New Jack City: The World is Yours With a U.S. Passport

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to me, but every time it happens, it does…

Someone will ask me to set up a vacation package to Cancun or a Caribbean cruise. And everything is set – that is until I ask THAT question.

“Do you have a passport and is it still valid?”

Which stops the potential traveler dead in their tracks.

It’s amazing how many people still think that all it takes is a drivers license to travel to Mexico or, for that matter, Canada.

All that changed after 9/11.

In this day and age it’s always a good idea to have a valid passport in your possession, After all, it’s good for 10 years!

Passports for minors under the age of 16 are valid for only five years.

The most common way to obtain a U.S. Passport is via your area’s MAIN post office.

And since it’s usually just one person that handles the process it ‘s a good idea to phone ahead to set up an appointment.

Busy application times are usually on Saturday mornings and prior to major travel periods like spring break, summer and Christmas.

Proof of citizenship (i.e. a birth certificate) and two specific-sized photos of the applicant are just some of the required items to be brought with you to the post office as you swear to the accuracy of your application form.

(Note: Pick up your new or renewal forms in advance and passport pics can be had for very little money at area drug stores such as Walgreens and CVS.)

Once you’ve turned all your documents—including expired passports—over to the post office and paid the $135.00 fee ($105.00 for kids) it can take six to eight weeks for the new passport to arrive in the mail.

The shipment will also include the legal documents you provided as proof of citizenship and/or your expired passport.

During slow periods of the year the processing time can be reduced to four weeks while busy times can push it to a couple of months or more.

Need a passport faster?

The post office will expedite it—for a fee.

There are also a number of private companies who will walk the application through the government for you. They can have it in your hands in sometimes less than a week. But those services are not cheap!

Your travel agent will help you along those lines or go to travel.state.gov

One caution.

If you already have a U.S. Passport and are planning a trip outside the country—or a cruise—make certain that its expiration date is at least six months from your departure date.

Some countries may deny you entry if your passport expires in fewer than six months!

Airline personnel will check your passport before boarding on your first leg of the trip at KCI—even if you connect somewhere else before leaving the country.

And this really happens!

I had a client flying to the Caribbean.

She grabbed what looked like her passport only to find out at the airport that it was her similar looking Capitol Federal Savings book and was denied boarding.

And another client on a non-stop flight from KCI to Toronto could not get on the plane because he thought all he needed was his Kansas drivers license.

A U.S. Passport is a proud possession that many others in the world would fight for.

Do you have yours?