<p>Yes, Costco.
After the ‘bad’ cameras in the post office (so much for one stop shopping) and the FedEx office store down the street, we ended up at Costco. Two pics for 4.99 each person.</p>
<p>CVS also does passport photos. Processing time is also dependent on region and season. Also be aware that the new passports have RFID chips in them.</p>
<p>Please just go and get it done NOW. You’ll have to do it very soon anyway; why tempt fate? If you renew now, you’ll have it in time for your trip without paying for expediting it. Every time we’ve renewed (by mail), it hasn’t taken anywhere near the 4-6 weeks - it’s always been surprisingly quick and we’ve never paid for expediting.
Have a great trip!</p>
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<p>Just to update: Mailed the application on Sept 9. Got it back today, Sept 17. I did NOT expedite it. Glad to see that at least part of our government services are still efficient.</p>
<p>I think the US government is very efficient. The majority of my interactions with the US government have been smooth and pleasant- I have been served efficiently and with a smile even by agencies as reviled as the IRS.</p>
<p>Unlike China where they have a lot of pro-government propaganda- we have a lot of anti-government propaganda promoted by people with a certain agenda. Only difference- the people in China can see right through the government propaganda. Our people don’t see through the anti-government propaganda.</p>
<p>This is probably a good time of year to renew a passport. My husband and just got new ones and they arrived within 2 weeks of making the request without any rush put on it at all.</p>
<p>You need to renew your passport since you don’t have the 6 month buffer.
You may also need additional photos for the visa applications depending on the countries you are applying.
Plan on 2 per visa application. Size of photos is specific.
Required shots may be in a series(over a few months time period) so you need to check if that applies to the countries on your itinerary.
Scan your passport into a secured email in case you need a copy while away.
Tripadvisor.com is a good source for current info and questions you may have about your upcoming trip.
Members are quick to answer any questions you pose on a specific country’s forum.</p>
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<p>Let me state that was my experience when I was trying to get a passport out. I was not bashing US governement. It was couple of years back when US all of a suddern required passport to cross the Canadian boarder. There was a backup at the passport office, we had to cancel our trip because DD’s passport did not come in time. I appologise if the backup conditions have been changed and I did not know that.</p>
<p>^ Sorry you had that experience. It was a huge issue at that time due to a change in policy that was not accompanied by sufficient change in allocated resources. I did not intend to accuse you specifically of govt bashing and I apologize if it came off that way.</p>
<p>To my knowledge US does not require a passport to return from Canada. At least I hope not because all H has is an enhanced drivers license & we are going to Vancouver BC on Saturday!</p>
<p>I do see that if you are not a US citizen, you will need a passport to travel between countries-</p>
<p>If an American citizen travel by air to Canada from US, I believe you need a passport, not sure if you are driving. If you take a cruise to Alaska from Seattle or SF, you will need the passport also as it will stop in some Canadian ports.</p>
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<p>We are traveling by train- we won’t even have to get off when crossing the border!</p>
<p>EK- the enhanced license will be fine</p>
<p>I do have a little rant.
I just took my daughter to get an enhanced ID card.
She had a passport ( she has traveled to Ghana/Costa Rica/UK/India/UAE/Netherlands) and some other ID.</p>
<p>They would not give her an enhanced ID because she did not have enough identification. We had been waiting for over two hours- she brought all the ID she had including her passport ( which was good enough to get her in & out of the aforementioned countries)- but it wasn’t good enough for the state of Washington.</p>
<p>However- they did say she could get a regular ID and then she can return with * that* , wait * another* two hours, pay * more* money and get an enhanced ID.
:rolleyes:</p>
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<p>However, how would they know if you are a US citizen if you don’t have a passport?</p>
<p>You would not be eligible for the enhanced ID card if you were not a citizen.
As my daughters experience shows, that requires more documentation than a passport.</p>
<p>I got my passport for a conference in Toronto, Canada. The conference registration said “you need a passport”.</p>
<p>Other pullouts were your cell phone will incur international charges and may not get service, and you’ll need to exchange currency. No mention of trains.</p>
<p>^ oh the cool thing about Vancouver is, I have been able to use towers that are in WA- so I didn’t get billed for intl calling. That doesn’t work in all areas though- it only worked when I was calling home, not when I was calling a friend in Vancouver.</p>
<p>I’ve ridden the train to BC before & you don’t have to get off- the inspectors come on board to everyones seat. On the bus you have to get off. ( & if you drive, they may really dig through your car)
They also do not have a sense of humor.</p>
<p>When my D was about 16, I took her up to BC in the hopes she would like Vancouver & maybe be interested in looking at University of British Columbia.</p>
<p>We rode the Amtrak bus service & we were standing in line to go through Canadian customs. She had been in a bad mood the whole way and giving me dirty looks.</p>
<p>Customs gave me hell, because I didn’t have a letter from her father saying I could take her out of the country. ( We are married 
)</p>
<p>She began giving me even dirtier looks :eek: and the customs agent took her off to the side to allow her to answer questions without my influence.
I could tell that it crossed her mind to say that I was taking her against her will!</p>
<p>Only after we got home again did she admit to saying she had a good time!</p>
<p>I LOVE Vancouver!! You can take me!</p>
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<p>Maybe this is a recent thing, when I was in Vancouver (Airport, Richmond District and North to Whistler) I was roaming all the time. But that was 4 years ago and it was Sprint TDMA.</p>