All About Passports
Entry
Requirements
Specifics vary from country to country, but
plan to bring along either a current passport
or a certified copy of your birth certificate
(some islands accept voter registration card),
and a photo ID. Passports are the easiest form
of entry (plus you'll get the neat immigration
stamps as a free souvenir).
Quick
Tip: If you're headed to the Caribbean
on your honeymoon (or if you'll be getting married
while in the tropics), don't have your airline
tickets issued under your new name. Your tickets
must match the name on your passport that you'll
be using for entry. If you are presenting your
certified birth certificate and you have changed
your name since birth, bring along a copy of
your marriage license as well.
Obtaining
a Passport
To obtain a passport, you may apply in person
at the nearest passport office or at one of
the several thousand federal or state courts
or US post offices authorized to accept passport
applications. Not every post office offers this
service; usually just the largest offices in
the city. For your first passport application,
you must apply in person.
We can't
stress enough the importance of applying for
a passport early. The heaviest demand period
is January through August. September through
December is the speediest period, but you should
still allow at least eight weeks for your passport
application to be processed.
To obtain
a passport, first get an unsigned passport application
(DSP-11) from your local passport office or
post office that handles passport applications.
Do not sign the application. You'll also find
passport applications online at the US Department
of State's website, available
here.
You'll need
to provide proof of US citizenship. This can
be an expired passport, a certified birth certificate
(that means one with a raised, impressed, embossed,
or multicolored seal). If you do not have a
certified copy of your birth certificate, call
the Bureau of Vital Statistics in the city where
you were born. It's a handy document to have,
so request it.
You also
must provide identification, which can be an
expired passport, a valid driver's license,
a government ID card or certificate of naturalization
or citizenship. (Here's what won't work: Social
Security card, learner's permit, or temporary
driver's license, credit card, expired ID card.)
Passport
Photos
Next, you
must provide two recent identical photographs
of yourself no larger than 2x2 inches (the image
of your head from the bottom of your chin to
the top of your head must not be less than one
inch or more than 1a inch). Passport photos
can be either color or black and white but they
may not be Polaroids or vending machine photos.
The easiest way to get passport photos is to
go to a quick copy store and ask for passport
shots.
Price
Passports
for adults 16 and over are $60 and are valid
for 10 years. You may pay in person by check,
bank draft, or money order. At passport agencies
you may also pay in cash; some (but not all)
post offices and clerks of court accept payment
in cash.
When you
receive your passport, sign it. The next step
is to fill in the emergency contact information
(use a pencil in case you need to make changes).
Getting
Information
Need to talk
with someone? The only public phone number for
passport information is for the National Passport
Information Center (NPIC). You can call here
for information on passport emergencies, applying
for a US passport, or to obtain the status of
a passport application. Automated information
is available 24 hours a day and live operators
can be reached on weekdays from 8 am to 8 pm,
Eastern Standard Time. (Services are available
in English, Spanish, and by TDD.) This is a
toll call: the charge is 35¢ per minute
for the automated system or $1.05 per minute
for live operators. Call 900-225-5674 for either
automated or live service; 900-225-7778 for
TDD service. Calling from a number blocked from
900 service? Call 888-362-8668 (TDD 888-498-3648);
you will be required to pay by credit card at
a flat rate of $4.95 per call.
Lost Passports
If you lose
your passport or have it stolen, immediately
report the loss to the local police. Get a police
declaration, then report to the local consulate
or embassy for a replacement passport. We've
had this happen and relied on the State Department
to help us replace a lost passport (caused by
the sinking of a boat we were traveling in)
with an emergency passport.
We can't
emphasize enough how important it is to carry
a copy of the identification page of your passport
tucked somewhere in your belongings.
Caribbean
Embassies & Consulates
Run into
problems on your trip? You will find consulates
and embassies on some of the larger islands.
These offices can assist you with lost or stolen
passports, emergencies, etc.
If you are
involved in an emergency situation, go to the
nearest US embassy or consular office and register
as an American citizen in the region. Bring
along your passport and a location where you
can be reached.
The consular
office can also be contacted for a list of local
doctors, dentists, and medical specialists.
If you are injured or become seriously ill,
a consul will help you find medical assistance
and, at your request, inform your family or
friends. The State Department cannot assist
you in funding an emergency trip back to the
States that's what travel insurance is
all about.
Travel insurance
can cover the cost of a trip that you have to
cancel, trip delay expenses, and medical expenses
that your regular insurance policy might not
handle. You can purchase travel insurance through
your travel agent or call an insurance agency
directly. (Don't buy insurance through a tour
operator; if the business should close, your
insurance policy will probably be terminated
along with it.)
By Paris Permenter
& John Bigley
