Passports are obtained through the Passport Services Division of the Department of State. Through your local passport acceptance agent, usually at the Post Office, you can apply for a new passport, renew your old one, or do any of a number of things, including replacing a lost, stolen, or damaged passport, or adding new pages to your existing book.
Traveling Overseas You've got your passport and you're ready to go on your trip, right? Not quite. You still have to check with the country or countries you'll be visiting to determine whether or not you'll need a visa. A visa is permission from a country to cross their borders and comes in the form of a stamp in your U.S. Passport. You usually have to mail your passport to the Embassy or Consulate of the country you'll be visiting, so allow plenty of time to accomplish this. Also, check the State Department website for travel warning and consular information sheets that provide very helpful information about the country you plan on visiting. The State Department services website also contains very comprehensive information on all the services it provides both stateside and abroad. This includes crisis assistance for U.S. citizens living or traveling abroad, and various travel publications available on-line.
American Embassies and Consulates General Many U.S. Diplomatic Missions abroad have information on-line. For those that don't, check the State Department's Key Officers of Foreign Service Posts for addresses, and phone and fax numbers for U.S. Embassies and Consulates throughout the world.
Passports in a hurry Passports usually take from 30 to 40 days to issue. For a $60.00 fee--plus the cost of 2-way overnight mail--you can "expedite" this process and receive your passport in 7 to 10 days.
New Passport Requirements Until 2007, American travelers returning from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean needed only to present a driver’s license or birth certificate to re-enter the country. While that system worked at one time, the attacks of September 11, 2001, revealed the necessity to tighten the requirements for entry in the U.S. Upon the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, Congress mandated the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) in 2004 to strengthen border security. As part of this program, beginning January 23, 2007, U.S. citizens returning from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean need a passport for re-entry. While the State Department thought it was prepared for the increase in demand for passports, it soon found out it wasn’t. The backlog left many Americans with travel plans biting their nails as their travel date arrived but their passport didn’t. Within the next year, the State Department plans to hire hundreds of new employees to hurry the processing. The requirements for re-entry have been loosened through September 30, 2007. Until that time, Americans traveling by air who have applied for, but not yet received, their passports can re-enter by presenting a government- issued photo ID and a proof of application from the Department of State. After September 30, a passport will again be required. .
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