Travel plan idea blog

I heard that the government is temporarily waiving the need for a passport as long as you show proof that you applied. I would call the phone number that comes on the passport application and ask them if this is true. I saw this story on the news a couple weeks ago. It's worth a try. Good luck!

All this is stupid. I got my passport in one week after the post office told me it's been taking over 8 weeks. I did not use the post office to expedite. I went to the Web and looked up Passports, renewing and printed out the form, I filled out the form, took my own digital photos following the rules posted on the U.S. govt Web site, and then went to the post office to pay the expedite fee and get priority mail packages for to and from the passport office in Dover.

If you use the post office, it goes to centers like Los Angeles and Washington DC. You'll never get your passport in THAT mess. Use the smaller passport office in Dover.

I did the same as travelfan - only I sent it directly to the address listed on the state dept web site (I believe it went to Nat'l Passport Processing in Philly). On the same day that I received a notice indicating that they had received it and were processing my application, I also received my new passport. It came back to me within the week!

Me, my sister, her husband and 4 kids are traveling to Panama at the end of the week for family reunion. My passport is current. My brother-in-law and the 4 kids received their passports in 3 weeks. My sister DOES NOT have hers. They are leaving on this FRIDAY from Houston!!! Her passport is being processed in Houston. She does have her license, military ID, birth certificate (she born in Germany on an army base)and a status of her passport being processed. She's called the passport agency. She did send a passport assistance form to our Senator yesterday. Any suggestions??!! Will she get stuck in Houston or Panama??!!!

A business or govt entity can issue a request letter for passport or renewal for an individual..and the passport center..say, new york...will issue it immediately..same day..i've done it in new york city on 4 seperate occasions over the last 20 years and i live in new orleans...submited request letter in am ..pick up passport in afternoon..

mine was always a renewal of passport for travel within next 24 hours but i observed flight attendants doing the same thing, adding pages for stamps or renewals.

And for the lady that has a military id....go to the nearest military personnel office and get a request letter for immediate passport...the department of defense can/does issue these request letters.

it took 15 wks. to process ours - we used the post office on March 24th. My FL cousin was renewing hers for people to people trip, and she left it up to chance, however, after going to Congresspersons' office she did rec. hers in time to leave - but just by 2 days! Be prepared to have breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Congresspersons' office. Long wait, but success! Good luck....

Here's an update. My sister called me this afternoon and our Senator's office called her and said she should have the passport by tomrrow. They gave her a FedEx tracking number so I am PRAYING! I will her about going on base for help also. What makes me mad is that I told my sister and her husband not to wait too late to apply. They applied mid-June!

When my wife and I First heard we may need to have passports to travel outside the country we got ours ordered. We had them in hand before we booked our next cruise. Turned out we will not need them for a couple more years, maybe. Anyway point is, you should have got your passports before booking your trip. You had been planning this trip for awhile, not just a couple of weeks i would assume. Good luck getting them but look in the mirror for the person to blame.

Getting a passport can be quick and easy! You need to use a private expediting company like A Briggs Passport and Visa Expeditors. They can get you a passport in about 3 to 4 days. The only catch is, is that you have to actually be traveling you will need a flight itinerary and have to be traveling with in a 3 week time frame. I used to work for private company doing this and it's so easy, but not to many people know about it.

Thank you for the comments and shared experiences. It's true that the US has said we don't need passports in some cases, but make sure to check with the country you're visiting. Just because the US will let you back in without a passport doesn't mean the place you're going to will let you through immigration.

I agree with Selina about the private Expediters. I used nationalpassport.com, and got mine in 7 days. I provided an already paid itinerary for 6 weeks later, and there was no issue. It costs about $100 over the expedited costs.

After reading in our local newspaper that our gov't had postponed the need for a passport if traveling to Canada or Mexico and only proof of application from the local postoffice, I did not worry about our travel plans to Cabo San Lucas since we had proof of application form from our post office, we had our birth certificates, drivers license, and voters registration all to prove our citizenship. All was to no avail, since we were not allowed to board on our flight stating that we did not have the PRINTED INTERNET PROOF OF APPLICATION which upon checking the internet, all it said was "application in process". We have lost money for our family vaction not to mention the immense disappointment to all concerned. My husband had only one week off from work for this much anticipated holiday..who is RESPONSIBLE??? Sincerely, Very Upset Americans.

O.Salinas, YOU are responsible. I believe it's been six months since the rule went into effect and the information about it happening was on the news months before that...so in effect, you probably had 1 year to get your act together. And if you had worked with a travel agency, they should have told you as should have the airline you booked with.

But YOU are ultimately responsible for not doing what you knew was required of you. I know you won't take the personal responsibility of it because you are asking "who is RESPONSIBLE" so you can blame someone else.

Are you sure you're not being too harsh travelfan? If the goverment said you need proof, why wouldn't proof from the post office be sufficient?

And why would a printout off the net be necessary considering that this could easily be forged? I would think the proof from the post office is more secure.

Who is responsible then?

Certainly I agree that O.Salinas takes some responsibility for not finding out exactly waht was needed from the airline. But I can also blame the airline for not telling them what they required to let you on the plane (as I said requiring an easily forged printout from the net is silly). And I can blame the federal government - changing rules so often causes confusion.

Alot of travel websites are recommending that you apply for a passport 4 months in advance- I'm planning an out of country wedding and honeymoon and I was told by like 4 people to get my passport now- for next summer. Common sense would tell you it would be difficult with all of the other Patriot Act issues going on- airline, social security #s to foreigners, AND passports, but I am surprised the airline didn't just say it outright... always good to double check. Sorry it happened to you, but I bet it will never happen again! Count your losses and forget about it, and start saving up for a makeup vacation for yourself.

My sister's passport did not come yesterday. The FedEx tracking number she was given doesn't work!I spoke with my sister this morning and she made it on the plane in Houston with no problem. Now when she gets to Panama, that might be a different story. I should know in a couple of hours whether or not she gets detained or something! Maybe they will take pity on her since she has 4 kids and a husband.

Does anyone know what happens when you get detained in customs in general? Do they send you back? Put you in jail?

I think the govenment should have thought about this mess long and hard before they said you need a passport to travel. Did the govenment not realize that once a passport is needed to travel all hell was about to break out because everyone needs one. Now its taking forever to get a passport and when you call know one knows anything.

Spoke with my mom and my sister made it through Panamaian customs with no problem! Hopefully she will get back with no problem. I leave tomorrow and I can't wait! I am long overdue for vacation!