Passports

[Emily]

Do you have one?

Is it current?

What neat places are in it?

Do you like your photo?

Mom has been encouraging me to get some for DH, the three kids, and I. None of us have ever had one, but since they will be requiring US citizens to have one to get back into the US from Canada or Mexico by 2008, she thinks it would be a good idea to get 'em before there is a backlog of applications. I'm wondering, how long do they last before they have to be renewed? And since kids grow and change so quickly does it make sense go get one for kids more than 6 months before we plan on going anywhere?

[foptiludrop]

There's an ongoing squabble about whether or not all US Passports are going to need a special "chip". For now, the State Department has delayed a program to electronically enhance all newly-issued passports. But it could reverse itself at any time. So, why pay twice? Wait and see which way the wind is blowing, unless you've got some foreign travel on your agenda.


I have an expired passport. Not planning to leave this country again, and not going to update it (for identity purposes) until the electronic thing is resolved. My last passport was good for ten years.

[Emily]

Oooh, thanks Fop. I hadn't heard about that. What a good way to get mom to lay off the passport thing for a little while! ;)

[Kiheicat]

I have one and each of my kids has one. We went through the processing hell about a year and a half ago. I'm divorced so I had to start off with a notarized permission slip from my ex allowing me to get passports for the kids. Then we each had to get new birth certificates... mine was the hospital copy from Indiana from 40-something years ago, and my kids were the official certified ones but apparently since they were born the state of California, where they were born, has some new hoohah procedure and the government no longer accepted them for passport purposes so we had to get new certified copies from the courthouse ... all this after proving that all 3 of us were who we claimed that we were.... and all of this by mail since we live in Hawaii. Sheeeeeesh!
Mine is good for 10 years and the kids' are good for 5 years. Renewal doesn't take as many hoops as originals.

I will tell you that having them gives me an extra sense of peace knowing that if we needed to we could get the hell outta dodge.

So far ours are stamped from New Zealand, where we went last summer. Next summer we'll be adding Japan. :)