Need expedited passport advice

[jenn_x]

Hey everyone,

This is not a CCL specific question, but I am hoping that someone here may know the answer of provide some guidance.

 

My sister has been offered a free cruise (a friend broke up with her fella, and now is offering my sister his spot, free of charge and has already cleared it with the cruiseline) and they are slated to sail the Mexican Rivera on Dec 26. Problem is my sister has an expired passport.

 

She lives a few hours from San Francisco and is willing to drive there where she can (supposedly, Ive never done it) get her passport that day, but she was also looking at private expediting services in the event her employer does not let her have the day off to go to SF (note: she just so happened to have the week of the cruise off, so there are no problems there). She is very worried about being scammed, so my question to you all is this: has anyone used one of these services and is there a reputable on that you would recommend.

 

We have also looked at getting a certified copy of her birth certificate, but I think that this point she would have to go the county recorders office, which would be even further away than going to SF.

 

She and I are open to your thoughts on this. Thanks so much!

[falkcor]

i was going to offer the fact that on a closed loop cruise you CAN cruise with just your certified birth certificate and drivers license, etc. but you've clearly already thought about that.

 

and, you also understand the idea of passport expediting.

 

i personally, WOULD NOT, and the state department says that you SHOULD NOT, go through private services...

 

assuming that she can be able to drive to the state department run passport AGENCY (a federal office) that is without a doubt what she should do.

 

here's the link to the san fransisco office:

 

http://travel.state.gov/passport/npic/agencies/agencies_900.html

 

these are state department run offices, and CAN offer on the spot passports, or otherwise very quick via mail.

 

i've done this before for a quickly planned international business trip.

 

to be able to use this service, you need to be traveling within 2 weeks, or need for a visa within 4 weeks.

 

to get the ON-THE-SPOT same day passports issued, you will need documents stating that you will be leaving the country within i want to say 1 week. if you have documentation, they will not turn down an application. but unless very close in, they will mail it - within 1-2 days or so.

 

i made my application in person, and did need a visa (it was less than 4 weeks away, but more than 2 weeks, i believe) and they mailed it. and i did get it the 2nd day.

 

it's a very quick and efficient system.

 

call the number and make an appointment - that is needed, but at least per my experience, all appointment times were open, and there was only about a 10 minute wait when there. easy.

 

good luck!

[klfrodo]

As long as the cruise is beginning and ending at the same US port, such as Long Beach, she doesn't HAVE to have a passport.

A "certified" birth certificate would suffice.

 

A service that you could look at is http://www.vitalcheck.com I think. Cheap fast service

[AndrewD65]

I think she would be cutting it kinda close, I would order a copy of your birth certificate online, and use that. I would not take my chance and try and get a passport within a weeks time.

[falkcor]

also, for the birth certificate route, i believe this is the fastest non-governmental site for getting them quick:

 

http://www.vitalchek.com/

 

but in my experience (we had a last minute cruise emergency, once) due to local response / processing times, it would not have been of much use.

 

it highly varies per the local government / municipality though, so you can check that too...

 

in terms of the state dept agencies, though, with leaving on the 26, she will get her passport on the spot, if she makes it within the (window) or reliably mailed quickly otherwise. just call to confirm which, and be prepared when you get there! if you don't have all the relevant info, appt or not they won't be able to approve. :)

[jenn_x]

Thanks guys!

Ive read so many horror stories about people showing up for their cruise with the wrong birth certificate (not certified), I think that if its an option to just get the passport its probably the way to go. With her traveling the day after christmas, I would worry about not getting the docs back in time.

 

falkcor, thanks for the link to the SF location , I think I will just encourage her to go that route. Its such a great opportunity, I hope she can work it out!

 

as usual CC comes through :-)

[falkcor]

Thanks guys!

Ive read so many horror stories about people showing up for their cruise with the wrong birth certificate (not certified),

 

just to play devils advocate, a lot of people also DO board with photocopied birth certificates... i have seen this happen... not guaranteed and definitely not recommended, but it IS possible.

 

I think that if its an option to just get the passport its probably the way to go. With her traveling the day after christmas, I would worry about not getting the docs back in time.

 

i'd be inclined to agree... vitalchek charges fees, which i'd rather pay toward a passport if that's the choice. do look into what secondary evidence she may have to have, if she does not have a certified original birth certificate. there are ways around that with the state dept, please reference their web site - they are very willing to work with you, but you do have to come prepared.

 

falkcor, thanks for the link to the SF location , I think I will just encourage her to go that route. Its such a great opportunity, I hope she can work it out!

 

you're very welcome. you mentioned she planned a trek to the san fran location, so i assumed that was her closest passport agency. if not, there's also one in LA:

 

http://travel.state.gov/passport/npic/agencies/agencies_909.html

 

here's the 'how to get a passport in a hurry' page from the state dept:

 

http://travel.state.gov/passport/hurry/hurry_831.html

 

and here's the full list of state dept run passport agencies in the us:

 

http://travel.state.gov/passport/npic/agencies/agencies_913.html

 

my experience was with the houston office - and it was superb. very well run organization.

 

i'd recommend to your sis, also, to do whatever she can to get on that cruise... a free new years cruise, sign me up! :D

[jenn_x]

 

 

i'd recommend to your sis, also, to do whatever she can to get on that cruise... a free new years cruise, sign me up! :D

 

No kidding! I did offer to go in her place if she could not work it out...understandably, she declined my offer.

[falkcor]

No kidding! I did offer to go in her place if she could not work it out...understandably, she declined my offer.

 

too funny... i would have offered the same :D

 

and i see you're sailing on the conquest shortly - a pre-emptive welcome to texas is in order. assuming you're coming into galveston a little early - some of my favorites are the bishop's palace for history (great preserved mansion), moody gardens for a full-featured port excursion (the rain forest pyramid is cool - spot the sloth (it's hard, they dont move) - and the penguins are fun to watch, along with the rest of the aquarium), and though not perhaps the most high end place, i love fish lips on the sea wall (very relaxed, casual atmosphere)... the spot is good for burgers, and hotel galvez for a great stay, or more formal dining experience (though honestly i find their menu uninspired lol)...

[PenguinLife]

I have no recent experience with getting a rush passport, I did it about 25 years ago, going to the regional office about 150 miles away, stood in line for about 20 minutes, my trip was just over 2 weeks away at the time, so I ended up getting it in the mail, it was processed the day after I was there dropping off the paperwork. Then sometime around 1997 I went again with a friend that had to get a short notice passport for a work trip, and it was a whole different experience, think of a hundred plus people in line for a couple of windows, most of the people don't speak english, the line is not moving, people camped out sitting on the floor, etc. I had some other things to do in the city, so I left him there, went and did my stuff, came back about 3 hours later, and he was still in line.

 

Ike

 

p.s. both examples were in the same city, but the office had moved from one building to another a few blocks away in the decade or so since I did my rush passport.

[thinfool]

I mighta missed this, but How is she gonna get a Passport without a birth certificate?

[PenguinLife]

There are ways to get a passport without a birth certificate, one is if you bring someone with you when you apply in person that has known you over I think 5 or 10 years, to testify that you are who you say you are. I know my step father had to go through a big ordeal to get a passport when he was in his 60's because he had no official copy of his birth certificate and the state he was born in had lost all the records in some sort of disaster (fire?) many years ago.

[notme1955]

"How is she gonna get a Passport without a birth certificate?"

 

She already has an expired passport. You don't need a birth certificate for a renewal. Just renewed ours, but we used expedited mail since we don't need them until next month. It took about a week and a half.

[Trplnckl]

Call your State Representative's office and ask them for help/advice. When I was getting my PP, it was lost in the mail and I couldn't get the State Dept, PP division to help. I called the local office and talked to the Rep's staff and received the PP in two days.

[jenn_x]

Call your State Representative's office and ask them for help/advice. When I was getting my PP, it was lost in the mail and I couldn't get the State Dept, PP division to help. I called the local office and talked to the Rep's staff and received the PP in two days.

 

Wow! I hadnt thought about that, I will let her know.

[cohollywood]

DON'T USE VITALCHECK!!!

 

That place has SCAMMED SCAMMED and SCAMMED some more of SO many people. Read the reviews. They are awful!!

 

I ordered my son's birth certificate through them a year ago - when I didn't receive it I spent hours upon hours on the phone with them. They refused to do anything saying it was UPS's fault - supposably UPS had some random guy sign for it that we could never track down - UPS said they never even had it in there posession. Long story short - one year later, still don't have anything from them, but they most certainly have my $45. Lots of people have similar stories.

[shumdit1]

How did she get a passport in the first place if she doesn't have a birth certificate? I would go to the passport office since it is so close and do it there.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

DON'T USE VITALCHECK!!!

 

That place has SCAMMED SCAMMED and SCAMMED some more of SO many people. Read the reviews. They are awful!!

 

I ordered my son's birth certificate through them a year ago - when I didn't receive it I spent hours upon hours on the phone with them. They refused to do anything saying it was UPS's fault - supposably UPS had some random guy sign for it that we could never track down - UPS said they never even had it in there posession. Long story short - one year later, still don't have anything from them, but they most certainly have my $45. Lots of people have similar stories.

 

Where can I read about this similar scams?

 

I have used them numerous times and have always had great results.

 

Bill

[Suburbanette]

(I just edited some of my info about the SF agency.)

 

As for same-day passports, only certain US Passport Agencies (but not all) process passports the very same day at the facility (Los Angeles does).

Unfortunately San Francisco might not be one of those but I could be wrong because the wording at this website page refers only to same day passport CARDS, so it's a bit unclear. A direct call to the SF agency would be best to confirm.

http://travel.state.gov/passport/npic/agencies/agencies_913.html

Here's info about processing times:

http://travel.state.gov/passport/processing/processing_1740.html

As for personal experience with this, in February '09 my son realized just 2 days before departing for Europe that his passport would be expiring during his stay. Luckily we live less than 2 hours from LA and he hot footed it to LA and his passport was renewed in about 4 hours' time. If I recall, he made an appointment first and let them know his dilemma.

It's dicey, but I suppose that perhaps, if it's possible for her, she could arrive into Los Angeles a day or 2 in advance and get it done at the LA office on a same-day basis. An appointment might be needed. I don't know the ramifications with the Carnival though, as far as how far in advance they need that passport info.

Good luck!

[Crusing Nut]

Did she get the new photos or do they take them there?

[nurse who loves to cruise]

Hey everyone,

This is not a CCL specific question, but I am hoping that someone here may know the answer of provide some guidance.

 

My sister has been offered a free cruise (a friend broke up with her fella, and now is offering my sister his spot, free of charge and has already cleared it with the cruiseline) and they are slated to sail the Mexican Rivera on Dec 26. Problem is my sister has an expired passport.

 

She lives a few hours from San Francisco and is willing to drive there where she can (supposedly, Ive never done it) get her passport that day, but she was also looking at private expediting services in the event her employer does not let her have the day off to go to SF (note: she just so happened to have the week of the cruise off, so there are no problems there). She is very worried about being scammed, so my question to you all is this: has anyone used one of these services and is there a reputable on that you would recommend.

 

We have also looked at getting a certified copy of her birth certificate, but I think that this point she would have to go the county recorders office, which would be even further away than going to SF.

 

She and I are open to your thoughts on this. Thanks so much!

I had to get a passport expedited ten years ago as i found out that i would be traveling to Ireland in two weeks time and had no passport.I live in NY but I think it works like this any where in the us. She should call the passport office and make an appointment . She then needs to bring proof that she is sailing to soon to wait 4-6 weeks that way they will have it done that day. It took all day but I had it in time. Hope this helps.

[Suburbanette]

Did she get the new photos or do they take them there?

As for my son's situation in '09, he brought his own photos to the passport office. I'm not sure if that's a requirement or not, though.

My son also said that he had not made an appointment but realized he definitely should have. Even though he arrived at the office at 7:00am, there was already a line and he was just plain lucky that he was able to be taken care of that day. He was very close to the cut-off time...and that was not during high travel season.

 

I would recommend to the original poster that an appointment should be made ASAP.

[Starr Mtn]

It might be quicker and easier to call the County where

she was born. They may be able to expedite sending

a Certified copy of her Birth records. Just give them

a credit card number - and whatever other information

they need to look up her records: date of birth ;

parents names, etc. Be sure to request delivery by

Overnight Mail - Fed EX , etc. - whichever is quicker.

 

Of course this is only useful depending on the cruise itinerary.

[kbmeow]

You can call the town or place of birth and request a certified BC. The cost is Nomonal. Also I do not know if it has changed but I know you need a pt to go to the passport office to get your passport and last I knew it took 1 day processing so you could get it the next day. That is how it worked my Hubby and I a few years ago. We went in on a tue he picked them up on wed ( i had never had one before) and we cruised on Friday. Also I would not use a service. I would not feel comfortable with people having my info that are not official people.

[kbmeow]

Also I am recently Married and wanted to go and bring all the name change paperwork to the passport office. I called for hours and was explicitly told, they only see by apt, and people who have immediate need for passport.