Where One Gets Passports
Before I had ever purchased a passport or had a reason to hold one, I imagined their acquisition to be something akin to what you would see in an old detective or spy movie. I knew that there were pawn shops that made passport photos, but imagined them to be (once again) like in the movies. I thought the advertisements were offering to take a photo of me and put it onto some forged document so I could get into countries I would otherwise not be able allowed into.
In September of 2001, I went with a bunch of my friends to Uganda. In preparation for that, we all had to acquire passports and hundreds of dollars of shots and malaria medicine. That’s when I found that carrying a passport is a legitimate thing to do. It is not disrespectful to own one. Until that time, I had no idea that everyone who travels outside of the country carries one – even the president of the United States.
Part of the mystery of passports was what made the task of purchasing one difficult to just begin doing. But, after I got started, I found it to be very simple, but time consuming.
When preparing to purchase a passport you will need:
Proof of citizenship.
Application for passport.
Photo identification.
Passport photos.
Travel itinerary, if you have it.
After those documents have been gathered, there is the question of, “Where to get the passport?”
After the application has been filled out, you will have to locate a Passport Acceptance Facility. It’s easy to do by putting your zip code in the space on the “Passport Acceptance Facility Search Page”: When you get there, you will pay your fee and have your documents authorized for the creation of your new passport.
These facilities are found in:
City halls.
US Postal Offices.
Elections offices.
Records management offices.
If you are at a post office, you can then turn around and have the paperwork mailed to the proper governmental agency so that your passport can begin processing. The wait time for a passport is between six weeks and a few months. The wait time depends on how busy they are and how soon your trip is going to be. That is why you want to bring your itinerary if you have one prior to going to the acceptance facility.
If you are going to want your passport expedited, on-line passport expedition services can deliver your passport to your door quicker and for less money when you consider compatible time frames. In that case, you should avoid mailing your paper work directly from the post office because, after you mail it, you can’t get it back to expedite it by other means.
