Passport Information Travelers Wish They Knew

If you think you know how to get a US passport, think again. New passport rules and facial recognition make traveling a whole new ball game.

The horror stories are true: couples abandoning honeymoon plans thanks to unbearably long passport application processing times. Why so long to apply for a passport? As of January 2007, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) mandated that anyone traveling to Mexico, the Caribbean, and even Canada needs a valid US passport. Unprepared travelers may encounter a 6-month logjam for their US passport, many forced to stay home and wait it out.

Before you start booking your travel abroad, there are two issues you’ll have to address: processing your passport application or passport renewal, and making sure you’re in compliance with foreign entry requirements (visas, travel immunizations, etc.). The latter is different for every country, so be sure to contact the local embassy for specific details. Allow time for processing, just like you would when you apply for a passport. And don’t be surprised if there is a cost associated with obtaining proper visas and travel immunizations.

Your US passport is an internationally recognized form of identification needed to enter and leave most foreign destinations. Because the processing time when you apply for a passport can vary, please, please, please submit your passport information for processing at least four months prior to your departure date. There are expedited processing services, but they cost an extra $60 per passport application, express mail fees both ways, and still may take up to two weeks to get to you. Save yourself the hassle and apply early.

New passport information is relatively easy to understand. You’ll need to submit your passport application in person at a passport office, including post offices, libraries and government offices. In addition to the passport application itself, you’ll need to have two 2”x2” photographs of your face with a white background. There are a ton of drugstores, copy centers and professional photographers that can handle this for you for a fee. Be sure to have proof of US citizenship when you apply for a passport, as well as proof of identity. Forget the social security cards; you’ll be turned away. Oh, and if your birth certificate isn’t an original with the official seal embossed into it, they’ll send you back as well. Prices for passport applications vary, so verify with the State Department to make sure.

Now, a passport renewal is one of the few times you can process your passport application by mail – under strict conditions, of course. You’ll need your most recent US passport that is 15 years old or younger. You must have been 16 years or older when your US passport was first issued, and must still have the same name or a legal document verifying name change. Any variances on this passport information means you’ll have to do it in-person. Sorry.

Stepping into the technological age, passport information has gone microchip. E-passports are staring to be issued for passport applications nowadays, which have a small microchip embedded in the back cover of the passport itself. The chip has the same information that the ID part of your US passport has, but it allows immigration in participating countries to use facial recognition as necessary. E-passports are designed to speed up the immigration process with dedicated lines and faster processing. Although there are security measures in place to deter “skimming” or “eavesdropping” of your personal passport information, there are shielding devices in the spine and cover of your E-passport that keep your passport information safe from ne’er do wells. This means keep your passport closed at all times.

With a bit of organization, some searching on the web and starting early, you can get your passport application, proper visas and travel immunizations taken care of. Take the time to pre-register your trip with the embassies of the countries you’ll be visiting. This way if there is an emergency or disaster, you can be contacted and/or evacuated. Better safe than sorry.