Home Random Page


CATEGORIES:

BiologyChemistryConstructionCultureEcologyEconomyElectronicsFinanceGeographyHistoryInformaticsLawMathematicsMechanicsMedicineOtherPedagogyPhilosophyPhysicsPolicyPsychologySociologySportTourism






Passports

And now for the granddaddy of all forms of personal identification: the U.S. passport. Impressive as this document may sound, it is relatively easy to get as long as you have the proper back-up ID, and as long as you know a bit about the procedure involved before you start out.

Passports are issued primarily by the U.S. Passport Office division of the State Department. There are U.S. Passport Offices in most major cities. If there is no passport office in your area, they may be issued by the Clerk of the Federal Court. In some instances they are even handled by local U.S. Post Offices.

For the identity switcher, far and away the best place to go is the Passport Office. The Clerk of the Court and especially the Post Office people are not likely to have much experience with passports and they will want all the "i"s dotted and "t"s crossed, twice. At the Passport Office your application will be handled by a bunch of bored civil servants who are so used to the routine that they won't remember you seven seconds after you walk out the door.

The Passport Clerk will ask you for your birth certificate and some form of supporting photo ID, like your drivers license. They will then give you a form to fill out and return with a couple of passport photos and the fee, currently $35. Passport photos are fairly special, and must be taken according to specific regulations which change from time to time. It's best to use one of the passport photo places that are often located right near the passport office. They know the requirements and they generally can have your pictures ready while you wait. It's best to get several sets of extra copies if you plan to travel outside the U.S. much. Many countries require the same kind of photos for travel documents they issue to foreigners, and you don't want to have to find some advanced country where you can get your pictures taken properly before resuming your travels.

The best time of year to get your passport is during the winter months, if you want to have it mailed to you in a reasonable period of time. Thousands of tourists trot down to the local Passport Office about two weeks before their 21-country summer cruise is due to depart. Even if they planned well in advance to take their trip, they forget about the passport until the last minute. It can take several months for your passport to arrive if you apply at the peak travel times.

A passport is now good for ten years. When you turn in your application, photos and fee, you should ask for the larger, 48-page booklet. The standard 24-page passport gets filled up quickly if you travel extensively outside the United States. When your passport expires, renewing it is easy. You simply go to the Passport Office with your old passport, a new set of pictures and the fee, and you're on your way again.

There is one odd facet to the passport application process. For some reason, the clerks always ask you for the exact countries you intend to visit. This makes absolutely no sense at all, since once the passport is issued you are free to go anywhere you like, and this regardless of the crap printed in the front of the document about not being able to go to Cuba, North Korea, etc. It really doesn't matter what you tell them, just so long as you don't say you're on a business trip to Libya or some other place currently on the federal government's shit-list.




Date: 2015-01-11; view: 975


<== previous page | next page ==>
Drivers License | Fake ID
doclecture.net - lectures - 2014-2024 year. Copyright infringement or personal data (0.005 sec.)