<p>in our city, we go to certain post offices to do the passport application, as you can’t do it at the passport office unless it is an emergency and you have to fly at short notice </p>
<p>We had to make an appointment and waited about two weeks for it, but it went fairly smoothly</p>
<p>We do have a couple of places that you can just walk into without an appointment as well</p>
<p>It can take about 6 weeks to get the passport, and you can download all the forms</p>
<p>Yes, a letter (notorizet) would have been fine if my H wasn’t able to come with the under 15 yo, but by the time we did all that, it was just as easy for him to come with us</p>
<p>If you go through the post office, you need to bring two checks</p>
<p>Yep, the post office charges for the service</p>
<p>A minor child cannot renew a passport by mail, like adults can</p>
<p>And, remember, allow time for your teen girl to look good for the picture, my Ds are still mad at me for not giving them enough warning to do the makeup again…</p>
<p>When I took our daughter to London a a few years ago we went through Canada and we were asked for the letter from my husband allowing her to leave the country with me. I would echo what others have said, have one from your husband for your daughter and a letter from both parents of the other girl. Our letter was not notarized, but that was before all the new legislation so perhaps that has changed</p>
<p>well I just booked our travel tickets- we aren’t going to take her friend this time- but probably will go this summer- they are both very interested in fashion and I told them Vancouver was much more stylish than Seattle ( where I have seen flip flops at the symphony)</p>
<p>Ithink it really just depends on the mood of the customs agent- sometimes they want to see everything and other times they don’t even check.
( Like opening day at baseball game- when it is packed they don’t even inspect your bags so we were sitting next to someone who much have brought a half rack of beer in- other times they will make you dump out your water bottle & their water tastes nasty)</p>
<p>Once we were flying out of mexico to LA to catch a flight to SF, well, the flight was delayed forever, and our turnaround time dwindled to 30 minutes for the last flight of the day</p>
<p>we asked for our seats-mom, dad, two little girls and grandma, to be near the front of the plane so we could get off quickly and sprint to our flight with a slight hope we could make it</p>
<p>well, they did give us the first row flights, but they searched EVERYTHING, all of our luggage, all our shoes, the girls stuffed animal, all of it, not sure if it was secuurity or because i was so mad they were leaving hours late, and wouldn’ give us any information so we could try and check on our other flights</p>
<p>so, of course luck would have it that our LA-SFO flight was delayed 45 minutes, so we JUST made it, but i tell ya, we were sweating</p>
<p>but we all got through immigration in like 3 minutes, because we raised past everybody like bats out of )*%</p>
<p>We have often traveled with extra friends along. One other thing I always did was get notarized permission slip to seek emergency medical treatment for the child. Luckily we never had to use it but I have had friends sit in ERs for hours on end with a broken bone, etc waiting while the hospital tried to contact parents and verify their identity. Also have a copy of insurance, allergies, etc.</p>
<p>When my son traveled with a friend (and friend’s mother) to Mexico last summer all that was required was a “certified” birth certificate which was not the one issued to us by the hospital at birth but one bought at the county office of records for $10. He also had to have his driver’s license. No passport required. He said the 3 of them walked right through with no questions asked.</p>
<p>When my nephew was 11 years old and traveled with his aunt (from other side of the family) to/from Canada, she did not have letter with permission to be travelling with him and indicating he was her nephew
(last names are different). They were separated at the border and questioned by authorities for a long time until my sister was reached by telephone. I guess they are concerned about possible kidnappings especially in custody cases. Be prepared.</p>