passport ???

[paysensmom]

I need to get our passports, but don't know where or how to do it. I found a website, but they want me to pay $59 to download their "guide". Is this necessary? Please help!! We are just going to need the passport cards.
Thanks!

 

[Kae]

I need to get our passports, but don't know where or how to do it. I found a website, but they want me to pay $59 to download their "guide". Is this necessary? Please help!! We are just going to need the passport cards.
Thanks!

no. We went to the post office got the forms filed them out then went to CVS for pictures-there is alot of guidelines/rules for the pictures, then took it all back to the post office anwsered some questions & got our pasports in about 2 weeks.

Kae

 

[clh2]

Passport infohttp://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

There should be some good info here.
I don't know about the passport cards...just passports.

 

[North of Mouse]

I don't know anything about passport cards. We just went to the PO and got ours there. As for the pictures, my DH took our pictures, cropped them to the correct size and that was that. No problems. We were not going to pay 10-15 dollars per person for all our passports just for pictures.

 

[ellone]

no. We went to the post office got the forms filed them out then went to CVS for pictures-there is alot of guidelines/rules for the pictures, then took it all back to the post office anwsered some questions & got our pasports in about 2 weeks.

Kae

Some Post Offices will take the photos for you as well. I know the one in my town does.

 

[Joan S.]

Hi, AAA also does Passport photos. Joan

 

[bumbershoot]

Read the State department site thoroughly (the stuff regarding passports). Be SURE you only want the card (in 10 years isn't it *possible* you'll want to fly somewhere?????). Find the local places to you to do your applications (we go to the Post Office, but others go to places like county registrars, etc...you need to find out the places in YOUR area), set aside the time, be prepared that you might have to come back if something was mis-read and other items need to be gathered.

But basically you need photo ID for adults, birth certificates for everyone. If these are for kids as well, get both parents there together at the same time. If one parent can't go, have that one fill out the form to be *notarized* (some banks have free notaries, FYI) and taken in by the parent who will be present. If it's a divorce situation, the whole page discussing this goes further and further into the "if, then" scenarios, down to if the parent is dead (bring in death certificate) or completely missing and out of the picture...

Lots and lots of info on that site!

Be sure to bring the payments that they need in the ways that they need them. The PO is the simplest, in my opinion. There's the passport fee and the application fee, to put it simply, and some places require those payments to be made in *different* ways.

Just find out, as exactly as possible, what your local places need, and go take care of it!

 

[cornflake]

You don't need the guide - you can just go to the post office or in some places, can be easier to go to the passport office itself (if there's one in/near your town, bigger cities have one).

Also agree with the above that if you're going to the trouble, just get passports.

It's FAR easier to renew a passport than get a new one, it's no big deal at all to just renew, only has to be done every decade for adults, and you've got it if you decide to fly someplace.

Even if you think you only need the cards, you might end up on the trip you thought would only be by land needing to fly home really quickly or who knows what.

If you were like, living in a border town and just generally walked or drove a mile over to the border all the time and had no plans to travel, sure, get the card. Everyone else I don't understand the point of the card - if you're going to the trouble, get the actual passports.

 

[sam_gordon]

You can fill out & print the forms you need from the http://travel.state.gov/passport/ site. EVERYONE will need a picture taken.
HOWEVER, there are certain guidelines the pictures need to meet. (2" x 2", plain background, certain gap between eyes & chin along with top of hair and top of photo, etc).
Guidelines are available online, including templates to make sure you get it right.
SOME PO's will take pictures, but they'll charge you.
SOME PO's only accept appointments, some accept walkups. Check ahead

 

[MAD4EEYORE]

We had our passports done at the post office. Our courthouse does passports as well but charge more fees and don't take photos. We had the post office take out photos as well. I was glad that we did it that way. Granted we paid more for our photos but we had so much trouble getting it just right. As someone stated above the photo has to be perfect and you need someone that knows what they are doing. Had we gone to CVS or some where like that we would have been delayed in getting out passports. They will send it back if the photo is not perfect.

I also think it's better to get a full passport and not just the passport card. If by chance you needed to fly home for an emergency you wouldn't be able to do so.

 

[jackie101]

I need to get our passports, but don't know where or how to do it. I found a website, but they want me to pay $59 to download their "guide". Is this necessary? Please help!! We are just going to need the passport cards.
Thanks!

Get forms at post office. If you have triple A, passport pictures are free if not go to cvs. They are not hard to fill out

 

[4HppyCamprs]

Do not pay to fill out the forms! They are very simple to fill out. I went to the travel.gov website and from there you can fill in the forms and then print them out and take them to the post office. Pictures are very specific for passports so if you do as previous poster suggested and take them yourself make sure you understand the requirements otherwise we paid 9.99 for 2 pictures at walgreens. The passport card will let you get out of the country but in case of a emergency where you have to fly back from a foreign airport it will NOT let you back in the country. Happy travels!!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

You can also have passport photos taken cheaply at Costco.

Don't get the card, get a full passport.

I agree that the post office is one of the easiest places to use to process the forms. You usually need an appointment.

 

[Avonlady1001]

If you have triple A, passport pictures are free

AAA isn't always free. AAA NY is $5 for a set of 2 pics. Still cheaper than CVS or Walgreens though.

 

[sam_gordon]

AAA isn't always free. AAA NY is $5 for a set of 2 pics. Still cheaper than CVS or Walgreens though.

It's cheaper than that if you print from home. Assuming you:
A) Have some time before the passport is needed
B) Have a little photo editing experience

it's pretty easy.

You can fit up to six passport pictures on a 4 x 6 print. I took the pictures in front of a white board, and actually redid two of them in front of a light tan wall.

Again, if you can follow the templates/suggestions available online, they're not difficult.

One thing I did was take the pictures (no forms, no one else) to the PO ahead of time to make sure they're acceptable. They have a template they can overlay to make sure it falls into guidelines.

 

[Maleficent53]

I think someone also mentioned - be sure you really only want the passport card. It is very limited to where it allows you to travel (and how- airlines do not accept them). They might save you some money now, but if in the near future you decide to go out of the country, you will have to reapply for a regular passport....

Don't pay any company money to help you get a passport. It is really easy - go to your local government office, post office, etc.

 

[North of Mouse]

You can fill out & print the forms you need from the http://travel.state.gov/passport/ site. EVERYONE will need a picture taken.
HOWEVER, there are certain guidelines the pictures need to meet. (2" x 2", plain background, certain gap between eyes & chin along with top of hair and top of photo, etc).
Guidelines are available online, including templates to make sure you get it right.
SOME PO's will take pictures, but they'll charge you.
SOME PO's only accept appointments, some accept walkups. Check ahead

My husband took our pictures and they only had to be face on, plain background (our wall) 2"x 2" close up and they were accepted, no questions. We were even told we could do it and save money. There was no mention of a certain gap between eyes and chin - just a clear close-up. Our passports came without a hitch. Anyone with a digital camera and photo copier could do the same thing. The PO told us everything we needed to know, was very easy. The great thing is you only have to renew every 10 yrs. My DH had to travel to Japan with his company , so he's had his renewed twice - so simple to do - just don't let it expire!

 

[sam_gordon]

My husband took our pictures and they only had to be face on, plain background (our wall) 2"x 2" close up and they were accepted, no questions. We were even told we could do it and save money. There was no mention of a certain gap between eyes and chin - just a clear close-up. Our passports came without a hitch. Anyone with a digital camera and photo copier could do the same thing.

I did ours also. When you're talking about 5 people in a family, that quickly adds up if you're having them taken. BUT, they do need to be a certain way. From the passport site:

In color
Printed on photo quality paper
2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm) in size
Sized such that the head is between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches (between 25 and 35 mm) from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head. View the Photo Composition Template for more size requirement details.
Taken within the last 6 months to reflect your current appearance
Taken in front of a plain white or off-white background
Taken in full-face view directly facing the camera
With a neutral facial expression and both eyes open
Taken in clothing that you normally wear on a daily basis

I agree it's not hard, but some adjustment of the pictures (cropping) might be needed.

 

[sam_gordon]

Here's the template:

 

[girli565]

You can do the process yourself, go to the federal website posted by another poster and it will walk you through the whole process. For a passport I went to the post office and did everything there even my pictures.