Thread: Getting a passport [Information]

Originally Posted by houch

I think mine is in the same place. By lower right corner of picture, authority is very small print, right under it is Passport Agency in larger print and right below that it says Seattle on mine.
Carol

Seattle? and you are in in Mn? How strange.

Originally Posted by hanna

Seattle? and you are in in Mn? How strange.

I know it sounds odd. But mine was issued from Charleston. My DH's was from Portsmouth. I finally called the help # on the passport website & my son's was issued in Miami. We're all in Mississippi.

My older son's was issued in 1999. His does have the city (New Orleans) on it. Ours were just issued & it is not on them. I've compared them side by side & the format is different.

I seem to remember the express mail envelope said Charleston. I was just shocked the renewal came in just a few weeks, considering the agency had just lost of their offices in August.

I'm such a bad mom.... still don't have my passport!

Hi...just had trouble getting a passport for my 23 yr old daughter. The web site www.travel.state.gov will list when they start processing it but if you see nothing after 3 weeks or so you can call 1-877-487-2778 and actually talk to someone. Be careful...they immediately start asking for more$$ $75 for rush processing or extra for overnight postage. That makes me mad! If you get down to just a few weeks, be sure they have cashed your checks and go back to where you turned it in and ask for help. The lady at my post office had someone she could call and I had it in 4 days! Good Luck

Originally Posted by Cruisin' Kathy

Hi...just had trouble getting a passport for my 23 yr old daughter. The web site www.travel.state.gov will list when they start processing it but if you see nothing after 3 weeks or so you can call 1-877-487-2778 and actually talk to someone. Be careful...they immediately start asking for more$$ $75 for rush processing or extra for overnight postage. That makes me mad! If you get down to just a few weeks, be sure they have cashed your checks and go back to where you turned it in and ask for help. The lady at my post office had someone she could call and I had it in 4 days! Good Luck

Thanks for the advice. DD and I applied just over 2 weeks ago, and still not showing up online when I check status. Hadn't thought about seeing if the check was cashed!

I'm not sure why the issuing authority is important but it must be cause every form I've filled out with passport info asks for it.

DH's is issued from Philadelphia. Mine was from Philly until it was stolen with my purse while I was on business in London. I had to go to the US Embassy in London with a person who vouched and had to sign an affidavit for who I was. My new passport (new like 5 years ago) says issued in: US Embassy in London; or something to that effect.

Tracey

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 requires that by January 1, 2008, travelers to and from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico and Canada have a passport or other secure, accepted document to enter or re-enter the United States. In order to facilitate the implementation of this requirement, the Administration is proposing to complete it in phases following a proposed timeline, which will be published in the Federal Register in the near future.
In the proposed implementation plan, which is subject to a period of initial public comment, the Initiative will be rolled out in phases, providing as much advance notice as possible to the affected public to enable them to meet the terms of the new guidelines. The proposed timeline will be as follows:

• January 8, 2007 - Requirement applied to all air and sea travel to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.
• December 31, 2007 - Requirement extended to all land border crossings as well as air and sea travel.

This is a change from prior travel requirements and will affect all United States citizens entering the United States from countries within the Western Hemisphere who do not currently possess valid passports. This new requirement will also affect certain foreign nationals who currently are not required to present a passport to travel to the United States. Most Canadian citizens, citizens of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and to a lesser degree, Mexican citizens will be affected by the implementation of this requirement.

It looks like the only change is moving the initial air-sea
implementation date from 1 Jan 2007 to 8 Jan 2007.

Reggie

Just found this today at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2006/70433.htm


August 14, 2006

Department of State Begins Issuing Electronic Passports to the Public

To enhance border security and to facilitate travel, the Department of State began issuing Electronic Passports (e-passports) to the public today. Production has started at the Colorado Passport Agency and will be expanded to other production facilities over the next few months.

Consistent with globally interoperable specifications adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), this next generation of the U.S. passport includes biometric technology. A contactless chip in the rear cover of the passport will contain the same data as that found on the biographic data page of the passport (name, date of birth, gender, place of birth, dates of passport issuance and expiration, passport number), and will also include a digital image of the bearer’s photograph.

The Department of State has employed a multi-layered approach to protect the privacy of the information and to mitigate the chances of the electronic data being skimmed (unauthorized reading) or eavesdropped (intercepting communication of the transmission of data between the chip and the reader by unintended recipients). Metallic anti-skimming material incorporated into the front cover and spine of the e-passport book prevents the chip from being skimmed, or read, when the book is fully closed; Basic Access Control (BAC) technology, which requires that the data page be read electronically to generate a key that unlocks the chip, will prevent skimming and eavesdropping; and a randomized unique identification (RUID) feature will mitigate the risk that an e-passport holder could be tracked. To prevent alteration or modification of the data on the chip, and to allow authorities to validate and authenticate the data, the information on the chip will include an electronic signature (PKI).
The Department of State is confident that the new e-passport, including biometrics and other improvements, will take security and travel facilitation to a new level.