The first document you will need to have your name changed on will be your Social Security card. Until you have a Social Security card with the correct name, you cannot change your passport. Contact your local branch of the Social Security Administration or visit them on the Internet to obtain additional information on how to change your Social Security card.

The next thing you will have to do is find out which form you have to fill out. If it has been more than a year since you applied for your passport, you will likely need to use form DS-82 to submit the name change. This form can be found at your local post office or you can visit the Bureau of Consular Affairs on the Internet and print off a copy of it from their website.

To be able to use this form, you will be required to provide an original copy of your marriage certificate, and your original passport. The passport cannot be more than 15 years old and you had to have been a minimum of 16 years of age when you were issued your current passport.

Now, new passport photos will need to be attached to your application. Some people include their own photo. If you do, it has to be a head shot and it has to measure 2 inches square. You can also find a local store that does passport photos and in some areas the post office will also do them. If you photos are not the correct size, your application will be returned to you.

Once you have all of your information, you are ready to mail it in with the required renewal fee. When using the form DS-82 you will pay the same price as a regular adult passport renewal few. Place all of your information into a padded envelope and address it to the mailing address that is listed on the form. It is recommended that you use a traceable mailing method, such as delivery confirmation with a return receipt requested.

If you are in a hurry to receive your new passport, you can request that it be expedited. This process will cost an additional fee of $60 and you will need to make a clear note on the outside of the envelope so that it receives proper handling upon its arrival. If you would rather visit a local agency and handle it in person, the Bureau of Consular Affairs website can help you to locate the nearest office. Doing it this way will ensure you receive your passport in 2 weeks or less.

Although it can take up to 2 months receive your new passport, submitting a U.S. Passport Name Change is an easy process. As long as you submit all of the required documentation with the application, and photos that are of acceptable size, along with the required fees, you should not encounter any problems. Even if you will not need it right away, you should update your passport with any name changes as soon as they occur. This way you will be prepared when the time comes that you do want to travel.

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Procedures For Acquiring An American Passport Name Change

Losing a passport is a nightmare for a variety of reasons. When this happens, the passport holder must immediately contact the State Department and let them know what has happened. Once they have done that, they can get the ball rolling on getting a new one.

Once the document has been officially reported, it is time to head to the local passport office and get the forms to get a new passport. The process for a lost passport is similar to getting a new one, but there is an additional form to be filled out. When all of the paperwork has been filed and the correct documents handed in and approved, the new passport should arrive in less than eight weeks.

If the passport is lost during a trip, everything changes. When this happens, a trip to the local embassy is in order (or the consulate office if an embassy is not there). The staff at either of these locations is familiar with the process and will expedite everything to make sure that the traveler can get home without much difficulty. Don’t panic, the pass port replacement process is quick and simple.

To replace an expired passport simply fill out the relevant passport renewal paperwork and mail the paperwork, old passport, and copies of relevant identification to the passport-processing agency. The State Department recommends that all packages be sent by a traceable delivery service in a sturdy weatherproof envelope.

Applicants must follow a similar process to replace a damaged passport. They must fill out a damaged passport replacement form and then mail the damaged passport, copies of ID’s, and the replacement form to the passport-processing agency. The U.S. government requires that all damaged and expired passports be returned. This is necessary to prevent counterfeit passports. It is possible to have the stamp book portion of old passports returned after the sensitive information has been removed.

Should a traveler be abroad when the passport is damaged, everything will be fine as long as the numbers on the passport can be read. However, it might be a good idea to stop by the embassy to make sure everything is indeed okay. This is actually a great example of why it may be best to get both a passport and passport card. While the passport card is not official for overseas travel (they are only meant for border trips to places such as Canada and Mexico), it will still provide some type of backup for a damaged passport book.

For all of the laws and regulations regarding United States passport replacement, it is best to check the State Department website. This is mostly because laws are known to change and reading anything from any other source may be outdated. This will ensure that the right procedures are being followed and that the new passport will be received on time and without any difficulty.

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Passport Replacement Can Often Be Handled Via Mail, But There Are Some Exceptions

Because you’ll be dealing a lot with forms, it pays to be familiar with the different forms used in passport applications. Some forms are used to apply for passports; others are used to renew passports; others are for reporting the loss or theft of passports. Now since you’re likely applying for a passport for the first time, let’s deal with the first type of passport.

For first-time passport applicants, the DS-11 form is the one that needs to be filled out.  Unlike the pre-Internet days where you had to go to the passport office to obtain the form, now all you need to do is download this form at the US Department of State’s office website. Once you’ve downloaded it, you can fill the form in before printing it, or you can just print it first then fill it in by hand.

Once you have submitted this form along with all the necessary requirements for your application, your passport will then be processed. There are two ways of processing this: routine passport processing, and expedited passport processing. The routine passport processing is what you can choose to use if you are not planning to use your passport for foreign travel in the next ten weeks. Routine processing typically takes four to six weeks to complete.

Meanwhile, if you need to have your passport processed in less than four weeks, then you need to have your application expedited. As the name suggests, an expedited passport takes a lot faster to process than those that go through routine processing. In other words, expedited passports are given priority over routine ones.

In the case of an expedited New Passport, they are usually processed within two to three weeks and is thus the choice of travelers who need to have their passports quickly.  If you need to travel within that period, getting an expedited passport is an obvious choice.

Speeding up the process of your application takes more resources. That’s why expedited passports have a small additional fee on top of the regular passport processing fees. Don’t worry about this though, as the price you have to pay isn’t the hefty, and it pays for itself in the form of speed and convenience that you get.

When it comes to applying for a New Passport Application, you have two options to go about it. First, you can choose the routine passport processing that doesn’t require an extra fee, but may be too slow if you need to travel soon. Then there’s the expedited passport processing. The price that you pay for this kind of service is offset by the convenience and speed that it affords you.

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Your First Time American Passport – Getting One Can Be Not As Hard As You’d Think

First off, let’s talk about what a passport card is. This is for those who are looking for a cheaper and more convenient alternative to the passport book. Unlike passport books that can be quite thick, passport cards are thin and can easily fit into your wallet.

The american passport card is great if you are all about your convenience when traveling. The passport card has radio frequency identification (RFID) chip in it that enables US Customs officials to scan your information without you having to pull it out of your pocket. This may sound like a small thing but it does help speed up the processing of your travel.

A passport card is also a cheaper alternative to the typical passport book. The fee for applying for a passport card is only about half of the passport book’s price. However, the use of passport cards are only allowed for travel to the WHTI destinations by land or sea. If you are going to travel to these destinations by air, you will then be required to submit your passport book.

Now, how do you apply for a passport card? Doing this depends if you already have a passport or not. If you are already a passport holder, or if you already had a passport before, then you can fill in Form DS-82, and submit it along with other requirements you need to fulfill. Filling in the DS-82 allows you to send your application for a passport card by mail.

However, if you haven’t had any passport before, then you will need to submit the Form DS-11. Unlike the DS-82, you will have to submit this form in person to the passport office. That’s why it’s important that you already familiarize yourself with the requirements you need to submit even before applying, so as to save you valuable time.

If you travel to various destinations regularly, then you’ll likely want to be flexible when it comes to your travel. You can get the flexibility you want if you apply for both a passport book and passport card. That way, you can use your passport card when visiting WTHI destinations then use your passport book to other destinations. What’s more is that you can get a considerable discount if you apply for both types of passports at the same time.

To summarize this information, you need a US passport card when traveling to WHTI destinations. Look into this alternative before your next trip.

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USA Passport Card – It Shouldn’t Be A Hard Thing To Do