<p>I messed up and left my passport at my university and it’s my only photo ID (yes, I STILL haven’t gotten my license ). I’m traveling to California on Saturday and then to Las Vegas for my 21st birthday and as we all know, I need a photo ID to fly.
My passport didn’t even cross my mind AT ALL until last week. I completely blanked for some reason while packing to go home last month and have been vegging out, not even thinking about anything beyond Christmas and New Year’s. </p>
<p>My plan was to get a non-drivers photo ID since I believe they give it to you at the DMV that same day and here’s where the plot thickens. I have my two forms of ID ready (birth certificate and SS card) which I need but I can’t find ANY pieces of mail in the house with my name on them to prove my residence. I think I can print out my bank statement online since that has my address on it but I can’t find any other mail with my address and name on it. (I need two). My dad sorted all the papers/recent mail and threw out a bunch of stuff and I honestly don’t get much mail to begin with. I also have a bad habit of throwing out my mail after reading it, since most of it is unimportant. </p>
<p>Now, if I were to go get my passport, my school is only two hours ago by car. But my father works, although not so much in the winter (he doesn’t know that I left my passport at school. He even asked me about it when he was sorting the important papers last week and I told him it was all good because it still didn’t occur to me that I had left it. I literally did not think about it once) and even if he didn’t, he’d be ****ed and probably wouldn’t take me. </p>
<p>My mother works too (she knows I left my passport at school). She gets home at 5 pm and the last thing she wants to do is drive four hours to fix my mistake. Also, I don’t even know if my dorm would be open since they technically closed it for the break. Maybe my card would work but I really don’t know how that whole thing works.</p>
<p>Basically, I need advice on what to do in this situation. The mail has to be from the last 90 days. I looked on my school website and nothing includes my address. The fee bill has my name and student ID but no address. I’m lost and want to fix this so please, I’d appreciate any words of advice. Thanks!</p>
<p>I really think that you need to tell your parents and ask for their help. It’s an honest mistake, no big deal. I know we’d be happy to help my kids especially with something that’s causing them stress. Call the school and make sure that you can get in your dorm. I’ll bet you can. My daughter did the same thing a few years back. Her advantage was that he roommate was staying in the dorm at that time. It was over spring break. Her roommate had to go through my daughter’s stuff to find it and then she fed ex’d it to her. Everyone does it.</p>
<p>I would call the school to find out if you can get into the dorm. Explain why you need to. If you can, is there a bus that you could take to campus? If the answer is no, you need to tell your parents. Even though they might get annoyed with you for having forgotten it, they are likely to be really annoyed if you wait until the last minute to let them know. Give them as much time as possible to figure out when they can take you that will inconvenience them the least.</p>
<p>Call the school first – preferably the housing office (sometimes called Residence Life). You may NOT be able to get into the dorm without help from the staff. At some colleges, the electronic locks on the buildings are changed as soon as the dorms close so that student IDs will not open them. And staff may not be working at all times during the break. You might need to make an appointment with someone to get access to your room (and you will need your student ID to prove who you are).</p>
<p>However, you may not need to go to the school at all. You may be able to print out a second document with your home address on it – namely, your tuition bill for the coming semester. The bursar’s office should be able to tell you how.</p>
<p>Which state are you in? Do you have time to send yourself a letter at your home address? Did you order anything online over the holidays that was delivered to you via the Post Office? Could you use a copy of your school records showing enrollment? What about a pay stub showing your address?</p>
<p>The DMV office is likely to be strict about this and require official mail not personal mail, also to require something with your photo on it like school ID. Where is your picture ID from high school / college?</p>
<p>You said you can download your bank statement showing your home address. How about something from your student account? </p>
<p>I’m assuming you are in-state for UConn, so you need to meet the new Select ID requirements in Connecticut:</p>
<p>Identity (2) - you have a copy of your Birth Certificate? One other ID (transcript from UConn - your ID isn’t acceptable)</p>
<p>SSN - you have your social security card, or a W2 showing your SSN</p>
<p>CT Residency (2) - your bank statement, and school record indicating current enrollment.</p>
<p>Can you print something from UConn showing your current enrollment with your current home address? You’ll want the address from both documents to show the same address.</p>
<p>This just happened to our younger daughter during the winter break. She didn’t know we were going on vacation until she came home and she left her passport in her dorm room. She called the residential office to ask someone to go into her room to get the passport. They were going to FedEx it to her, but then we found out her cousin was still in school, so he picked it up for her.</p>
<p>Luck would have it, D2 also got her wallet stolen few days ago. We will need to replace her driver’s license, which would require proof of residency. We are going to call the housing office today to see if they could send her student ID and room key to our home before she returns. According to the automated notification email, they are due to be back in the office today. </p>
<p>You may want to contact your school to see if they are in the office and if someone could go into your room to get the passport. Since you are only 2 hours away, I would ask one of your friends to drive you there to pick up your passport.</p>
<p>I would attack it from both sides - continue to try to find proof of residence to get the state ID AND call your college to see if you can get into your room. Choose the path that will get results the fastest but work it from both ends.</p>
<p>If you have to 'fess up to get the passport it won’t be fun but if you stay calm and let your dad know you will learn from this and plan better in the future most parents will be willing to help.</p>
<p>Think - didn’t your bank ever send you something by mail? How about a bill from your college or from HS? Not sure if the DMV needs recent proof. </p>
<p>Well best of luck - I’m sure it will all work out!</p>
<p>DMV wants mail no older than 90 days.
They may not be strict about it, but in my experience they are.
They wouldn’t give my D an enhanced ID card although she had her passport, her school ID, her social security card & her birth certificate, because her official mail was older than three months.
Get a hold of someone ASAP at your school and pay one of your friends if you have to, to drive you to get it.</p>
<p>Hello. Thank you for your advice and kind words.
I called the school first and they said I would be able to enter the dorm by calling them ahead and they would let me in. Besides my parents, I have no one to take me. I can do public transportation though it would take a reallly long time so I"m looking into that.</p>
<p>I looked everything on my school website and there is nothing I can print out that would have my address on it. The tuition bill, like I said, does not include it unfortunately. </p>
<p>School ID doesn’t have my address or birthdate and isn’t issued by the state so I can’t use it. </p>
<p>I looked everywhere in my house and online and the best I could do was print my pre-paid cell phone bill off online, which doesn’t look legit at all but I think I’m going to try to get by with that since it has my address on it. I have nothing in this house recent with my name and address on it. I remember throwing some of my mail out two weeks ago when I got home because I didn’t need them at that point. Lesson learned. </p>
<p>Oh and my mom does know that I left my passport but she doesn’t know I can’t find another proof of address. I’m going to text her to let her know.</p>
<p>So… I think a big “I"m sorry” is in order to your parents, especially your dad (who did mention it as you were packing). Tell them you know you screwed up. If you can think of something, offer some way to pay them back (is there some four hour chore you can help them with to make up for the time for one of them driving you there and back?). Maybe you can’t do it over this break, but when you are home next you could… clean the garage or basement, do some big outdoor chore that needs to be handled, or something. Or dishes for a month next summer. Give them an “IOU” for something to make up for the time they will take to help you.</p>
<p>Mistakes happen but i really do think you should get your license so you can become self sufficient if something like this happens again. My folks stopped driving me around when I turned 16 and got my license. That being said, if i did something silly they have helped me out in a pinch no questions asked (though they may have done a bit of joking at my expense… haha!) Like when I locked my keys in my car 45 minutes away from home on an interview - LOL.</p>
<p>Everyone makes mistakes so I would apologize to your parents and ask for the ride.</p>
<p>Also an opportunity to suggest getting a passport card in addition to the passport. Our son keeps the passport card with him (school is 1800 miles away) and we keep his passport at home.</p>
<p>If you are going the DMV route, make sure you can get something temporary. Our state would not do it for S2 a few years ago, said it would be 2 weeks in the mail, despite needing something in 4 days for a trip.</p>
<p>Best bet would be to go get the passport. If you go at night, make sure before you leave that someone will let you into the dorm that late.</p>
<p>Tell your dad. ASAP. Then lots of apologies and commit to getting the license this summer. Go ahead and get the state-issued ID.</p>
<p>If you live in CT, your birth certificate and SS card will prove identity. You will need a bank statement that you can print from the computer, and your cell phone bill, or pay stub, voter ID card. Check the CT DMV. It would be easier to apologize to your parents and pick up the passport. BTW, Happy Birthday!</p>
<p>I would go get the Passport ASAP. You will need a government photo ID for airline travel and I’ve seen people get hasseled over the temporary paper state ID’s. Get that going too, but find someone to take up over to UConn and get into your dorm. Then leave your Passport at home from now on. You don’t need it in school and that way you’ll know where it is when you need it. </p>
<p>Also, I don’t know what the DMV is like there these days, but in my area, many offices have been closed and others have shortened hours. Lines are very long, they don’t do the enhanced ID’s every day, and if the line is too long close to closing, they stop taking people at the windows at random times. Built in a long wait and a possible return visit when you do-my teen had to go twice for her ID for the reasons I just mentioned, as did I when I went to renew my license.</p>
<p>I think your best bet is to go get the passport ASAP. You know where it is, and it will work for all of your needs. The other options seem too shackled-together-by-duct-tape.</p>
). I’m traveling to California on Saturday and then to Las Vegas for my 21st birthday and as we all know, I need a photo ID to fly.
</p>
Give them an “IOU” for something to make up for the time they will take to help you.</p>