Passports and Visas
Platts Advises Constituents of New Passport Requirements
Citizens urged to apply as far in advance as possible to avoid travel delays.
Passports are obtained through the Passport Services Division of the Department of State. Through your local passport acceptance agent, usually at the Prothonotary Office in each County Courthouse, you can apply for a new passport, renew your old one, or do any of a number of things, including replace a lost, stolen, or damaged passport, or add new pages to your existing book.
Once you've got your passport, you're ready to go on your trip, right? Not quite. You still have to check with the country or countries you'll be visiting to determine whether or not you'll need a visa. A visa is permission from a country to cross their borders and comes in the form of a stamp in your U.S. Passport. You usually have to mail your passport to the embassy or consulate of the country you'll be visiting, so allow plenty of time to accomplish this.
Passport information
- Check the status of a passport application
- Getting a passport in a hurry
- Guidelines for passport photographs
- Passport applications for minors under the age of 14
- Printable passport applications
- Where to apply for a passport
Visa information
- About United States visas (for visitors to the United States)
- Foreign Entry requirements
- What is a visa?
- Visa Bulletin
- Visa denials
