Our Weblog: Excerpts of Exports
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
How long does it take to get a passport? If this is your first passport, this is what to do.
T’is the season for looking back at what you accomplished this year and what you want to achieve in ‘08. If out of country travel, either for business or pleasure, is what you are planning, you will need a passport.*
If this is your first passport,
1. Download the passport application form from http://travel.state.gov.passport. You will also find processing agencies in your area and be able to check on the status of your application once you have applied.
2. Complete the form but do not sign it. You will need to sign it in front of the passport agent.
3. Bring proof of U.S. citizenship which can be a:
- Certified birth certificate or
- Certificate of citizenship or
- Naturalization certificate
4. Proof of Identity which can be a:
- Valid photo ID or
- Driver’s License
Take the above to a passport agency; most provide passport photo service for an additional fee. If the passport agency does not provide this service, you will need to get your passport photos ahead of time. What you need to know before having your picture taken:
1. No hats (so no hiding a bad hair day).
2. No sunglasses
3. No teeth or in official parlance “closed-mouth smiling” only. Nothing to do with happy or only slightly happy but rather teeth can impede face recognition technology.
4. No photos from a vending machine.
To answer the question…how long does it take to get a passport? You will receive your passport and all your documentation four to six weeks after receipt of information. Allow for extra time if you apply the first half of the year.
* Having lived in two border states and not having needed a passport to enter Canada or Mexico or return, times have changed. While you can still enter some countries without a passport, you cannot return to the U.S. without one. This requirement will soon cover air, ship, rail and auto travel sometime in 2008 so you might as well apply for a passport now.
Update on Passports/papers to travel to Mexico and Canada.
Starting 1 February 2008, U.S. residents who frequently travel to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean or Bermuda can apply for an alternative to the passport which is a passport card. The Passport Card is cheaper and smaller and can fit in your wallet. The cost is $45. for adults, $35 for children and lasts 10 years for adults and 5 years for children. This is only for travel by land or by sea.
When traveling by air, you need a passport. (See above). These cards will be issued by the Spring. If you don’t have a passport, and are traveling by land or sea, you must have government issued ID, like a driver’s license and proof of citizenship like a birth certificate.