Passport help please !!

[mickeyfan1]

No satisfaction guaranty, either.

 

[JeanC]

Before we got our passports a couple of years ago, I always carried my birth certificate and my marriage certificate when we cruised DCL. No one ever wanted to see the marriage certificate. When I applied for a passport, I had my marriage certificate, and I was told that it was not necessary. I actually find that kind of strange. (It's interesting that when I first went to apply for a passport, we went to a post office in HHI while we were on vacation. I didn't have my marriage certificate with me so they wouldn't process my application). After we came home, we went to the county courthouse with marriage certificate in hand, and they didn't even want to look at it. They forwarded my application with birth certificate and I got my passport back without any further information.

 

[Kaleigh]

We had similar issues. Yes, they only want the long form of the birth certificate with the raised seal. Some states are really great about getting them to you quickly. Mississippi got mine to me exactly one week after I mailed it off which seemed impossible. Louisiana took 5 weeks. North Dakota took a week and a half.
I was never asked for my marriage license, just my driver's license and birth certificate.
My passport took 3 weeks to come in with no rush.

 

[MissReeRee]

I don't have a copy of my BC anywhere, but I've always had a passport to use... DD was born in VA and for some reason they send out the BC folded so with the constant folding and unfolding the darn thing is almost ripped in half! Makes no sense!

 

[tvguy]

I don't have a copy of my BC anywhere, but I've always had a passport to use... DD was born in VA and for some reason they send out the BC folded so with the constant folding and unfolding the darn thing is almost ripped in half! Makes no sense!

This is the exact reason why my kids have had Passports since age 2, and their BC have been locked up in the bank safe deposit box since then. The Passports are designed for wear and tear, and can be used in place of a BC domestically....Passports aren't just for foreign travel.

 

[mickeyfan1]

This is the exact reason why my kids have had Passports since age 2, and their BC have been locked up in the bank safe deposit box since then. The Passports are designed for wear and tear, and can be used in place of a BC domestically....Passports aren't just for foreign travel.

But a lot of school districts and sports leagues require a BC for registration. This the need for a copy at home.

To the PP about VA, my son was born there, his official BC is a plastic CC sized card. I got a really nice fancy schmancy copy from the state for 2 bucks (33 years ago) but it says right on it, NOT OFFICIAL. It has a raided seal, too. I know for his passport he had to get a different paper one from VA, I have no idea what it looks like.

TV Guy, that safe deposit box thing, not the best idea. If you and your wife are the co owners and happen to be killed in an accident, no one is going to be able to open that box. It will sit until pretty much your will is in probate or even out of it. If that is where your will and medical power of attorney is, you might think of getting a safe at home and make sure some other adult can open it, just in case.

 

[schwoomp]

I applied for my passport a couple months ago and was not asked for my marriage license. The instructions on the government website don't mention it either. I would guess it's because their databases have so many other cross-references to make sure you are who you say you are, that it's not necessary. It took about 3 weeks for it to come back.

 

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

I had the same problem with my DS, who was born in California. Didn't know what an abstract was but that's what he had and even though it had the raised seal - passport agency rejected it. I used the Orange County Records Office, the county he was born, it was a lot faster than going through the state office - had to order the long form, they mailed it priority to me. The US Passport agency only gives you a limited time to get your documents and get it back to them or you have to pay the fee again.

Good luck with it, I know it's a pain. I had to submit my marriage license with my application, said I had to have it for a name change. If someone didn't change their name when married, maybe that wouldn't apply.