When A Death Or Other Disaster Happens, An Emergency U.S. Passport May Be Necessary
No parent wants to get the phone call that their child has been hurt. Imagine getting that phone call when the child is on a trip abroad and not having a passport. While this can be a very stressful situation, it is made easier with emergency US passport services. There are services that will allow someone to forego all the normal waiting periods and have a passport ready to go in as little as a single day.
When an emergency situation arises, the other family members can contact the Department of State Passport Information Center and they will get guidance on exactly what to do in order to get their passport pushed through. As long as the situation meets their criteria for emergency care, they will usually have a passport in hand in less than 48 hours.
There is a National Passport Information Center that has an automatic phone appointment system that can be accessed 24/7. If it is impossible to get an appointment time that meets the family’s needs, a live person can be reached at a call center from 6AM to 12 midnight, ET, on weekdays. A customer service representative can supply direction on what to do in this case.
Because the government options do not always fit into our plan, there are also plenty of private pasport expediting companies that offer services to issue emergency passports. These agencies are approved by the State Department to help cut some of the hassle out of getting a passport. They will of course charge a fee for their services, but when people are dealing with an emergency the fee is nothing compared to the aggravation that it saves.
If the passport is needed in 24 hours, services like this can usually make that happen without a problem. They have been known to put a passport in people’s hands by the end of the same day. Because of this, the family can get their tickets that much quicker and be on their international flight as soon as possible.
Most of the private passport agencies perform transactions online, especially when it comes to renewing an existing passport. It is a great relief to be able to leave passport problems to someone else and to only need to fill out some simple online forms rather than deal with an in-person visit to the post office. These firms specialize in knowing exactly what to do and can conduct most communications with the family via email, leaving phone lines free for more pressing matters.
It should go without saying, but while these agencies are very helpful, they are there to make a profit. That being the case, the fees that they charge can be substantial, depending upon the turnaround time that is needed. In many cases the overall costs can be five or six times what it would cost to get a passport via normal channels.
Receiving an emergency passport can be accomplished relatively quickly and there are options beyond simply the Department of State’s process. Looking into the services of a private United States passport expediting company before an emergency strikes is well worth a little bit of time. Knowing where to go and what it may cost is valuable information for everyone, especially when faced with a family death or other serious situation.
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