Help with Passports
All U.S. citizens – including minor children – are required to have a valid passport for air travel to and from the United States and Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
As a result, demand for new passports is extraordinarily high – as many as one million passport applications were submitted to the State Department each month in 2007, a 44 percent increase over 2006.
The State Department announced in March 2007 that routine passport processing could take 10 weeks instead of the previous six, and expedited processing could take four weeks instead of two weeks.
For adults seeking their first passport, the routine processing fee is $97 with an additional $60 charge for expedited service. Passport renewals for adults cost $67, with the same expedited fee.
If you have questions about applying for or renewing a passport, please contact State Department representatives, who are available from 7 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday at 877 487-2778.
If you are traveling or need your passport to secure a visa within the next two weeks, call toll-free 877-487-2778 or you can check the status of your passport application online at the State Department’s special travel web site http://www.travel.state.gov/.
New Application for a U.S. Passport
To obtain a passport for the first time, you need to go in person to one dozens of passport acceptance facilities located throughout the 5th District. You must bring two photographs of yourself, proof of U.S. citizenship, and a valid form of photo identification such as a driver’s license.
Acceptance facilities include many federal, state and probate courts, post offices, some public libraries and a number of county and municipal offices. There are also 13 regional passport agencies that serve customers who are traveling within two weeks or who need foreign visas for travel. Appointments are required in such cases.
You’ll need to apply in person if you are applying for a U.S. passport for the first time; if your expired U.S. passport is not in your possession; if your previous U.S. passport has expired and was issued more than 15 years ago; if your previous U.S. passport was issued when you were under age 16; or if your currently valid U.S. passport has been lost or stolen.
For more information on securing a new passport, please visit the State Department’s How to get a passport.
Renewal of a U.S. Passport
You can renew by mail if: Your most recent passport is available to submit and it is not damaged; you received the passport within the past 15 years; you were over age 16 when it was issued; you still have the same name, or can legally document your name change.
If your passport has been, altered or damaged, you cannot apply by mail. You must apply in person.
For more information on how to renew a passport, please visit the State Department’s How to renew a passport page.
Dan can also help
If you need further assistance with passport problems, please contact us.
