Getting a passport for infant/toddler

[parrotthead]

dh convinced me to get ds a passport. so we got everything ready and headed up to the post office after picking ds up from school instead of letting him ride the bus home. We wanted to get to the post office before they close...you know, govt. hours lol....

 

anyways so after waiting in line we get up to counter and the postal worker tells me they cannot do passports at this time....it's about 3:15 pm. Then he points to a sign hidden behind a wall that says passport hours are from 9am till 12:00 noon. He says the government only gives them a certain amount of hours a day to do passports. So not only is the government paying them (govt. being us taxpayers). So I asked what I was suppose to do for my child who needs a passport. I said is he suppose to skip school so he can get a passport and the postal worker told me yes. Ridiculous! i was furious! It's not like the postal people are not being paid for their time standing at the counter.

 

needless to say, now we don't have enough time to get one if we have to wait until Christmas break-as the current processing times according to the govt. website http://www.travel.state.gov/passport/processing/processing_1740.html

is about 6 weeks. so, we'll just take a birth certificate....:eek::rolleyes: and people wonder why i post office is in a mess....just think..i pay them already to pay them to pay them lol.

(I dont know where you live in Texas, but)

Our PostOffice takes appointments... also there are a few locations that have Saturday hours.. And the PostOffice is not the olny outlet that has 'passport offices'.

Just a thougt.

(when my girls were younger, I took them out of school if I needed to.-- and your guy would not have to 'skip school' to go IF the office is only open 9/12 anyway...just a few hours at the most...same as a Dr appt) JMO

[Almost Packed]

yep, we found some other locations....but now we are just going to use the b.c. since the turn around time is cutting it very close. then we'll go in a few more months and apply...that will give us a few more months use on the passport anyways. many countries want your passport to be valid for 6 months...which cuts the time for kids passports even more.

[capriciousc]

Our 7-year-old is on her second passport. We got her the first one when she was an infant, and we have used it both for cruising and for international flights. I'm one of those "worst case scenario" type of people, and I want to be sure that no matter what happens, we have the proper documentation to get back into the country immediately, even if we return by a different mode of transportation than the one we used to leave.

 

I also think her expired passports will be a neat keepsake for her when she gets older. Every time we have entered a new country with her, we have asked them to stamp her passport, even if they don't normally do it. She loves looking at the stamps and remembering the places we have visited.

[jlajla]

In response to a previous post, there is a BIG difference in price between the card and book ($15 versus $80). When you are talking about 3 kids, that means an ADDITIONAL $195. For people who can afford frenquent international travel or cruising, that amount may not be much, but for my family, it's a ton. Since we will not be doing this again for 5 years, most likely, I think it is going to be birth certificates for us.

[ToddlerMom]

In response to a previous post, there is a BIG difference in price between the card and book ($15 versus $80). When you are talking about 3 kids, that means an ADDITIONAL $195. For people who can afford frenquent international travel or cruising, that amount may not be much, but for my family, it's a ton. Since we will not be doing this again for 5 years, most likely, I think it is going to be birth certificates for us.

 

See just doing the birth certificate makes sense to me. It's all you need to board the ship. So you don't have any extra expense. What I don't get are the passport cards. What good do they do at all? You don't need them to get onto the ship and they won't help you fly back to the US. As I see it, either pay for the passport book or just take the birth certificates.

[parrotthead]

We went Wednesday and just went ahead and got both children (GingerBaby 6mo and Budi 11yrs) their PassPorts. Yes it was more, but Im more confortable "if we needed them"...

So its all in process!! :) (and the baby's PP Picture is SOOO Freakin Cute!!) :D

PassPort Office Lady said to "start watching the mail in 8-10 business days" :) thats fast!

[hopesicle]

We got a passport card for our 15 month because it was cheaper and we didn't plan on traveling by air internationally. We drive to cruise ports and such. We're cruising in a couple weeks and I was excited to use it again now that she's almost 3. HOWEVER, until your post, I did not consider the possibility of having to fly home from a port.....

 

Can you fly with a birth certificate only? Obviously we're too late at this point to get a passport for our trip and now I'm nervous!

[QTMichele]

We got a passport card for our 15 month because it was cheaper and we didn't plan on traveling by air internationally. We drive to cruise ports and such. We're cruising in a couple weeks and I was excited to use it again now that she's almost 3. HOWEVER, until your post, I did not consider the possibility of having to fly home from a port.....

 

Can you fly with a birth certificate only? Obviously we're too late at this point to get a passport for our trip and now I'm nervous!

 

No, you cannot fly internationally with birth certificates, but don't stress out about it. The likelihood of having to fly home is low, and if by chance you need to, you will be delayed, but will ultimately get home.

 

I was going to buy the cards for my kids - save a little money and have the ease of pulling out a laminated card instead of a paper birth certificate, but in the long run I chose the passports as "insurance." My sister, on the other hand, uses birth certificates. Ultimately, you've gotta do what's in your comfort zone.

[CruisinFinsUp]

Our kids each got their first passports when they were about 1 year and a half old, they are now 12 and 9. Just for peace of mind, and easier for travel. We have an option of putting the child on the parent's passport, but for convenience, we choose for each child to have their own, just in case one parent needed to travel alone with them.

[parrotthead]

We got a passport card for our 15 month because it was cheaper and we didn't plan on traveling by air internationally. We drive to cruise ports and such. We're cruising in a couple weeks and I was excited to use it again now that she's almost 3. HOWEVER, until your post, I did not consider the possibility of having to fly home from a port.....

 

Can you fly with a birth certificate only? Obviously we're too late at this point to get a passport for our trip and now I'm nervous!

No you can not fly with BC only. Thats what got me...

(but Im sure everything will be fine.)

Dont be nervous... but you might think about 'upgrading' when you get back. :)