Fritz: All Fritz/All Fritz.zip/All Fritz/FILES/MISCEOUS/TRIPABRD.LZH/CH3

Text File | 1992-10-14 | 13KB | 258 lines

                              GETTING A PASSPORT

           Travel documents vary from country to country, but you will
         need the following: A passport or other proof of citizenship,
         plus a visa or tourist card.  You may also need evidence that
         you have  enough money for  your trip and/or  have ongoing or
         return transportation tickets.

         A Valid Passport

         Who needs a passport?
           A  U.S. citizen  needs a  passport to  depart or  enter the
         United  States  and  to  enter  and  depart from most foreign
         countries. Exceptions  include short term  travel between the
         United States  and Mexico, Canada, and  some countries in the
         Caribbean. Your travel  agent or airline can tell  you if you
         need a  passport for the  country you are  planning to visit.
         WARNING - Even if you are  not required to have a passport to
         visit a  country U.S. Immigration requires  you to prove your
         U.S.  citizenship and  identity when  you reenter  the United
         States.  Make  certain  that   you  take  with  you  adequate
         documentation  to  pass  through  U.S.  Immigration upon your
         return.  A   U.S.  passport  is   the  best  proof   of  U.S.
         citizenship.  Other  documents   to  prove  U.S.  citizenship
         include an  expired U.S. passport,  a certified copy  of your
         birth  certificate,   a  Certificate  of   Naturalization,  a
         Certificate of Citizenship, or a  Report of Birth Abroad of a
         Citizen of the United States.  To prove your identity, either
         a valid drivers  license or a  government identification card
         that includes a photo or a physical description is adequate.

           With the number of international child custody cases on the
         rise, several countries have instituted passport requirements
         to help  prevent child abductions. For  example, Mexico has a
         law that requires  a child travelling alone or  with only one
         parent to  carry written, notarized  consent from the  absent
         parent or  parents. No authorization  is needed if  the child
         travels  alone and  is in  possession of  a U.S.  passport. A
         child  traveling  alone  with  a  birth  certificate requires
         written, notarized authorization from both parents.

         Beware of a Passport That is About to Expire

           Certain countries will not permit you to enter and will not
         place a  visa in your  passport if the  remaining validity is
         less than 6  months. If you return to  the United States with
         an expired passport, you are subject to a passport waiver fee
         of $100, payable to U.S. Immigration at the port of entry.

           All  persons must  have their  own passport.  Since January
         1981, family members are not permitted to be included in each
         others passports.

           Every year,  demand for passports becomes  heavy in January
         and  begins  to decline in  August. You can  help reduce U.S.
         Government  expense  and  avoid  delays  by  applying between
         September  and  December.  However,  even  in  those  months,
         periods of high demand for passports can occur. Apply several
         months  in  advance  of   your  planned  departure,  whenever
         possible.   If  you   need  visas,   allow  additional  time,
         approximately 2 weeks per visa.


         How To Apply In Person

           For your first  passport, you must appear in  person with a
         completed Form DSP-11, PASSPORT APPLICATION, at one of the 13
         U.S. passport agencies oe at  one of several thousand federal
         or  state courts  or U.S.  post offices  authorized to accept
         passport applications. You may be  able to find the addresses
         of  passport  acceptance  facilities  in  your  area  in  the
         government  listings of  your telephone  book. If  you cannot
         find a listing, contact one of the 13 U.S. passport agencies.
         Applicants  between the  ages of   13 and  18 must  appear in
         person,  accompanied  by  a  parent  or  legal  guardian. For
         children under age 13, a  parent or legal guardian may appear
         on their behalf. If you have had a previous passport and wish
         to obtain another, you may be eligible to apply by mail.

         What To Bring When You Apply

         1. A  properly completed, but  unsigned, passport application
         (DSP-11). DO NOT sign it!

         2. Proof of U.S. citizenship (a, b, or c)
          a.    Use a  previously issued  passport or one in which you
         were included.

          b.    If you  were born   in the  United States,  you should
         produce a certified copy of your birth certificate. This must
         show that the birth record  was filed shortly after birth and
         must be certified with the registrar's  signature and raised,
         impressed, embossed,  or multicolored seal.  Certified copies
         of  birth records  can be  obtained from  the Bureau of Vital
         Statistics in the city, state, county, or territory where you
         were born.

           If you  cannot obtain a birth  certificate, submit a notice
         from a  state registrar stating  that no birth record exists,
         accompanied by the best secondary evidence possible. This may
         include  a baptismal  certificate, a  hospital birth  record,
         affidavits of persons having  personal knowledge of the facts
         of your birth, or other documentary evidence such as an early
         census, school  records, family Bible  records, and newspaper
         files. A personal knowledge  affidavit should be supported by
         at  least one  public record  reflecting birth  in the United
         States.

          c.    If you were born abroad, you can use:

         .. A Certificate of Naturalization
         .. A Certificate of Citizenship
         .. A Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States
            of America (Form FS-240)
         .. A Certification of Birth (Form FS-545 or DS-1350).
         If  you do  not have  any of  these documents  and are a U.S.
         citizen, you  should take all available  proof of citizenship
         to the nearest U.S. passport agency and request assistance in
         proving your citizenship.

         3. Proof of identity.

           You must  also establish your identity  to the satisfaction
         of the person accepting your application. The following items
         are  generally  acceptable  documents  of  identity  if  they
         contain your  signature and if  they readily identify  you by
         physical description or photograph.
         .. A previous U.S. passport
         .. A certificate of naturalization or citizenship
         .. A valid driver's license
         .. A government  (federal,  state,  municipal) identification
             card.

         The following are NOT acceptable
         .. Social Security card.
         .. Learner's or temporary drivers license.
         .. Any temporary or expired identity card or document.
         .. Any document that has been altered or changed in any way.

         If you are unable to present  one of the first four documents
         to  establish your  identity, you  must be  accompanied by  a
         person who has known you for at  least two years and who is a
         U.S.  citizen or  a permanent  resident alien  of the  United
         States. That person must sign an affidavit in the presence of
         the same  person who executes  the passport application.  The
         witness  will  be  required  to  establish  his  or  her  own
         identity. You  must also submit  some identification of  your
         own.


         4. Photographs

           Present  two  identical  photographs  of  yourself that are
         sufficiently  recent  (normally  taken  within  the  last six
         months) to  be a good  likeness. Passport Services encourages
         photographs where the applicant is relaxed and smiling.

           The  photographs must  not exceed  2x2 inches  in size. The
         image size measured  from the bottom of your  chin to the top
         of your head (including hair) must be not less than 1 inch or
         more than 1 & 3/8 inches with your head taking up most of the
         photograph.  Passport  photographs  may  be  either black and
         white or color. Photos must  be clear, front view, full-face,
         and  printed  on  thin  white  paper  with  a plain, white or
         off-white background.  Photos should be  portrait-type prints
         taken in normal street attire  without a hat and must include
         no  more than  the head  and shoulders  or upper  torso. Dark
         glasses  are  not  acceptable  except  when  worn for medical
         reasons. Head coverings are only  acceptable if they are worn
         for religious reasons.

           Applicants may use photographs  in military uniform only if
         they  are on  active duty  in the  U.S. Armed  Forces and are
         proceeding abroad in the discharge of their duties.

           Newspaper, magazine and most vending machine prints are not
         acceptable for use in passports.


         5. The correct fee

           Applicants age 18  and older who are required  to appear in
         person, must pay $65 for  their passport. This includes a $10
         execution  fee.  Their  passport   is  valid  for  10  years.
         Applicants  under  the  age  of  18  must  pay  $40 for their
         passport. It is valid for 5 years.

           You may pay in person by check, bank draft, or money order.
         You may also pay in cash at a passport agency and at SOME but
         not all post offices and clerks of court.


         How to apply by mail

           You may apply by mail if ALL of the following are true:

         .. You have  been issued a passport within  12 years prior to
         your new application.

         .. You are able to submit your most recent U.S. passport with
         your new application.

         .. Your  previous passport was  issued on or  after your 16th
         birthday.

         .. You use the same name as that on your most recent passport
         or you have had your name changed by marriage or court order.

         How to proceed

         Obtain Form  DSP-82, Application for  Passport by Mail,  from
         one of the offices accepting applications or from your travel
         agent, and complete the information  requested on the back of
         the form.

         1. Sign and date the application

         2. Include  your date of  departure. If no  date is included,
         passport agents  will assume that  your travel plans  are not
         immediate, and  your passport will be  processed in about two
         or three weeks.

         3. Enclose your previous passport.

         4. Enclose two identical 2x2 photos.

         5.  The $55  passport fee.  ( The  $10 acceptance  fee is not
         required for applicants eligible to apply by mail.)

         6. If your name has changed, submit the original or certified
         copy of  the court order  or marriage certificate  that shows
         the change of name.

         7.  For  processing,  mail   the  completed  application  and
         attachments to  one of the passport  agencies listed later in
         this   document.   An   incomplete   or  improperly  prepared
         application will delay issuance of your passport.

         How to pay the passport fee

         You  may pay  the passport   fee by  bank draft  or cashier's
         check, certified, personal or travelers (exact amount) check,
         or a  U.S. Postal, international, currency  exchange, or bank
         money order. DO NOT SEND CASH!

         When you receive your passport  sign it right away, then fill
         in page 4, the personal notification data page. Your previous
         passport and  the original documents  you may have  submitted
         will be returned to you with your new passport.





                                     *****