Passport Renewal Time

[sparks1093]

It's always good to have a current passport on hand. You never know when you will need it!

 

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with that. Most people do know when they will need a passport and don't have the means to travel somewhere at little or no notice. I've traveled all over the world in my lifetime without a passport (mostly in the military but also on some closed loop cruises) and didn't actually need one until 2015.

[sparks1093]

Depends on how many passports they have to process at the time you send it to be renewed.Had to renew my husbands because it didn't have 6 months left after our cruise and it took a month to get back.We we're relieved when we got it in the mail. Note for anyone cruising,check your passport to make sure there is at least 6 months left after your cruise ends, or you will be rejected at the port.It,s the law !!:eek:

 

It might be a law in some of the country's you are visiting and if it is then yes, you do need to meet that requirement but this impacts few cruisers who are traveling within the areas covered by the WHTI as the only country within that area with that requirement for cruise ship passengers is Cuba.

[sparks1093]

We have less than 6 months left- I guess we will bring our birth certificates, too. That seems silly! If your birth certificates are allowed, wouldn't you think a VALID passport would be better? Even if it expires is 2 months? I put my passport info in, and Carnival said nothing. I have read on other posts that there is no problem as long as they don't expire before the cruise ends.

 

As long as your passport is valid on the day you return to the US you will be fine. On closed loop cruises it's only a recommendation that your passport have 6 months left on it. Some countries do have a 6 month rule, but the only Caribbean country that I am aware of that has a 6 month requirement is Cuba.

[bUU]

It is my understanding that the Passport part of the State Department is funded largely by the fees that are taken in for processing passports.

I don't recall seeing anything in the legislation that specifies that the revenues are earmarked. I think it is common to say that the cost of processing passports is covered by the fees assessed, but IIRC it's just another case where revenues go into the treasury and the operations are funded by budget allocation. For example, in 2015 $160 million in expedited passport fees was to be earmarked not for processing expedited passport applications but rather for priority information technology investments and modernization activities for the Department of State itself. In the same budget request, $709 million was to be allocated for processing passports, themselves. There was no reference in that portion of the request with regard to the passport fees to be paid.

[sparks1093]

I don't recall seeing anything in the legislation that specifies that the revenues are earmarked. I think it is common to say that the cost of processing passports is covered by the fees assessed, but IIRC it's just another case where revenues go into the treasury and the operations are funded by budget allocation. For example, in 2015 $160 million in expedited passport fees was to be earmarked not for processing expedited passport applications but rather for priority information technology investments and modernization activities for the Department of State itself. In the same budget request, $709 million was to be allocated for processing passports, themselves. There was no reference in that portion of the request with regard to the passport fees to be paid.

 

It could be that my understanding is wrong but there is this from an article discussing which offices would stay open during a government shutdown:

 

"Among other functions that remain open, all of which take in user fees or have dedicated revenue streams that don’t depend on Congress:

 

- Passport offices run by the State Department, along with U.S. citizen services at foreign consulates. The State Department is also still accepting and processing visa applications for foreign travelers who want to visit the United States."

 

Full article: http://herald-review.com/business/national-and-international/self-funded-agencies-avoid-government-shutdown/article_14f7cd74-2f3e-11e3-a7c6-001a4bcf887a.html

 

 

In any event they say to allow 4 to 6 weeks for regular processing of passports and renewals which seems to me to be a reasonable time. I have seen few cases where they've missed that target.

Edited May 28, 2017 by sparks1093

[sparks1093]

They have increased the price to get a passport to $145.00 ($110.00/renewal) and ding you $60 more to do their work in a timely manner.

 

I missed this when I quoted you the first time but a first time passport is still $110. It is $140 if you apply for both a passport and a passport card. Of course there are other fees that need to be paid, but for the passport itself it's $110.

[PatriotReign]

We filed for new passports (Boston area) for my wife and two children earlier this month and got them all back in 10 days (non-express). The postal worker explained to us that the express and non-express applications go to two separate locations. While I would not advocate delaying passport requests until the last minute, it appears that the non-express route is currently quicker and less expensive as it costs $60 each for express requests.