Travelore Report, Monthly In Print Since 1971: U.S. Passport tips

Showing posts with label U.S. Passport tips. Show all posts

Friday, August 30, 2019

Travelore Tips: You Can Now Renew Your Passport In As Little As 24 hours. Here’s How.

(Washington Post illustration; iStock)

No one wants to wait for anything in 2019. TV shows come out in full seasons for binge-watching on streaming apps. You can get drones delivered in hours. Yet in a world where you can get just about anything quickly, certain bureaucratic tasks take a relative eternity. Like getting a passport.

Fortunately for procrastinators everywhere, FedEx Office has decided to speed things up. Thanks to a new partnership with RushMyPassport, travelers in the United States can now get their American passports processed in as little as 24 hours.

“This just launched recently, and we’ve seen a significant volume in customers coming in for the service," says Kim Dixon, executive vice president and chief operating officer at FedEx Office. “Interestingly, it is a mix of both consumer needs as well as business needs.”

While other passport expediting services do already exist, the new partnership makes dealing with passport woes a little more convenient. That means when you realize that your trip to Belize is just days away and you’re out of pages, you don’t have to start weeping. You can visit one of FedEx Office’s 2,000 locations instead, or solve your problems online.

“We’ve had issues with folks who didn’t know the timing for [passport processing by] the government is taking longer,” says Dixon. "It’s extended beyond what it used to be. That’s a challenge for people. There’s only 26 passport offices throughout the United States. That’s not convenient.”

For the online option, the first step is to head to the FedEx Office website and fill out an application. You can apply to get your passport renewed; report a lost, stolen or damaged passport; have your name changed; apply for a second passport; or get one for a child.

Taking care of things in person is a better option if you need to get your passport photograph taken. Any FedEx Office location offers photo services, which saves you a panicked visit to Walgreens for an awkward snapshot. After the photo, customers are guided to a computer area of the store and shown how to complete the transaction online.

You’ll have to pay a government fee of $170, then rates skyrocket from there based on how quickly you need the goods. There’s a range of prices depending on your timetable. Same-day service will cost you $449, while the cheapest and slowest option, eight to 10 days, costs $119. Then there are shipping costs. FedEx standard overnight is $29.95, FedEx priority overnight is $39.95, and FedEx priority overnight including a Saturday is $54.95.

[What to do when you lose your passport overseas]

Once you’ve submitted your application, you can keep track of the action thanks to the service’s full tracking visibility. Note that just because you are processing it in one business day, doesn’t mean you’re getting your passport back in one business day. Your passport still has to be shipped to you in most cases.

“For example, by choosing the 24-hour service option on Monday, FedEx will receive your application and begin processing Tuesday morning,” the FedEx website reads. “By Tuesday afternoon, your passport will be shipped to you for Wednesday delivery. You may be eligible to pick up your passport Tuesday afternoon or have it delivered the same day in select cities.”

Discovering you have a passport problem right before a trip can be a nightmare. But rest easy knowing that if you have an extra $500 or $600 available, FedEx Office is there to help.

Monday, March 7, 2016

Now You Can Renew Your Passport With An App

The demand for passport renewals has spiked because the State Department has stopped adding visa pages to U.S. passports. (iStock)

Forget schlepping to the post office or the DMV. If you have a smartphone, an envelope and a credit card, you can now renew your passport at home.

Ten years after the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) required Americans traveling to Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda to carry U.S. passports, the ItsEasy Passport Renewal & Photo app has arrived just in time for tens of millions of Americans whose passports will soon expire. The app, a free download, was released this month for iPhones and will soon be available for Android phones.

“Nearly 10 years after implementation of the WHTI and the associated surge of passport applications, the Bureau of Consular Affairs is preparing for an anticipated surge as those applicants renew their passports,” said William Cocks, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs. “We expect increased passport applications to continue through 2018.”

Frequent flyers may need passport renewals, too, because the State Department has stopped adding visa pages to U.S. passports. Until this year, passport holders could pay to have 24-page visa inserts added when their passports were full.

The ItsEasy app guides customers through the passport renewal process, starting with determining whether the expired passport is actually renewable.

There are numerous reasons why a passport may not be renewable, said David Alwadish, CEO and president of the app’s developer, ItsEasy.com. “For example, the traveler may not have the most recent passport in his or her possession, or it may be damaged beyond what is acceptable to the Department of State. Or the most recent passport may have expired more than five years ago.

“In each of these cases, the customer would need to apply for a new passport rather than a renewal.”

The ItsEasy app provides guidelines for taking a passport photo with your smartphone, and a gauge to help ensure that faces are sized to the proper dimensions.

The app sends an email with a printable passport renewal form and a USPS Priority Mail shipping label to be affixed to a 9 x 12 envelope. The user fills out the renewal form, puts it in the envelope with his most recent passport and then drops it in any mailbox.

The State Department charges $110 to renew a passport within the standard time frame (about six weeks, according to Cocks), and $170 for an expedited one. There’s an additional service fee of $29.95 if you use the ItsEasy app.

ItsEasy provides some nifty services for free, though. “If you submit your email address and your passport’s expiration date, we will send you a reminder nine months before your passport expires,” Alwadish said.

The app also has a panic button. “In the event that your passport is lost or stolen, we provide step-by-step instructions on what to do if you’re abroad or in the United States.”

Uncle Sam’s best advice for passport holders? Don’t wait until the last minute to renew.

“Applying early will allow you to save the additional $60 expedite fee,” said Cocks. “If you have a valid passport, be sure to check its expiration date before you make travel reservations. Some countries will not let you enter if your passport will expire in fewer than six months.”

By Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, the family vacations expert at About.com.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Travelore Tips: For US Travelers With Full Passports, Time To Get A New One

By BRADLEY KLAPPER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attention, international business travelers: The U.S. government will stop providing extra pages for visas and stamps when your passports fill up.

As of Jan. 1, the State Department is eliminating the 24-page inserts that Americans can buy when their passports lack space for entry and exit stamps.

A statement says the decision will enhance security and bring the U.S. in line with international passport standards.

That means if your U.S. passport fills up, you'll soon have to buy a new one.

U.S. citizens can purchase a 28-page or 52-page passport.

To help frequent travelers, the department says it's issued the larger passport at no additional cost to all applicants outside the U.S. since October 2014.

It will accept requests for extra pages through the end of the year.