Filling out passport applications and lament the lack of a good FAQ page, or decent explanations. I really don’t want the application to be rejected because of something ridiculously trivial:
For mother's name, I assume 'maiden name'? No explanation on application. Guessing that it should match her name on my birth certificate?
Father's birthdate, I have, but he is deceased--no spot for death date.
Feel silly with this one: driver's license says I am 6 ft tall, as I was at the age of 16 when my first license was issued. Due to aging, I am an inch or 2 shorter. I would imagine my height on the application had better match the height on my driver's license, inaccurate though it may be?
Biggest question deals with "what country will you be visiting" and "what dates (MM/DD/YEAR)". Retirement is coming soon, the nest is almost empty, so we foresee international travel in the next year or two. We have no trips planned, but would like passports so we'll be ready when the time comes. Can that be left blank? I'd feel funny making something up.
Maybe I’m overreacting, but I’d hate to be on a bureaucratic merry go round getting this stupid application done!!
Thanks to all in advance. If anyone can help, it’s CC’ers.
You’re making it a lot harder than it has to be.
Fill it out according to what’s there and what it asks.
If you are still not sure, go to your local post office that has a passport office and they will help.
The purpose of these questions about your parents is to distinguish you from another spplicant w similar name. Whether your parents are presently alive is not relevant.
I put my mother’s present legal namem and it was OK
they don’t care about date of death
put your present height. If u get stopped at some county’s border, better to have the most accurate description
you must be really stressed out about this bcs u have #3 twice. The only countries they really care about you mentioning are GEC (Generally Embargoed Countries) and “sensitive” countries.
Not stressed GMT, just too many experiences with bureaucrats who lack common sense.
Comment about my numbering was uncalled for, just made a silly mistake.
They will not care or verify that info! I forgot to fill in my parents names the first time I applied, and I still got my passport. They probably thought I was an orphan!
I have found the passport agency to be one of the best government agencies to work with. They want your original documents, like a birth certificate or the certificate of citizenship. No copies, original. They want a clear picture of you taken to the right specks. They want to know it is you, so the correct information aND a photo copy of an ID, which the agent (post office, county clerk) will make And they want your check correctly made out. They will return your documents to you in a separate envelope from your passport for safety reasons. On the application, there are directions for what information is required and what documents will satisfy the requirement.
You don’t need to put any countries if you have no plans yet. Many people have passports and never go anywhere. My brother uses his as an ID as he has no license.
I reapplied for a passport during the years of study-abroad for my young adults. I put no travel plans as I intended to use the passport for emergency purposes only. (My son did end up in a hospital in London with an IV antibiotic for three days. No need for the passport though - he steadily improved.)
You’re assuming way more cross checking to other databases than actually goes on. Put your mother’s maiden name, but no one is going to cross check it exactly against your birth certificate. They don’t care if your father is alive or dead. And they certainly aren’t checking your height / weight against a drivers license.
Regarding upcoming potential trips - you needn’t “prove” any planned upcoming travel to them. Make it up or leave it blank, whatever you prefer. If you say you plan on going to France in April 2017, it’s not like you’re swearing that you WILL, and it’s not like the govt will hunt you down and force you to take a trip.
Where you will need exact dates is if you are applying for visas in some countries (such as Brazil, China, Russia) - for those applications that require invite letters. However, that’s through that government, not the US. And frankly if I didn’t know the exact dates, or was still shopping around for tickets. I’d just pretend to buy a ticket and print out an itinerary from an airline saying that I was booked to fly to (say) Moscow on July 10 and return to the US on July 16 and stay at the Moscow Marriott, even if I wound up moving my dates a few days and staying at the Hilton.
I’d spend the most energy on making sure your photos meet their specs (though any drugstore should be able to do it). THAT’s what they will send you back for - not whether you wrote your mother’s name as Mary A. vs Mary Ann or whether you aren’t sure if you are going to France or Spain.
The reason the upcoming trips don’t matter is that you are perfectly free, at any moment, to head to the airport and jump on a plane to a (non visa requiring) country and the govt doesn’t have to “approve” your travel plans. I could decide I want to fly to Paris or London tomorrow if I like. I needn’t file “intent” or clear that ahead of time.
Well now you are giving way too much credit to the agency, VeryHappy! They will rush your passport if you pay for rush service. Otherwise, they process them as they come across the desk of the person processing passports.
I submitted them for my kids and we were in a rush, were traveling to China so needed to get visas too, but I thought I had enough time (you can also pay for rush service after you’ve submitted them and they will pull them out of the regular line and put them into the expedited line, so I had that safety net). You can track the progress online. Things were fine, then they pulled one out for special processing, then the issue dates were moved back about 2 weeks, then the dates went away on one child’s (foreign born) then they arrived in the mail.
I do not think the passport agency spent one second worrying about our plans to travel or rushing the applications. You pay for that.
My town recently had an event at the library where you could bring all your documents in to either renew your passport or apply for a new one. I went in to renew and sat with the nice fellow for all of about two minutes. I had all the correct documents, photos, etc., so there wasn’t much to talk about, but he did note that I had no upcoming travel. So I assumed they noticed it for more than chit chat while you’re sitting in front of them.
The people at the passport office are very friendly and happily accept phone calls. I paid extra to rush my passport, but forgot to add the additional fee for express mailing. I phoned and the agent took my credit card info over the phone.
