Who’s Your Daddy?!?!
Catch phrase of the 90’s, surprisingly ”Who’s your daddy” is actually a question relavent to your passport application, too. Of course, you know this by now, because you’ve been a good egg and filled out your DS-11 passport application form already. And since you have filled out the application, you’re ready for step #2: gathering up your supporting documentation.
You can always visit the U.S. Deparment of State’s Applying for a passport (1st timers) page, but I’ll lay out some pertinent information for you here.
I’d say to start with locating a passport processing facility in your area. Gone are the days when you’d have to apply through a regional passport facility. As a matter of fact, these facilities still exist but are only for travelers who need their passport in less than 2 weeks for international travel, or need a passport within 4 weeks to obtain a foreign visa. I’m hoping to high heaven this doesn’t apply to you, dear reader, as I’ve been trying to instill a sense of planning and preparation for your trip, right???
Anywho, if neither of the above-referenced situations apply to you, you simply need to use the search engine located on the U.S. Department of State’s “Passport Acceptance Facility Search Page. You can search by zip code or by a combination of city & state, even asking the search to return results of facilities that also take passport photos or at least have a photo retailer nearby. Nice, huh?
Choose the facility that best suits your needs, call the number listed and make an appointment. Once this is complete, you’re well on your way to clearing another hurdle. But while you’re waiting for your appointment, make sure you’ve set about gathering the supporting documentation you will need to take with you.
What you will need:
and…
I made my appointment at a local county library. On the day of, I presented my completed DS-11 form, birth certificate, my drivers license and two full-color passport quality photographs. The process took approximately 15 minutes. The passport person verified the validity of my drivers license and then made sure my birth certificate was an original, officially issued by an appropriate agency and contained the correct raised seal. She then went over my application, making sure each question will filled in correctly and then read me a statement to which I had to reply in the affirmative. Basically the statement says you know you’re applying for a passport through the government and that you’re not being untruthful about anything pertaining to the process. No sweat. After all is said and done, I signed the DS-11 form and the nice young lady behind the desk collected my fees, placed the DS-11 along with my birth certificate into an expedited postal envelope and asked me to witness as she prepared and sealed the package. And yes, I said she put my birth certificate in the envelope. Be prepared as this is required practice. Your original document will be mailed to the U.S. Department of State along with your passport application, with the express promise that it will be mailed back to you unharmed. Have no fear.
The fees for this 15-minute voyage consised of the $75.00 passport fee and a $25.00 processing fee. I opted for expedited service since I’d waited a little longer than anticipated and ended up paying an additional $45.00. Save yourself the hassle, folks, and make arrangements to apply for your passport no later than 60 days before your departure. Normal processing times can take 4-6 weeks, while expedited times can take 2-3 weeks. Luckily for me, I actually received my passport in about 10 days after the application had been received in the processing office. Let not luck rule you, however. The government is subject to whims we can’t hope to understand and no time frame is ever guaranteed.
And there you are. The third and final passport hurdle has been cleared and the last thing you need to do on this particular front is to wait. For the impatient, you can check the status of your passport on the passport status page of the DOS website. Give the application a few days to be received in their office before you start checking, though.
