Whether you are a frequent traveler, or are going outside the United States for the first time, it is important that you understand what travel documents are required for your trip. At the top of the list should be a passport. It is needed for entry into many countries of the world, and more importantly, is required for return to the U.S. upon the conclusion of your trip. If you didn’t understand the importance of this document, and your trip is fast approaching, you might find it necessary to apply for an fast passport.

If your old passport that was issued at least 15 years ago or you have never had one, the application process is very specific. After completing the application form and securing all of the necessary documents that go with it, you must apply in person. This appearance takes place at what is called an acceptance facility, which is normally located at your local post office or in a local government office. The types of documents that are filed in support of your application are all specified on the website of the passport agency. To ensure that your application can be accepted on your first visit, make sure you understand the pertinent requirements.

If the individual already has a passport, but it is going to expire within approximately six months, it might be necessary to renew it prior to traveling. Depending on the country to be visited, there could be a requirement that the traveler’s documents be valid for a period of three to six months beyond the expected departure date. In this situation, the renewal application can be completed through the mail, as the individual already has an established record on file with the issuing agency.

Knowing that you have limited time in which to procure your urgent pass port, you should understand the three basic ways in which you can accelerate the application procedures. The first two are accomplished by dealing directly with the issuing agency, but in very different ways. The third method involves securing the services of a private company that specializes in providing this type of service.

There is an option, when submitting your application, to request priority service from the issuing agency. This is selected on the application form, whether applying by mail or in person. There is a $60 fee for this service, which moves your application higher in the queue for processing. This option will generally reduce your total application time by about one half. Based on general delivery times published online, you can determine if this will be fast enough for you.

Sometimes when dealing with a passport agency, you may find that your departure date is sooner than the time it takes to get priority service. If this happens, you can ask for an appointment to visit a Regional Agency Office, where you directly hand your application and documents to the agent, pay all fees, including the extra $60, and prove that you indeed have a departure date this is very near. In this case you can receive your documents more quickly. This option is not always easily available for some travelers since these regional offices are geographically based and there might not be one very close to where you live.

In situations where the first two options are not viable, there is at least one other option available to the individual. A private firm can be hired to act as the representative of the traveler. There are several companies that exist purely for the purpose of assisting travelers in getting their documents in a hurry. The traveler would still have to provide a completed application, all supporting paperwork, and the necessary government fees to this representative. In addition, there are fees for this expedited service. The difference is the representative will take the application package directly to a passport office for immediate processing. These companies proclaim that they can get a passport within 24 to 48 hours. Keep in mind that the faster the service, the more expensive it will be.

So, if that special opportunity to travel on short notice should arise, do not let the lack of a valid passport get in the way. There are options available that allow you to procure an overnight passport without affecting your departure. It is only a matter of determining which one will work best for you.

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• Travel and Money: Passport Carrying Tips (wisebread.com)
• OSU students apply for passports to experience (dispatch.com)
• DFA warns vs passport scam anew (globalnation.inquirer.net)
• Passport gets new identity (thesun.co.uk)
• A Passport Primer (travelinsurance.org)
• CIBT and British Airways Partner to Provide Travel Documentation Services to Customers (eon.businesswire.com)
• Book Review: The Passport in America (travel.nytimes.com)
• Photographs on Passports (oup.com)
• Canada looks to catch up by issuing electronic passports in 2012 (canada.com)

Tags: express passport, fast passport, next day passport, overnight passport, Passport, Passport Expeditors, Passports and Visas, priority passport, quick passport, rush passport, Travel, United States, urgent passport

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 9th, 2010 at 10:08 pm and is filed under Passports, U.S. Passports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.