Passport in a hurry ... anybody tried it?

[Robin Garr]

Looks like I might have a chance to go to Vinitaly next month as a wine judge, but I'm up against a problem: The dates of the trip are March 19-April 2, my current passport expires May 28, and I'm told you can run into ugly red tape (including possible denied aircraft boarding or national entry) if you try traveling on a passport that's expiring soon.

I can get expedited renewal - allegedly within two weeks - for an extra $60; and I'm also considering cashing in on my generous campaign contributions to our new liberal Congressman by seeing if they can grease the rails.

Just out of curiosity, though, have any of you dealt with US passport renewal recently, within the last few months to a year or so? Any suggestions, tips or horror stories?

I did expedited passport renewal last fall. Got an appointment for my first choice time, conveniently in downtown Seattle. An easy bus-ride away. Passport showed up in the mail four days later. Except for the cost, couldn't have been better.

Dave

I used the expedited thingie a couple of years ago and it worked as it was supposed to.

Still, let me run a little Franz Kafka by you. Let's say you send in your old passport for renewal and the system doesn't work speedily enough and you don't have a passport by departure time. Then it's really arrivederci Roma!!

A passport is good until expiry. I wouldn't worry about the rumors and just travel on the one you have.

Agree with Gary. I travelled on one a couple of years ago under similar circumstances with no problems.

Credit cards are a problem when the expire in a month, but not passports.

When I was at my appointment, there were people in the office waiting who were flying out THAT EVENING! That's cutting it really close, but I think they were getting their passports OK anyway. I suspect you'll be fine with the passport you have, but I think if you renew ASAP, you'll have nothing to fear.

If you renew now, and there's a problem, you'll know about it a couple weeks before you leave. On the other hand, if you don't renew and there's a problem, you'll find out about it at the boarding gate. Worrier that I am, I think the renewal is the safer option.

Either way, have fun at VinItaly! I'm jealous.

Dave

Robin,

You won't have a problem traveling in Europe with a passport that expires in less than six months. My passport was within two months of expiration when I traveled to Italy this past September. As long as your return trip is before expiration it's no problem. You would have a problem if you were traveling to a country that required a visa, such as China. Nothing for you to worry about.

My best friend's husband did an expedited renewal last month. No problems and he had it in about 6 business days.

Many of my international participants have trouble traveling with passports that will expire within a couple months of when they are traveling. The problems/hassles have all been from US agents, not overseas. As an American citizen you wouldn't have the same trouble. (One hopes.)

We had that problem with visas for India a couple of years ago. I went to the courthouse and we had our passports in two days.

The Indian visas took two months.

[If memory serves, India required six months or more on the US passport before issuing the visa.]

Good luck Robin. Good job you are not up here with new USA pasport regulations. People here wait in line for up to 6 hours, some have been queuing 2 days!!! If you mail in application, 2 months for issue of the passport.

Different countries have diff regulations re passport validity, quite a few need it to be valid for 6 months after the end of your expected visit, but it seems Italy is NOT amongst them. Such a reqmt is not mentioned on their official US tourist site. It just says a valid passport if needed. see

A visa is not required for a U.S. or Canadian citizen holding a valid passport unless he expects to stay in Italy more than 90 days. If, after entering Italy, the tourist decides he would like to stay more than 90 days, he can apply, once only, at any police station (questura) for an extension of an additional 90 days. He will be asked to prove that he is a bona fide tourist with adequate means of support. As a rule, permission is granted immediately.

at http://www.italiantourism.com/regulat.html

enjoy your trip

Properly greasing the rails can get you a passport immediately. My brother works for Altria and he was sent off Switzerland on short notice and they got him a passport the SAME DAY.

Robin,

I doubt you will have a problem going to Italy with that passport. Maybe you'll have a problem getting back in here...would that be so bad, so long as Italy will let you return???

Where are you judging at Vinitalia? Will you be there for the whole event? Need some pointers, shoot me an email.

[James Roscoe]

My passport is up to date.

Dear Robin,

And you were planning to get to Burgundy in July how?!?

I've heard of people getting denied boarding to various European countries (not Italy specifically) when traveling on a passport of less than six months validity. The expidited processing works, you will have your new passport in hand in plenty of time. Absolute worst case, you would have to make the drive to Chicago and apply in person, but that ain't gonna happen, even with the increased demand due to new rules.

Walt

You won't have a problem traveling in Europe with a passport that expires in less than six months. My passport was within two months of expiration when I traveled to Italy this past September. As long as your return trip is before expiration it's no problem. You would have a problem if you were traveling to a country that required a visa, such as China. Nothing for you to worry about.

Ah, but will they let Robin back into the US with such a passport?

I noted that Homeland Fear-mongering raised the terrorist threat level to "orange". Bush's approval rating must have tanked several more points.

-Paul W.

Ah, but will they let Robin back into the US with such a passport?

Paul,

Yes, he won't have any trouble getting back in to the U.S. as long as the passport is not expired. The EU is easy to deal with on passport issues. The difficulty comes in Asia. They are much more sticky over there about near term expiration dates. China, Malaysia, and South Korea want at least six months time on your passport even if you are traveling there for only a week.

Some hotels in China actually make you leave your passport at the front desk when you return to the hotel. I am uncomfortable doing that, but was told that I would have a "special" interview with the local government officials if I refused.

[Jenise]

Renewed mine via expedited service in July. No appt needed--you can handle by mail and I used Fedex for extra protection so that I could track it--and I had my new passport within the week.

Only snafu was--and this probably isn't germaine to your situation but when you have a chance to tell a story about strange government service, why not??--I sent both Bob's and my passports together in a single Fed Ex package which the local passport agent at the post office reccomended as better than separate. Each application was attached to a conveyance letter, and each had it's own set of pictures and it's own separate check for payment. They didn't even have to sort the contents. Also included was a pre-paid FedEx envelope for return service (of which I kept the receipt so I could track that, too). Couldn't have been easier, right?

I mailed it on a Monday. On Friday, we received Bob's passport only--in a regular USPO Priority Mail envelope. From Philadelphia. Mine came on Monday in the pre-paid FedEx envelope. From Connecticutt. The issue date on my mine was a day later than Bob's.

Now go explain that one to me.

Oh, and before you ask: no, neither of us has any criminal record, both of us are American citizens born in this country, and neither of us has ever held a sensitive job of security clearance.

[Robin Garr]

Renewed mine via expedited service in July. No appt needed--you can handle by mail and I used Fedex for extra protection so that I could track it--and I had my new passport within the week.

Thanks! That seems to be the conventional wisdom, and my CongressCritter's office told me the same thing, although they added that if there's any kind of hangup, they should be able to reach in and untangle it for me.

On Friday, we received Bob's passport only--in a regular USPO Priority Mail envelope. From Philadelphia. Mine came on Monday in the pre-paid FedEx envelope. From Connecticut. The issue date on my mine was a day later than Bob's.

Now go explain that one to me.

While it makes little sense, I noticed that the boilerplate on the State Department Website actually mentions this. It says (words to this effect), "don't put two applications in the same envelope. They will be separated and sent back to you separately."

[Jenise]

While it makes little sense, I noticed that the boilerplate on the State Department Website actually mentions this. It says (words to this effect), "don't put two applications in the same envelope. They will be separated and sent back to you separately."

REALLY! I used the website to download forms, but missed that somehow. And obviously the dadgumgummint's own representative missed it too. I was only concerned that they might pull one app out of the envelope and not realize there was a second one in there, since reflexively they are used to only seeing one per. It certainly didn't occur to me that they'd consider it so suspicious they'd have to send one to a different location several states away for handling. (Curiously, in spite of the different issue dates and locations, our passport numbers remained sequential.)

[Robin Garr]

With thanks to all of you who offered suggestions and advice in this thread and by E-mail, I thought you'd be interested in a final report.

I filed my passport renewal application at a local branch Post Office on Feb. 22, with forms downloaded from the Web, paying the extra fees for expedited service and overnight (USPS) delivery in both directions, which amounted to about an extra $100 over and above the $65 renewal fee.

I got the passport back by overnight mail today, three days earlier than the promised two-week delivery. I would have had it a few days earlier than that, but I screwed up by including my own photos, which did not have a plain background. The good news is that the Passport Service handled this error very nicely - the $60 fee clearly buys you outstanding service. A passport worker in Portsmouth, N.H., called me by phone, clearly and competently explained the process of resubmitting, and gave me her direct address so I could have the replacement photos overnighted directly to her. If not for this screwup (which also cost me another $75 for photos and round-trip overnight), I would have had the passport back last Friday, just one week after filing.

I did talk to my Congressman's office and they were very helpful, which may or may not have been due in any part to my having made a modest but non-trivial contribution to his campaign to oust a Bush-loving sock puppet, but I digress. They told me if I had needed one-day service and been willing to go to Chicago to get it, they could have helped, but for routine "expedited" service, they couldn't improve on the normal service, except for a promise to go to bat for me if anything went wrong. Nothing did.

So the short of it is that if you need your passport renewed fairly quickly, you can get it back in a week or 10 days if you're willing to pay for the service. But save yourself some hassles by letting the local passport agency (usually a Post Office) take official pictures for you.

Consistent with my experience, Robin.

One practical point: the post office here in Oakland New Jersey takes pictures, but only one person can operate the equipment, and that person is only available on specific days and hours -- it's obviously not a full time job.

We have at least a half dozen one hour -- even while you wait -- photo places near the post office, and the one I used certainly had the passport rules well in mind.

Robin, thank you very much for the follow-up. I hate being left hanging wondering what happened in a particular situation like yours. I think following up is just as important as the original issue.

[Robin Garr]

One practical point: the post office here in Oakland New Jersey takes pictures, but only one person can operate the equipment, and that person is only available on specific days and hours -- it's obviously not a full time job.

We have at least a half dozen one hour -- even while you wait -- photo places near the post office, and the one I used certainly had the passport rules well in mind.

Bob, how do the prices compare at the privately run photo places? I'm a little surprised at your report, unless the Oakland Post Office isn't a full-service office. All the post offices here will take photos throughout the hours that the passport service counter is open.

Given that the travel.state.gov site lists the Oakland, N.J. Post Office as a full-service passport facility open from 9-4 T-Fr, 9-2 Sat and 12-4 Mon, one wonders whether The Powers That Be are aware of their missing-photographer problem.

I can tell you that if I had been inconvenienced by this, I'd think seriously about getting on the horn to State or the Postal inspectors.

Still a big mess up here!! Huge lineups, 6 hrs wait in line and so on. Mailing takes 2 months, we are told.