New Passport Security Surcharge - March 12,2005

[albiats]

I subscribe to an email list from the U.S. Department of State and I received this email notice this morning:

start of cut and past from email
Effective March 8, 2005, a new passport security surcharge of $12 will be collected from all passport applicants. The security surcharge was authorized by the FY 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Act (Public Law 108-447).
The final schedule of fees was published in the Federal Register on February 2, 2005.

For first time applicants, this surcharge will be added to the regular passport fees of $55 (age 16 and older) and $40 (under age 16) in addition to the $30 execution fee, making total cost for routine service $97 for a ten-year passport for those age 16 and older and $82 for a 5-year passport for those under age 16. For applicants renewing their passports, the surcharge will be added to the regular passport fee of $55 making total cost for routine service $67. These fees and the surcharge are non-refundable.
If expedited service is requested, there is an additional charge of $60 per application. The purchase of two-way overnight delivery remains optional.

The security surcharge will fund multiple security enhancements to the U.S.
passport and issuance process. The passport will be redesigned and will contain security features including a biometric identifier. The surcharge will also cover the cost of upgrading passport delivery from first class mail to Priority Mail.

Also on March 8, 2005, newly redesigned forms DS-11, Application for Passport, and DS-82, Application for Passport by Mail, will be available online at travel.state.gov.

For more information on passports, please visit our website at travel.state.gov or call the National Passport Information Center.

National Passport Information Center
Toll-free: 1-877-487-2778
TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793
Monday - Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding Federal Holidays E-mail - For general questions:
<http://travel.state.gov/passport/about_contact_npic_email.html>

end cut and paste

If you were going to apply for a new passport or for a renewal, it would be cheaper to do it before the surcharge goes into effect on 3/12/05.

edit - here is a link to the passport site, although the new fees are not listed yet: http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

hth

 

[Amberle3]

I would highly recommend getting a passport now. I posted this on the Community Board and the Canadian planning board:

"In three years, U.S. citizens and Canadians will have to show passports or a federally issued ID card linked to Homeland Security databases to re-enter the country from across the border. "

Full article can be found at:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-02-16-border-travel_x.htm

This goes into effect by Jan 1/08, and means that a) a US citizen will need either the passport or the travel ID card to re-enter the US, one would presume this applies to cruises as well and b) Canadians will then require a passport to enter the the US (I'm assuming the US ID card will not be available to Canadians).

Given the upcoming increase in US passport prices, and the fact that you'll soon need one, I'd say get one now.

 

[glindamood]

Thanks for letting us all know this - I think DH's will expire this year so will be sure to get his renewal out this week.

 

[starwood]

Real glad DM got hers already for our August cruise. As it is it cost her $85 plus the cost of the picture.

 

[DrCavin]

I just read an article saying that in 2005 US passports will include an RFID tag containing information about the holder and digital picture... Thanks Wal-Mart... *hehe

 

[vacationbug]

We're going on a Mexican Coast cruise in June, and DCL sent us passport information (the application forms and instructions) with a letter that advises us to get passports. We already have ours and just applied for our kids on Valentines Day!

 

[fljelad]

Wow, thanks for the heads up. We just got our all our paperwork in last week!

 

[Yankee914]

Good thing we already applied! Our passports should be in the mail any day now. We never had trouble traveling with birth certificates, but on a trip my husband and I took over the summer to the Bahamas, American Airlines gave us some trouble regarding hubby's birth certificate. So- we decided to get them for our upcoming April cruise. It is just much easier to have the peace of mind you get when traveling with passports. I know now we won't have any problems.

 

[Az Pirates]

Thanks for posting the heads up!

I need to renew mine and figured I might as well get them for the kids too - I think that will be easier and safer than traveling with birth certificates for our upcoming cruise.

I'll get going on it today - you just saved us $60
(passports x 5)

 

[SandraLee]

I sent the applications off last Saturday for my DD and DS. I am very glad I'm getting them passports. Mine and DH's doesn't expire for a while, but I'll be glad to have the kids done, too.

 

[Aisling]

If I apply for my passport before the March changes, am I getting an inferior passport? I mean, I won't have the biometric thing and the RFID tag (I have no idea what that is!). Will not having these extra security features be worth saving some money?

 

[jordgubben]

Judging from the above posting it seems that only thing you would be missing from a passport issued before the March 8th is the extra fee.

 

[albiats]

If I apply for my passport before the March changes, am I getting an inferior passport? I mean, I won't have the biometric thing and the RFID tag (I have no idea what that is!). Will not having these extra security features be worth saving some money?

My guess is that the biometeric thing and the RFID tag will not be able to be implemented fully for several years, and I just got our Passports in 2002, so I have 7 more years left.

The RFID stands for 'Radio Frequency Identification Tag' and it is sort of like a bar code that can be read from radio waves, so they wouldn't need a bar code scanner to actually touch the passport to find the information on your passport. WalMart is starting to use it to track pallets of goods shipped to their distribution centers from their top suppliers.

My theory on why I need a Passport - it removes the person looking at your birth certificate from the responsibility of determining if it is a correct birth certificate and if you are the person represented as a citizen of that country. If they have a passport in front of them, they only have to verify it is a real passport and that you are the same person. In other words, in my case, the DCL cast member checking me in sees that the US Department of State has issued me a passport so they have already verified that I am a US Citizen and now they don't have to try to read what's on the line where my birtch certificate was folded over, and they don't have to look to see if it's a raised seal or if my state issues certified copies of birth certificates or not, or figure out that my DW had a maiden name before we were married, or anything like that. They just have to verify that the passport is legitimate and that there are no 'travel holds' placed on me from their database, and that I am the person represented in the passport. It is much easier and much more accurate for them, plus the barcode scan on my passport can provide a travel history for them.

By the way - I remember reading about this tip a couple years ago and I use it now. I make a color copy of our passports with the id page and the photo page and carry it with me in a non-obvious corner of our checked luggage, in case we lose the originals. I also scan it into my computer and then email it to myself on a web based email account, like hotmail or yahoo. If i were in a location and needed a copy of the id page and didn't have the original or the paper copy, I could print one out of any computer with Internet access, if I needed to. When I return home, I delete the email copy.

hth

 

[mickeyfanmom]

Good ideas albiats! Thanks for sharing the info!