Child Suffered Due to Lack of Passports

[clo]

1 hour ago, Charles4515 said:

In individual situations they will issue emergency passports.

Who will issue them? If there a consulate in every cruise port?More details please.

[navybankerteacher]

4 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

I believe that the number of people who are consistently living in debt is quite high in today's society and they still do all the day to day things that those who have no debt do, including travel. Heck there are people that borrow money to travel.😵

Of course there are people who borrow money to travel - but they DO NOT do all the things that those who have no debt do:  for one, they do not effectively think about what they will do when they retire - and perhaps just assume that Medicaid will care for them.

 

  The more people expect government to provide for them (like the US Consular Service getting them home if they are stuck overseas without documents or cash) the less they are inclined to say no to themselves.

[Charles4515]

25 minutes ago, clo said:

Who will issue them? If there a consulate in every cruise port?More details please.

 No there is not a consulate in every port. If you are on cruise contact the cruise line port agent for help. There are embassies or consulates in most countries or they have another representative in a country without those that represents US interests. The nearest consulate to Cozumel is in Merida. Also you can call the US consular service at +1 202-501-4444 and ask for what to do. Emergency Passports are issued all the time. 

Edited February 16, 2020 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

26 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Of course there are people who borrow money to travel - but they DO NOT do all the things that those who have no debt do:  for one, they do not effectively think about what they will do when they retire - and perhaps just assume that Medicaid will care for them.

 

  The more people expect government to provide for them (like the US Consular Service getting them home if they are stuck overseas without documents or cash) the less they are inclined to say no to themselves.

We pay taxes that pay for the US Consular Service. We pay taxes for all government services except for certain billionaires or those too poor to pay taxes. 
 

 

[Charles4515]

5 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Just because you wouldn't do it doesn't mean they "shouldn't". And as I've said before if the "typical traveler" waited until everything lined up just right before taking a trip the travel industry would collapse. 

For sure. 
 

 

[clo]

35 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 No there is not a consulate in every port. If you are on cruise contact the cruise line port agent for help. There are embassies or consulates in most countries or they have another representative in a country without those that represents US interests. The nearest consulate to Cozumel is in Merida. Also you can call the US consular service at +1 202-501-4444 and ask for what to do. Emergency Passports are issued all the time. 

Thanks. Does one have to go there, say from Cozumel to Merida?

[Elaine5715]

3 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

In individual situations they will issue emergency passports. If you want you can say that is not an exception. 

That is what I posted.  The other poster insists that you don't need an emergency passport, that you can just "go through extra security" and fly back to the US.

[Charles4515]

23 minutes ago, clo said:

Thanks. Does one have to go there, say from Cozumel to Merida?

That I can’t answer. 

[Charles4515]

31 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

That is what I posted.  The other poster insists that you don't need an emergency passport, that you can just "go through extra security" and fly back to the US.

When there were several instances of the whole cruise ship incidents a waiver was issued. CBP sent a copy of that waiver that was sent to their personal. Individual passengers did not have to have emergency passports.They just went through extra security.  We know about this waiver procedure because it happened, and in one instance a copy of the waiver letter sent was obtained and  posted on CC. Perhaps the passengers were given copies. Whether the state department would send a waiver letter for one individual as opposed to making them get an emergency passport I can’t answer. It is a fact that a waiver letter has been used as opposed to requiring an emergency passport. 

Edited February 16, 2020 by Charles4515

[capriccio]

52 minutes ago, clo said:

Thanks. Does one have to go there, say from Cozumel to Merida?

The applicant, and parent if the applicant is a minor, must appear in person.  

[clo]

4 minutes ago, capriccio said:

The applicant, and parent if the applicant is a minor, must appear in person.  

That's what I figured. So possible but probably no feasible. A lesson for anyone without a visa. My now four year old grandboy has had one since he was an infant. He was sick with a cold and, boy, is that a rotten photo.

[mayleeman]

This is really a silly argument. Okay, perhaps exceptions can be made, blah bblah blah... But why rely on getting a waiver or an emergency passport in a situation requiring medical care in a foreign country where you have no local transportation, probably don't speak the language, and need to take care of an injured or sick person, when you can avoid that mess of proving special circumstances by having a passport to begin with?

Edited February 16, 2020 by mayleeman

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, clo said:

Thanks. Does one have to go there, say from Cozumel to Merida?

I am sure that you could just find a pay phone and make a collect call to the consulate and tell them to fix everything up for you.

[capriccio]

1 hour ago, clo said:

That's what I figured. So possible but probably no feasible. A lesson for anyone without a visa. My now four year old grandboy has had one since he was an infant. He was sick with a cold and, boy, is that a rotten photo.

 

Both our children were born when my DH was stationed at the US Embassy Rome.  Even though the entire Embassy staff knew pregnant and post-pregnant me we had to bring the babies in for a 'personal interview' to get their passports. 

[clo]

12 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

I am sure that you could just find a pay phone and make a collect call to the consulate and tell them to fix everything up for you.

That's a feeble attempt at humor, right?? 🙂

[clo]

8 minutes ago, capriccio said:

 

Both our children were born when my DH was stationed at the US Embassy Rome.  Even though the entire Embassy staff knew pregnant and post-pregnant me we had to bring the babies in for a 'personal interview' to get their passports. 

Thanks for a personal anecdote. Some here have made it sound so easy.

[capriccio]

The US State Department's official website includes an entire section on international travel (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel.html) including passports, emergencies, evacuations, cruises,country specific info, etc.  In the days before the internet a common belief (backed up by lots of experience) shared by many Embassy staff was that in a perfect world passport holders should be required to pass a test on what the US government overseas can and cannot do for you before being allowed to leave the country but there was no single place to readily access all the pertinent information.  🙂  Now with the website, it is a lot harder to plead ignorance. 

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, mayleeman said:

This is really a silly argument. Okay, perhaps exceptions can be made, blah bblah blah... But why rely on getting a waiver or an emergency passport in a situation requiring medical care in a foreign country where you have no local transportation, probably don't speak the language, and need to take care of an injured or sick person, when you can avoid that mess of proving special circumstances by having a passport to begin with?

I don’t think anyone here thinks anyone should rely on getting a waiver or emergency passport. We probably all have passports and think everyone should have passports. But it would be a good idea to know what to do if our passport is lost or stolen while abroad. Stuff like that does happen. Someone can make a joke about the consular phone number but you might need it for help in a foreign country. 

Edited February 16, 2020 by Charles4515

[ldubs]

54 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

I am sure that you could just find a pay phone and make a collect call to the consulate and tell them to fix everything up for you.

 

Actually, that might be a good first step towards addressing such a problem.  But a pay phone - do those still exist?  

[Hlitner]

3 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

We pay taxes that pay for the US Consular Service. We pay taxes for all government services except for certain billionaires or those too poor to pay taxes. 
 

 

Yes, but understand that consulates generally work M-F and are closed on weekends and holidays.  If you need consulate services, such as an emergency Passport, you will have to wait until normal working hours.  The procedures can take 2 days and you will generally need to have a face to face.  This can be difficult when you are on an island that does not even have a consulate.  Much of the Caribbean is handled from a single Embassy location in Barbados.  In other countries the nearest Consulate can be hundreds of miles distant.  We live in Puerto Vallarta for part of the year and our nearest Consulate is located about a 5 hour drive distant in Guadalajara and is open M-F 8- 4:30.  Need an emergency document/Passport on Friday afternoon and it will likely be the following Tuesday until you get what you need.  And it will take about 11 hours round trip to simply get to and from the Consul.  And making that trip is not an easy.  Imagine being stuck on St Maarten and needing to see the Consul on Barbados!

 

Hank

[Charles4515]

8 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Yes, but understand that consulates generally work M-F and are closed on weekends and holidays.  If you need consulate services, such as an emergency Passport, you will have to wait until normal working hours.  The procedures can take 2 days and you will generally need to have a face to face.  This can be difficult when you are on an island that does not even have a consulate.  Much of the Caribbean is handled from a single Embassy location in Barbados.  In other countries the nearest Consulate can be hundreds of miles distant.  We live in Puerto Vallarta for part of the year and our nearest Consulate is located about a 5 hour drive distant in Guadalajara and is open M-F 8- 4:30.  Need an emergency document/Passport on Friday afternoon and it will likely be the following Tuesday until you get what you need.

 

Hank

Your reply has no relevance to the point I was making about using government services in my reply to the OP. 

Edited February 16, 2020 by Charles4515

[navybankerteacher]

52 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

Actually, that might be a good first step towards addressing such a problem.  But a pay phone - do those still exist?  

Hardly anywhere— of course, I was trying to point out the stupidity of thinking that a quick call to the Consulate will get a stranded cruiser home - which a number of posters seem to think is an economical alternative to having a passport.

[navybankerteacher]

55 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Yes, but understand that consulates generally work M-F and are closed on weekends and holidays.  If you need consulate services, such as an emergency Passport, you will have to wait until normal working hours.  The procedures can take 2 days and you will generally need to have a face to face.  This can be difficult when you are on an island that does not even have a consulate. ...

 

...

 

...Imagine being stuck on St Maarten and needing to see the Consul on Barbados!

 

Hank

Actually, the U S consulate responsible for matters involving St. Maarten is located in Curaçao, not Barbados - a bit further away.

[Charles4515]

4 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Hardly anywhere— of course, I was trying to point out the stupidity of thinking that a quick call to the Consulate will get a stranded cruiser home - which a number of posters seem to think is an economical alternative to having a passport.

That is a straw man. No one  has posted that. 

[sparks1093]

10 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Of course there are people who borrow money to travel - but they DO NOT do all the things that those who have no debt do:  for one, they do not effectively think about what they will do when they retire - and perhaps just assume that Medicaid will care for them.

 

  The more people expect government to provide for them (like the US Consular Service getting them home if they are stuck overseas without documents or cash) the less they are inclined to say no to themselves.

Part of the US Consular Service's job is to get US citizens home when they need help and they don't distinguish between the "wise" and the "foolish".