Travel Advice: How To Get A Passport

Anyone considering international travel will need a passport. This applies to all U.S. citizens including children and infants. Furthermore, due to new laws, U.S. citizens are now required to carry passports for travel to border countries. The following article will explain how to get a U S passport for the first time.

The first thing everyone should do before applying for a passport is visit the U.S. Department of State website to read up on any new passport laws or regulations and to check the current estimated passport processing time. The U.S. Department of State is the government agency that oversees international travel as well as U.S. diplomatic relations with foreign countries. The State Department website is the best resource for passport information.

Prior to applying for a passport a potential applicant must get passport photos. Passport photos can be taken at any local one-hour photo counter. Normally, the photo-counter will be able to crop your photos to passport size right in the store. Passport photos must be a certain size so that the processing center can easily place them on the passport. The process is normally relatively quick and inexpensive.

Before going to the applicant center, each potential applicant will need to present a valid form of identification as well as a valid certificate of naturalization. Valid ID cards are normally a driver’s license, a military ID, or a government ID. Naturalization certificates can be a U.S. birth certificate or a notarized certificate of naturalization. Applicants must also bring photocopies of each form of identification.

Application centers are normally in U.S. Post Offices. First time applicants must apply in person at a certified passport application center. A full list of approved application centers can be found on the State Department website. An applicant must bring passport photos as well as the two forms of ID and photocopies of the ID to the application center.

While some things can be handled online or via mail, anyone who is applying for the first time will be required to do so in person. Once they have submitted all of their information and it has been checked and approved, the passport should arrive in about six weeks. This is a huge improvement as before the latest passport rule changes happened, people were known to wait for almost a full year before they received their passport.

Applicants that want or need to receive their passports in less than four to six weeks may consider applying for an expedited passport. For an additional sixty dollars, plus shipping fees, expedited passports typically arrive in half the time. There are other options for super-rush passports, but these are typically quite expensive and should be reserved for dire emergencies. Like all aspects of international travel, passport applications require a bit of planning and foresight.

While getting a filling out the U S passport application form can be a bit of a chore, knowing how to get a US passport is half the battle. It is amazing how many people show up without the right documentation, missing photos or even the wrong sized photos. All they get is a shake of the head and sent to the back of the line why they get their things in order.