and stopped by the US Passport Agency booth and they told me passport agency fees would be going up in March. Also they will begin to charge for adding extra passport pages.
If you expect to be doing a lot of traveling involving a lot of stamping of pages, visas sticklers that take up the whole page (like in Indonesia, you would need one page for the visa sticker) etc. it may be a good idea to get the thicker passport (the standard one has about 17 pages) that has a lot more pages.
You must write a separate letter requesting the thicker passport with more pages and submit that with your application
There is no box to check on the application form. I am sure the reason for this is that if there were a box to check a lot of people who don't really need the thicker passport would check it.
My passport issued at the end of 2005 has 48 numbered pages, but the last three are for amendments and the first seven are not usable for visas and entry/exit stamps. That leaves 38 usable pages in the 48 page passport.
Most European countries do not stamp your passport. Theoretically going to countries that stamp you in and out without an additional full page visa sticker would, if they were neat about it. would allow two in and outs per visa page.
Remember various countries have requirements that your passport be valid for a certain number of month upon arrival, if you are just staying a few days.
Most European countries require 3 months of remaining validity. Indonesia requires six months. Check for current information. The airlines will not even let you board the plane.
An American friend of mine who lives in the Netherlands was trying to leave the US to return to the Netherlands and they denied him boarding at the airport in Los Angeles. He then had call the USA Embassy in the Netherlands who contacted the airlines and said that it OK for my friend to fly to the Netherlands with a passport with less than three months validity as they would issue him a new one upon arrival. My friend confirmed by phone with the airlines here that they had received the communication for the US Embassy in the Netherlands and everything would be OK. And of course when he arrived he was denied boarding a second time. Finally he got out on an third attempt.
If you travel a lot by land across from US to Canada or Mexico by land you may be able to use the Passport Card, the size of a credit card that can be had for a US $20. You can get this at the same time as your passport. And Yes, you can have a regular passport (known as the passport book) and the card at the same time. I asked the passport agency people and it is clearly indicated on the application form (same form for both card and book)
In some countries like Israel they may offer to not stamp your passport but instead to stamp a loose piece of paper that you keep with your passport in case you are going later to an Arab or Muslim country that may object to the fact that you have been to Israel. I don't know the current policies, maybe some can comment on that.
I highly recommend purchasing a passport sized heavy vinyl document holder with a ziplock closure like the one made by Omniseal of Seattle. Washington., USA. They make one that is passport size as well as smaller credit card sized ones and much larger ones. They are very durable and I have used them for years.
Omniseal Waterproof Wallet Holder 5.5/8" x 4.1/4" about Five US dollars online or at backpacking stores like REI Coop in the US.
I was at the LA Times Travel show yesterday and stopped by the US Passport Agency booth and they told me passport agency fees would be going up in March. Also they will begin to charge for adding extra passport pages.
If you expect to be doing a lot of traveling involving a lot of stamping of pages, visas sticklers that take up the whole page (like in Indonesia, you would need one page for the visa sticker) etc. it may be a good idea to get the thicker passport (the standard one has about 17 pages) that has a lot more pages.
You must write a separate letter requesting the thicker passport with more pages and submit that with your application
There is no box to check on the application form. I am sure the reason for this is that if there were a box to check a lot of people who don't really need the thicker passport would check it.
My passport issued at the end of 2005 has 48 numbered pages, but the last three are for amendments and the first seven are not usable for visas and entry/exit stamps. That leaves 38 usable pages in the 48 page passport.
Most European countries do not stamp your passport. Theoretically going to countries that stamp you in and out without an additional full page visa sticker would, if they were neat about it. would allow two in and outs per visa page.
Remember various countries have requirements that your passport be valid for a certain number of month upon arrival, if you are just staying a few days.
Most European countries require 3 months of remaining validity. Indonesia requires six months. Check for current information. The airlines will not even let you board the plane.
An American friend of mine who lives in the Netherlands was trying to leave the US to return to the Netherlands and they denied him boarding at the airport in Los Angeles. He then had call the USA Embassy in the Netherlands who contacted the airlines and said that it OK for my friend to fly to the Netherlands with a passport with less than three months validity as they would issue him a new one upon arrival. My friend confirmed by phone with the airlines here that they had received the communication for the US Embassy in the Netherlands and everything would be OK. And of course when he arrived he was denied boarding a second time. Finally he got out on an third attempt.
If you travel a lot by land across from US to Canada or Mexico by land you may be able to use the Passport Card, the size of a credit card that can be had for a US $20. You can get this at the same time as your passport. And Yes, you can have a regular passport (known as the passport book) and the card at the same time. I asked the passport agency people and it is clearly indicated on the application form (same form for both card and book)
In some countries like Israel they may offer to not stamp your passport but instead to stamp a loose piece of paper that you keep with your passport in case you are going later to an Arab or Muslim country that may object to the fact that you have been to Israel. I don't know the current policies, maybe some can comment on that.
I highly recommend purchasing a passport sized heavy vinyl document holder with a ziplock closure like the one made by Omniseal of Seattle. Washington., USA. They make one that is passport size as well as smaller credit card sized ones and much larger ones. They are very durable and I have used them for years.
Omniseal Waterproof Wallet Holder 5.5/8" x 4.1/4" about Five US dollars online or at backpacking stores like REI Coop in the US.
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They added 22 extra pages so that should cover me for a while!
