Anyone wishing to leave the United States, or any home country
for that matter, will need to know how to get a passport. Today,
international travel, even to border countries, requires that passport
documentation be used to enter any country from another country. We are
going to try and explain the process to make the whole experience easier
for first time passport applicants.
The very first thing that
anyone who has never had a passport should do is get online and start
reading the travel laws for international travel. Some locations do not
require a full passport, and everything will be covered in the State
Department passport FAQ. While there are other sites out there that
supply information, for something like this, it is best to go right to
the source.
Prior to heading over to the passport office, it is
important to get photos taken for the passport. Photos are not part of
the processing and they are the responsibility of the applicant. These
photos must be set to a specific size and it is best to use a photo shop
that offers this specific service. Some passport offices will also
offer this service to applicants.
In addition to the photos, every
applicant must also have a valid government issued ID. Things such as a
drivers license or military ID are acceptable. They will also need a
birth certificate or other document that proves citizenship. Photocopies
of all original documents will also be needed to speed up the
application process.
In many cases, a local post office will have a
passport processing unit. However, some smaller towns do not have this
feature and it will be necessary to travel a bit in order to find one
that does offer the passport services. This can be checked easily enough
online on the USPS site as they have all passport locations listed.
Anyone
that is getting a passport for the first time will actually have to go
to a passport office in order to turn in all of their forms. Once
everything has been accepted, they can expect to receive a passport in
about two months. While this may seem like a long time, it used to be
much longer before the new travel laws were put in place.
If there
is the need to get the passport sooner than the standard times, there
is an expedited service that is offered for an additional fee. This will
generally get the passport back within three weeks. There are also
agencies that offered expedited service and while the fees are much
higher, they can usually deliver a passport in any time frame that is
needed.
While getting a filling out the passport application form can be a bit of a chore, knowing how to get a 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.
