Getting Passports for Kids: What a pain!

[Meig]

I was so cranky earlier in the day. I took my youngest in to get his passport (even though the rules have <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17277289/">changed AGAIN and kids under 15 won't need them for sea travel</a>) because a passport is simply Good To Have and if we ever have to fly out of the country, we're set for a few years.

 

Getting a passport for a kid is a royal pain in the butt. Both parents have to be there and sign, or you can get one parent to get a notarized form stating the other parent has permission to get the passport. They need a certified birth certificate, social security number, and they also want a certified marriage license showing the parents are married (if they are). Then those are sent to the State Department and everything is processed. I was pretty annoyed about the marriage license. What the heck does that have to do with my kid's passport if both parents sign the paperwork? Plus, I want to take my oldest in next month to get his (it was $102 including the pictures we needed so I don't want to drop $204 all at once on something I don't need right this moment...we're not sailing with them until next April) and I had to make sure I had another certified copy of my marriage certificate. Luckily, we had two more in the safe deposit box, but still. The marriage license thing really irrtated me. :mad: I do not see the point.

 

Also, parents have to have a drivers' license or some other form of ID, too. We had our passports and they would not accept those as ID. I was like O_o "You don't take a *passport* as ID????" Nope, they required a state ID of some sort because they needed to write down the license/ID #. And they wouldn't accept the photos I had done at Walgreens because they were too grainy. :mad: I'll admit that they weren't as clear as they could have been, but you could completely see my son's face, eye color, hair color, etc.. That was $15 (twice the $ of Walgreens) and I had to go back to Walgreens and complain. Walgreens did give me my money back, though.

 

I totally understand the requirements that both parents be present or give permission, but what is up with them needing my marriage license? And to not accept a passport as ID...huh???? :confused:

 

Sorry, just had to vent :) I feel better now. :cool:

[Meig]

I just went online and read the requirements for minors under age 14, which my kids are. Passports *are* acceptable ID for the parents and the my son's BC had acceptable proof of relationship on it because it listed both my name and my husband's as parents. So why they told me they couldn't use our passports at ID and why they had to take my marriage certificate is beyond me.

 

I'm annoyed again :)

[BettyBoopX]

Wow, so sorry to hear about your experiance. We just had to go in and get our DS (9 months) a passport as we are traveling to Germany to visit my DH mother and oma in August. It will also be nice to have on our cruise in November so I don't have to worry about losing or ruining his 1 real birth certificate. I find it silly to have a photo on it as he is only 9 months and he will look nothing like it in another 5 months let alone 4 years. hahaha However, I like the idea of him needing one in order to get out of the country.

 

I took my DS to get his picture taken at Wallgreens where they made him sit on some egg crates and he was a trooper even though mom was scared to death he was gonna fall. His picture turned out great but I was rather surprized that it looked as though the person used their own personal digital camera to take the picture. I am sure some have older cameras then others so quality could easily be a issue. I know the passport offices are EXTREAMLY picky about the pictures. I think I am with you though, if it was the right size, you could see the face and features, and it was taken at an acceptable place they should not require you to retake it.

 

Both DH and I were there to get DS passport as they told us we both had to be present with the child no exceptions. All she asked for was a photo ID from each of us. (mind you we used our drivers licence) For our DS they wanted a certifided birth certificate and his SS#. They told my hubby on the phone they only needed him to bring in the birth certificate so of course not thinking he left the SS card at home and we did not have the number. ( i really need to get a photo copy of it to take with me) We were lucky the lady at the office was wonderful and she let us fill everything out, sign it, and call her with the SS# as soon as I could get home.

 

All in all ours was pretty painless. I think it was kind of hinky that they wanted a marriage certificate. Was your spouce present when you got the passport? Just crious if maybe this was why, though to me that still doesn't seem right.

 

Katie

[crusinmama06]

Our post office didn't say anything about a marriage license either. But I AGREE, it IS a pain to get the passports. My hubby and I are rarely together during the hours they do the passports with BOTH children. It's going to be impossible, so I keep holding it off. :rolleyes:

[cprofits]

I downloaded the form and had it already filled out. DH and I showed our drivers licenses, we gave them the birth certificates, form and the pics I had taken at a local store for $8 and we were out of there. The passports arrived last week (exactly 5 weeks after applying) and they are so cute.

 

I'm sorry your process wasn't as easy. There is no reason you needed to show your marriage license.

[I&MsMom]

It IS a pain...and they are only good for 5 years, unlike an adults, which is good for 10!

[crusinmama06]

I downloaded the form and had it already filled out. DH and I showed our drivers licenses, we gave them the birth certificates, form and the pics I had taken at a local store for $8 and we were out of there. The passports arrived last week (exactly 5 weeks after applying) and they are so cute.

 

I'm sorry your process wasn't as easy. There is no reason you needed to show your marriage license.

 

Is it easier to get the pictures taken BEFORE you get there? I thought they did it at the PO. What's the benefit of not doing it there?

 

Thanks

[#1parrothead]

Not all PO take the pictures:( . Our local one doesn't, so had to have ours taken elsewhere.

 

Our process was painless as well. Downloaded form ahead of time to save time(there are 5 of us) and did NOT have to have our marriage license.

 

Received ours last week and it took right at 7 weeks.

[crusinmama06]

Not all PO take the pictures:( . Our local one doesn't, so had to have ours taken elsewhere.

 

Our process was painless as well. Downloaded form ahead of time to save time(there are 5 of us) and did NOT have to have our marriage license.

 

Received ours last week and it took right at 7 weeks.

 

Oh I gotcha. Yes I picked up the paperwork at the PO and its sitting here waiting to be filled out. And ours does take the pictures. Good!

[mollyeilis]

To the OP. Where did you have these passports done/processed? Why was it $102? Should be $82 plus pictures? Unless you got it expedited, then it makes sense it would make more. That's probably what it was. But if you're not getting one for your other child until later...why have it expedited? :o

 

I'm looking at the state department info, and nowhere in there does it say you need the marriage certificate...it's really odd that you were made to send yours in. I imagine the actual passport person working on it will say "huh, why is this in here" when they get to it...

 

 

And yeah, all it says on their site, for parental ID, is:

 

4. Provide Parental Identification (for minors under age 14)

Each parent or guardian must submit one of the following:

 

Valid Drivers License

Valid Official U.S. Military ID

Valid U.S. Gov't ID

Valid U.S. or Foreign Passport with recognizable photo

Naturalization/Citizenship Certificate from USCIS with recognizable photo

Alien Resident Card from USCIS

 

 

The italics are mine...they don't know that a passport is US govt ID? Perhaps they thought that meant a badge from employment at a govt office, LOL? :)

 

 

 

To the person traveling to Germany...of course you need a passport, so the following is moot. :) But birth certificates aren't all that hard to get, so IMO you don't have to worry so much about keeping it pristine. I can call up the county of my birth any ol' time and order another certified copy of mine (AKA "original", b/c that's all an "original" is, is a certified copy of what they have on file...) for about $18. Same for my son (we're actually IN the county of his arrival so I could just bop on down to the office, no waiting). In fact my own "original" is the second one my mom got; I don't know what happened to the first one she got, but I got the one I have now when I went off to college at 17.

 

 

 

When we get our son's p'port, we'll go to our AAA office for pictures, and then will likely go to my county auditor's office (listed on the passport site's list) to turn it all in. I'd just rather go to them than the local post offices...the POs in my area just don't impress me with their brilliance or efficiency...:rolleyes: Anyway, with AAA it's something like only $5 for pictures, rather than three times that amount at the PO...

 

 

I must say that I'm soooo glad DH works Friday through Monday. It gives us three nice days during the week to get stuff like this done...if anyone's spouses are ever offered such a job (yes, it entails a 10 hour workday), give serious thought to it. It's lovely, and our "weekend" trips are always cheaper than when we used to go on THE weekend. :) (then again, the kiddo is still only 2...then again, we plan on homeschooling, so we still won't have to worry about school schedules and DH working through the proper weekend...for us it works WELL, but I can see that it wouldn't be perfect for others...BUT it's convenient for things like this!!!)

[PHXscuba]

We did the passport tango last year -- once in May for DH and I and again the next month for the 4 kids. Not the easiest of experiences....

 

A few things we experienced/learned:

1. Be sure your birth certificate is the real thing. I had an "abstract" or something like that from my mother, and they woudn't accept that.

2. Check the hours they do passports, especially with the post office. The hours listed online were different from what they actually were (this alone was two extra trips and one very annoyed DH)

3. If your (adult) passport is less than 5 years expired they have a simpler "renewal" process. If I had done it six months sooner, I could have taken advantage of it.

4. Make sure you have enough checks in your checkbook to pay for it :eek: (and what type of payment they want). We ran out of checks while getting the kids' passports. Since each application is separate, we needed a total of five -- one for each kid and one for the county fee. DH had to run home and get more checks while I entertained the 14-month-old.:(

5. Filling out all the applications online was pretty easy and made sure we had all the right info. Ditto for having the pictures taken ahead of time (and by someone who knows what they're doing)

 

All in all, we made a few mistakes along the way, but I'm glad we all have them now. When we flew to Jamaica last fall, it was a lot fewer things to keep track of. We met one woman who got held up for a day in Florida because she didn't have the right docs and had to have someone overnight them to her (she almost missed the wedding she was going to). Plus, now whether we drive to Mexico, fly, cruise, etc. we are covered (especially since they seem to keep changing the rules!)

(still not sure why they wanted your marriage license:confused: )

 

Good luck!

PHXscuba

"You can have everything -- besides, where would you put it all?":D

[Eclipsepearl]

I don't get the marriage certificate. We never needed that either. I can't say for sure because I bring everything, every time.

 

I guess you guys don't need the return envelope thing. That adds another 20 euros to the cost.

 

Our process is a little different since we live in France. The French love paperwork and I basically am documented up to the hilt. We got each child's passport, SS card and "certificate of American Birth Abroad" all at the same time, when they were tiny babies. Yes, they bounce back and forth across the Atlantic with baby pictures until they're 5. My older dd has this big head of frilly black curls and her eyes have changed color but her photo is a bald, blued-eye newborn. Needless to say, I bring other documents. We have enough of them, that's for sure! Let the immigration guy at the airport pick one, any one.

 

So it comes to renew the first one. Spouse? I'm all, my dh is French, has never lived in the States and doesn't speak English. No matter. He had to be there. Oh, and of course our normal Council General is off somewhere. They sent some State Dept. guy who had just arrived in France as a replacement who can't speak French (or German, which dh does speak). They even made him swear something. He didn't know what he was swearing to! After a 1/2 hour of listening to our babber, dh asked to leave.

 

Luckily, it's a really small Consulate and I really, really know them after a marriage and three kids here. Plus all my rantings about having had to redo my driver's license here at the pretty penny of about 800 euros (required lessons!)

 

Just don't lose those passports! (and keep an eye on when they expire-I have horror stories!)

[sunline2000]

Did DS's 4wks back still not back cruise is 4/07 still time....If you have AAAPLUS passport photos are free...yes free:) are town hall does passports appoitment needed only if you filled paperwork w/them and photos there..we went w/everything filled out but the signing...5min.:cool: theyonly had to double check watch us sign and take the money:D thye said 5-8wks

[PHXscuba]

Sunline 2000:

When we did our kids' passports last June, the two younger kids' passports came back in about 3 weeks and the older kids' in another week. I know things are much busier right now, but you have an excellent chance at getting it back before the cruise. I guess there's not much background/record to check on a 14-month-old.:p

PHXscuba

"You can't have everything -- besides, where would you put it all?":D

[Onessa]

DDs had her passport since she was just a few weeks old. Two years ago we had to get her a new one (the old was about to expire).

 

AAA+, so the photo was free (and they did a terrific job). At that time only the "downtown" post office did passport applications. Be glad that the tightening of passport requirements has made getting one easier - more places to apply, more places to get good photos. The passport people came to my workplace and gave three sessions on "how to get a passport".

 

Birth certificates are not uniform from place to place, thus if the OPs child's BC did not contain all of the information that the official was accustomed to seeing, he may have needed other sources of the information. I do registration for a couple of local kids athletic programs - proof of age is a big thing and I'll tell you some of the BCs out there are very strange!

[crusinmama06]

We did it!!!! :D I had to take my 7 year old out of school this am to do it cause she had to be there :eek: and the hours were 8:30-11:30am. :rolleyes:

 

We had the pictures taken at Ritz photo over the weekend so we didn't have to bother with pictures.

 

I had all of the forms filled out. We handed them the forms, all 5 checks, birth certificates and our driver's license.

 

So it is EXACTLY 9 weeks till cruise, you think I am cutting it close? I didn't have it expedited?????

[ljmandelbaum]

I renewed DH and my passport as well as got passport for my daughters in September when my parents mentioned that they wanted us to go on a cruise with them in the summer.

 

The day I got my girls passports in the mail, I also got my next door neighbors kids passports as well. How is that for security?

 

DH had filled out the form and notarized. He also filled out his renewal form. I did all 4 at the same time. I did not need my marriage license. But I do remember having to show my drivers license.

[Meig]

I didn't have it expedited, the $102 was the passport cost plus the photo cost :(

 

I have NO clue why they required our marriage license. They even took it and attached it to the application. We had it done at a small local post office.

 

Who the heck knows? I do know that when I get my 2nd son's done I will have the rules in hand to show them that yes, a passport SS valid ID and they don't need our DL's...idiots.

[Eclipsepearl]

Birth certificates are not uniform from place to place, thus if the OPs child's BC did not contain all of the information that the official was accustomed to seeing, he may have needed other sources of the information. I do registration for a couple of local kids athletic programs - proof of age is a big thing and I'll tell you some of the BCs out there are very strange!

 

I think you've solved the mystery. Just to give another example, I was doing my French nationality and couldn't manage to get my dad's birth certificate (long story, born in PA, died 30 years ago in CA with a different name...) so I called the courthouse and lamanted my tale of woe.

 

They were actually quite friendly and helpful (a historic event here in France). "Oh you're American. You have your parents' marriage license, right? American marriage licenses are really good. They say where your parents were born and give the dates...that's all we really need! You should see some of the funky papers we see..."

 

Turns out they don't want to look prejudiced or anything so they ask everyone for all of it. Maybe it was their way of mentioning the marriage question at all. For example, if you had then said you were single and then they could explain that proceducre while they didn't want to ask you directly if you were married or not.

 

I still suggest getting the state id cards if you live in the U.S. especially if your childrens' passport photos are really out of date. Immigration officiers can be picky and it has saved me time, returning to the States, to just shove some other document with a photo under their nose.