Which Is The Right US Passport Application For You?

When it comes to international travel, the passport is the first item that should be on the to-do list. However, many travelers do not realize that there are actually a variety of forms to choose from that depend on the situation that the applicant is trying to address. Special circumstances require that different American passport application forms are filled out. It is important to make sure that you indeed have the right ones.

For the regular business traveler this is going to be old hat. The challenges for getting a passport and making sure the right documents are in line usually comes from the casual traveler that is doing this for the first time. It is perfectly understandable how someone could get a little confused walking into a passport office with so many different forms available.

A passport application may be obtained from a variety of sources both local and online. The local sources are normally located at the nearest post office but not all provide passport services. The online sources range from government websites to private providers that assist in the application process.

Once the forms have actually been filled out, supporting documents will have to be added before the application will be considered complete. It is also important to note that any first time applicant must not sign their forms until they are actually in the window in front of the clerk. They must witness the signing or the forms are invalid.

Some of the documents can be a little confusing in regards to exactly what information is needed on them. This is why they have complete instructions on the site on exactly what to do with the forms. There are also private companies that are available to help with this whole process. For those of us who hate filling out forms, their fee is more than worth it.

In most situations, the normal turnaround time for a passport is about six weeks. They also offer expedited service for an additional $60 of two to three weeks, however, this time frame is not guaranteed. Anyone who is traveling sooner than that or that just wants their passport quicker, must use one of the private offices that can get a passport back to an applicant in as little as 24 hours.

When all of the correct forms have been filled out, the last item that will be needed is the passport photo. It is very important that the photo meet the size requirements (2”x2”) and that it is of a high quality. In other words, you are going to have to spring for something a little better than the sit in photo booth. Many passport offices will actually provide this service for an extra fee.

Once the United States passport application is complete and the photos taken, it will all need to be shipped to the address provided. The suggested method for this will either be FedEx or UPS as they are both traceable and insured. There is personal information being transmitted here and the protection of the applicant is of the utmost concern to these providers. With this advice, hopefully you will see that getting a United States passport isn’t that hard!