If you are considering your 1st international trip, the first
factor you will require to take care of is obtaining your passport and,
if necessary, a visa to travel to the country or countries that you're
headed to. Whilst these may well seem like two really daunting tasks,
they are, in fact, quite easy to take care of. The 1 factor you ought to
know, although, is that you will require to plan well in advance to
make sure that acquiring your passport and visas doesn't interfere with
your travel plans.
Acquiring your passport
Getting a U.S. passport is pretty simple, but there are numerous measures in the method and it does take some time, so you will need to commence planning at least 6 months ahead of your trip. This may possibly sound like a extremely generous figure, but believe me, if you leave it to the last minute, you will have your travel plans interrupted by this process and you may well find your self obtaining lost large sums of money on flights and hotels. It is entirely worth it to play this part safe and get your passport and visa taken care of right away.
To get a U.S. passport, you'll will need several pieces of details:
* Form DS-11 - This basic application form can be filled out on the web and printed, or merely filled in by hand.
* Proof of U.S. Citizenship - Some kind of record proving that you are an American citizen, such as a birth certificate, a previous passport or certificate of naturalization or citizenship.
* Recent photo ID - In addition to proof of your American citizenship, you require to present a 2nd picture ID, this kind of as your driver's license or a federal government or military ID.
* Photocopies of your IDs - You also require to deliver photocopies of the two your ID and proof of citizenship. Both must be on 8 1/2 x 11 white paper and demonstrate both front and back of each and every ID. It's crucial to know that the office or post office in which you apply will not make these copies for you, so take them with you.
* Application fee - Methods of payment vary, but typically cash is not accepted. If in doubt, provide a personal check, money order or bank draft.
* Two 2x2 passport photos- These can be taken and bought at travel agencies or pharmacies this kind of as Walgreens or CVS. Alternately, if you have a photo printer at home, you can take and print your very own passport photos for free} making use of ePassportPhoto.com.
As soon as you've gathered all this together, you should head for your local passport processing facility. If you don't live in a major city like Houston or Los Angeles, which have official passport agency offices, then you can go straight to your local acceptance facility, which is generally located in a post office.
That's it! As soon as you've applied, it can take to several months for your passport to arrive by mail, which is why it is so critical for you to start this process well in advance of your planned trip. If you are in an emergency or a large hurry, you can pay extra to have your passport request rushed.
The U.S. Passport agency has also lately created an on the net status checker to come across out in which in the process your request is.
Getting a visa
A visa is basically an entry document that permits you to come in to a country for a particular objective and length of time. These days, many countries close to the planet do not demand Americans to get a visa in advance, but purely give you a stamp in your passport when you arrive to the airport, which serves as a 30- or 60-day tourist visa. Other places even now need tourists to receive a visa before they arrive.
Delta Airlines has a handy function on their web site that allows you to check whether you'll have to have a visa based on your citizenship and destination. As soon as you begin applying for your passport, you need to check the visa requirements for your destination.
If your destination requires a visa, the next step is to go to the website of that country's embassy in the United States. Usually, these embassy sites will offer you every upfront information about how to acquire a visa effortlessly. This course of action most generally calls for you to send your passport away for numerous weeks for a visa to be processed and set into your passport. Sometimes, selected nations demand you to use a visa support, like Travel Document Systems, to drop your passport off at the nearest embassy for processing, whilst others let you mail your passport directly to the embassy. These services normally charge an extra fee, as well as the price of overnight postage.
When sending your passport off for any type of processing, often use a traceable mail service that offers you a tracking number so that your important documents don't get lost or stolen!
Acquiring your passport
Getting a U.S. passport is pretty simple, but there are numerous measures in the method and it does take some time, so you will need to commence planning at least 6 months ahead of your trip. This may possibly sound like a extremely generous figure, but believe me, if you leave it to the last minute, you will have your travel plans interrupted by this process and you may well find your self obtaining lost large sums of money on flights and hotels. It is entirely worth it to play this part safe and get your passport and visa taken care of right away.
To get a U.S. passport, you'll will need several pieces of details:
* Form DS-11 - This basic application form can be filled out on the web and printed, or merely filled in by hand.
* Proof of U.S. Citizenship - Some kind of record proving that you are an American citizen, such as a birth certificate, a previous passport or certificate of naturalization or citizenship.
* Recent photo ID - In addition to proof of your American citizenship, you require to present a 2nd picture ID, this kind of as your driver's license or a federal government or military ID.
* Photocopies of your IDs - You also require to deliver photocopies of the two your ID and proof of citizenship. Both must be on 8 1/2 x 11 white paper and demonstrate both front and back of each and every ID. It's crucial to know that the office or post office in which you apply will not make these copies for you, so take them with you.
* Application fee - Methods of payment vary, but typically cash is not accepted. If in doubt, provide a personal check, money order or bank draft.
* Two 2x2 passport photos- These can be taken and bought at travel agencies or pharmacies this kind of as Walgreens or CVS. Alternately, if you have a photo printer at home, you can take and print your very own passport photos for free} making use of ePassportPhoto.com.
As soon as you've gathered all this together, you should head for your local passport processing facility. If you don't live in a major city like Houston or Los Angeles, which have official passport agency offices, then you can go straight to your local acceptance facility, which is generally located in a post office.
That's it! As soon as you've applied, it can take to several months for your passport to arrive by mail, which is why it is so critical for you to start this process well in advance of your planned trip. If you are in an emergency or a large hurry, you can pay extra to have your passport request rushed.
The U.S. Passport agency has also lately created an on the net status checker to come across out in which in the process your request is.
Getting a visa
A visa is basically an entry document that permits you to come in to a country for a particular objective and length of time. These days, many countries close to the planet do not demand Americans to get a visa in advance, but purely give you a stamp in your passport when you arrive to the airport, which serves as a 30- or 60-day tourist visa. Other places even now need tourists to receive a visa before they arrive.
Delta Airlines has a handy function on their web site that allows you to check whether you'll have to have a visa based on your citizenship and destination. As soon as you begin applying for your passport, you need to check the visa requirements for your destination.
If your destination requires a visa, the next step is to go to the website of that country's embassy in the United States. Usually, these embassy sites will offer you every upfront information about how to acquire a visa effortlessly. This course of action most generally calls for you to send your passport away for numerous weeks for a visa to be processed and set into your passport. Sometimes, selected nations demand you to use a visa support, like Travel Document Systems, to drop your passport off at the nearest embassy for processing, whilst others let you mail your passport directly to the embassy. These services normally charge an extra fee, as well as the price of overnight postage.
When sending your passport off for any type of processing, often use a traceable mail service that offers you a tracking number so that your important documents don't get lost or stolen!
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