Since U. S. Passports are only issued to her citizens, all applicants must show proof of nationality for an urgent U.S. passport. The main document that achieves this is the birth certificate. The information that must be present in the document is the full name of both parents, the full name of the applicant and his/her place and date of birth. To make this a valid document, the dry seal of the issuing office must be stamped on it.

Passports can be issued to all citizens no matter how old or how young they are. For those applicants who are children, they need to be accompanied by their parents when they get an interview. Applicants who are 15 to 16 years old can go by themselves during the interview but they have to show that they are allowed by their parents to travel.

After preparing the birth certificate, two other papers need to be completed. One of them is a recent passport sized picture. The other document is the passport application form, which is Form DS-11. This is a free document that can be obtained from most public libraries and post offices. The same document can be downloaded from the website of the US State Department. Those applicants who are married females need to show papers that will support their change of name. The best document for this is a marriage certificate. After securing all these requirements, you are ready for the interview.

Everyone who has personal documents ready has to make a personal appearance at their passport acceptance center. All applicants will be interviewed and their papers will be inspected. When everything is satisfactory the applicants will be told to pay the application fee.

It takes time to apply for a passport. To avoid waiting, everyone must already apply the soonest time possible, even if there is no real reason to travel. Those who finally apply because they have their tickets already will soon worry if their application will finish before the date of departure. By applying early, the seasonal rush for passports will be avoided. The rush usually happens before the long holidays and school breaks.

Applications for passports are of two types. The regular application takes four to six weeks to complete. The expedited application takes only three weeks or less to finish. It is already obvious that a regular application is cheaper than the other one.

When you finally get your urgent U S passport, it is as if you are given a greater freedom because now you can go beyond the borders of your country. Travel makes one a better and wiser person so why not start the ball rolling by obtaining a USA Passport now.

Getting a document such as this does not have to be a big deal as long as some basic guidelines are followed. There are some things that need to be taken care of before anyone ever walks into a passport office to ensure that everything goes smoothly. Knowing about the process will go a long way in making sure that everything is done right and the right materials are secured.

First, keep in mind that rules and laws can change in a moment’s notice. Because of that, it is recommended that before actually heading out to the passport office that the State Department’s website is checked for the materials that are needed and what types of travel require a passport. While we have a synopsis of it here, by the time you are reading it, it could very well be outdated.

The first step in getting a new passport is getting passport photos. These must be taken prior to the trip to the application center. Pharmacies with photo labs are the best place to get passport pictures taken because they will crop the pictures to the proper specifications. These pictures are often relatively inexpensive.

Passport photos must be taken in street attire. The applicant should not smile in the photograph. Applicants that typically wear eyeglasses, a hearing device, a wig, or any other unique device that is worn daily should be sure to wear this item in the photograph. Passport photos should not be taken in any sort of uniform.

Next, the applicant must have all of their documents in order. A valid, government issued ID is required. This would include a state non-drivers license, a driver’s license, and military ID. They will also need proof of citizenship in the United States. In most cases, this is proven with a birth certificate. It is also best to make a photocopy of all of these documents that are being used.

When all information is finally together, the trip to the application center can finally be made. The USPS is a common outlet for passport application centers, but not all post offices accept applications. It is best to go on their website and search under government services to see the post office that is located the closest that can perform this service.

Clearly, obtaining a passport for the first time can be a time consuming process. Because passports are so important to our own national security, and the national security of other nations, our government needs to make sure that new pasport applicants are legitimate. The resulting process is time consuming, but necessary.