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| Traveling the Globe |
June 27, 2000 |
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| MAKE SURE YOU`RE PREPARED: Here are some tips
The lazy days of Summer are upon us and many people are thinking of making Summer trips. Some may even be planning their holiday trips already! If you’re thinking of going to another country, some pre-planning can make your trip go smoothly.
The Summer months are usually pretty busy for the U.S. Passport Service and for foreign embassies trying to arrange visas. If you’re planning an international trip, you need to allow plenty of time for officials to process those documents. During this season, it can take four to six weeks to get a passport through the normal process. However, the U.S. Passport Service does allow customers to pay an extra $35 for expedited service. Through the expedite service, you can usually get your passport within two to three weeks.
In certain emergency situations, I may be able to provide some assistance. Feel free to call my Albuquerque office at (505) 346-6781.
PASSPORTS
Passports are obtained through the Passports Services Division of the Department of State. Through your local passport acceptance agent, usually at the Post Office, you can apply for a new passport, renew your old one, or do any of a number of things, including replacing a lost, stolen, or damaged passport, or adding new pages to your existing book. The Passport website is very informative and can usually answer any questions you may have.
TRAVELING OVERSEAS
You`ve got your passport and 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.
Also, check the State Department website for travel warning and consular information sheets that provide very helpful information about the country you plan on visiting. The State Department Services website also contains very comprehensive information on all the services it provides both stateside and abroad. This includes crisis assistance for U.S. citizens living or traveling abroad, and various travel publications available on-line.
AMERICAN EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES GENERAL
Many U.S. Diplomatic Missions abroad have information on-line. For those that don`t, check the State Department`s Key Officers of Foreign Service Posts for addresses, and phone and fax numbers for U.S. Embassies and Consulates throughout the world.
Feel free to call my office at 505-346-6781, or drop me an e-mail at Ask.Heather@mail.house.gov, if I can help you in your dealings with a U.S. Embassy or consulate, or with any other questions you may have about traveling abroad. |
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