Passport

[gregintenn]

Yesterday I had little else to do, so the wife and I went to the courthouse to apply for passports. They gave us an application, and we had to go to the local drug store to get our official photos made. That was $7.99 each. We then filled out the applications and returned to the courthouse to stand in line for about an hour. After that, I wrote the court clerk a check for $50. I don't know why. I also wrote two seperate checks for $75 each to the Dept. of State, and mailed them off with our original birth certificates to God knows where. I've never traveled much, but I'm not sure I want to leave the country this bad!

 

[Sistema1927]

10 years from now your renewal will be easier since you can do that completely by mail.

My renewal for my US Passport is presently being processed, as well as the renewal of my Canadian (5 year cycle) passport. I am a dual citizen, and both of them came due at the same time.

 

[DeathGrip]

Thanks for the reminder,My wife said both of ours are due.
What's another bill?Taxes,insurance and such,I can't seem to get a break this time of year.

D.G.

 

[Faulkner]

I went to the local US Post Office last year and got my application. Took it home and filled it out, got a certified copy of my birth certificate, and went back to the Post Office a couple of days later for them to take my picture and information packet. Wait time was about three minutes.

I've been out of the country four times since I got it; went through Canada on my way to Alaska, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, and New Orleans.

 

[loutent]

Funny you should mention this - we mailed our papers and expired passports for renewal yesterday - still had to get pictures etc and send them in registered, but a lot easier than the first time. I was happy to find that one can renew within 5 years of expiration - I thought that we would have to start all over again (original ones 1997.)

Where are we going? Who knows - maybe England (nephew there) or Nicaragua (niece there) but there's a lot of the USA that we haven't seen yet either - pretty soon we may need a passport to get into CA or NY - or at least we should.

 

[all5x]

Extra ID..

Not sure if you were offered the Travel ID that goes along with the Passport..I go to San Deigo often to fish in Mexican waters and you have to go through Customs and Border Patrol(CBP) upon your return..I go by private boat so it is a must..have been stopped coming back by the go-fast boats and told to go into customs dock for checking..anyway the Travel ID is about the size of a credit card and you can use it for coming back into the country except if you fly back into the U.S. which I have not done yet..east to carry versus the passport book..and it is good for as long as the passport is good for..only cost $10 extra I think..you can keep both passport and get the travel ID if you request it in writing..a neat new perk..all5x

 

[truckemup97]

Not sure if you were offered the Travel ID that goes along with the Passport..

Do you know if that works when driving to/from Canada?

 

[Evil One]

The "travel ID"... are you talking about the passport card?
If so, it was designed for ground and water travel mainly to canada and mexico.
I spent the last 6 months of '09 working in canada.
Crossed the border daily for the last 4 months. with one.


Jim

 

[Vegetaman]

I got a passport a few years back, and I was able to get it and get it back in 1/3 of the time it took me to get my FOID card in Illinois. Go figure.

 

[enfield]

The card works going into and out of Canada, at least it does at Detroit.

 

[LennyLames]

Just renewed mine this past December. My previous passport book only had 2 blank pages left. Filled the application online, printed it, then went to post office to mail my previous passport book, 2 photos, application form, and check. I took the opportunity to also apply for passport card. By combining the passport book and card application, I didn't have to send additional passport photos, and only had to pay $20 more for the card. Total fee was $95 for both regular passport book renewal & passport card). See list of fees: Passport Fees

I received my new passport book 16 days later. Passport card arrived one day later, and my old passport book came after another couple of days.

Passport card can be used for land and sea arrivals from Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Bermuda. See Frequently Asked Questions and subsequent sections.

Your $50 fee was probably the the execution fee of $25 x 2, explained at Frequently Asked Questions Also see Where to Apply for a Passport Nationwide for passport fees.