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What Do You Know About Your Passport?

What is a passport for an American? It is a document issued in your name by the United States Department of State. It is a small sized booklet with the words "Passport", "The United States of America," and the official crest of the US printed on the front. Inside you will find your picture, your name and date of birth and state where you were born, along with the date of issue and the expiration date. A passport is valid for 10 years from the issue date. A travel visa may also be necessary to visit some countries and is your responsibility to take care of this if needed.

Your passport contains a lot of useful information such as:

- How to obtain travel advisories or warnings before traveling out of the country

- How to get health information such as inoculations

- What you may need for insurance if you become ill or have a medical emergency while traveling abroad

- Reminders about following the laws of other countries while visiting and safety tips, such as not carrying large sums of money or unnecessary credit cards

- Reminders to sign your passport and how to carry and safeguard your passport. An especially useful reminder is the one to make two photocopies of the first page of your passport, leaving one at home in a safe place and carrying the other copy with you separate from your actual passport.

Your passport booklet also contains information about registering with the US Embassy in another country when you arrive if indicated, how to navigate customs, and the lawful use or surrender of your passport. A passport is considered to be the property of the United States Government. By reading the small print inside your passport, you will learn what to do if your passport is lost, stolen, altered or destroyed.

There is also a space for you to write down the name and telephone number of an emergency contact. 

 It is suggested that you use a pencil as this contact information may change over the 10 year period. 

Your passport states that in case of emergency, the nearest American embassy or consulate or State Department Office of American Citizens Services and Crisis Management be notified also.

Your passport booklet also contains space for visa stamps and any amendments or endorsements. 

 Some useful things to carry with your passport might include a word translation book, currency conversion charts, time conversion charts for the various time zones, and foreign money regulations--the monetary unit of a country, amount you may enter with, and amount you may take out. Get your passport now before booking travel online!

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 This website and online travel agency specializes in saving consumers money on airline tickets, cruises, rental cars, lodging, vacations and much more. Judy Moor is a experienced traveler and author who is committed to trying to make life more meaningful and fun for Baby Boomers [http://www.stuff4boomers.com], people who travel on business and all others that travel. Be sure to check out her #1 rated work-from-home opportunity [http://www.chadstravel.com/income-opportunity.html] too.

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