Passports: Proposed New Fees

[billroddy]

The proposed schedule of fees for passport application services is as follows:

•Total Cost: $135 for a first-time U.S. Passport Book for adults (age 16 and over)
•Total Cost: $110 for U.S. Passport Book renewal (age 16 and over only)
•Total Cost: $105 for a U.S. Passport Book for minors (under age 16)
•Total Cost: $55 for a first-time U.S. Passport Card for adults (age 16 and over)
•Total Cost: $30 for a U.S. Passport Card for adults (age 16 and over) who currently hold a fully valid U.S. Passport
•Total Cost: $40 for a U.S. Passport Card for minors (under age 16)
•Total Cost: $82 for additional visa pages
The fee for expedited service will remain $60.
The public will be notified when new fees go into effect.
State Dept web site on fees.
More from State Dept web site:
http://travel.state.gov/passport/fees/fees_4734.html
-----------
Bill
Ancient Mariner

[doctork]

Wow, those are really steep price increases. I hold a Washington State driver's license, which is not recognized as "real ID." So possessing a passport is the only way to prove US citizenship and the legal right to be in the US, unless you also carry a certified copy of your birth certificate everywhere.

I learned this recently when working in Arizona temporarily and I needed to have a document notarized. My DL was not acceptable to the bank as proof of identity/right to be in the US, but fortunately I had my passport with me - thanks to a HAL cruise vacation I had scheduled during the temporary assignment.

Over $600 for our family of 5 to have real ID! I suppose we could get the Passport Cards instead, but they have limited use. We all have passport books any way for our travels, but the cost for a family starting brand new is substantial.

[Johanna7]

Ours in Canada also cost in the $100 range but they are only good for 5 years. Now that works for the US but most of the countries require a validity of 6 months beyond the expiry so ours are only good for 4 years and 5 months as it takes time from the time you "renew" which in our case a re-apply as it takes a few weeks for them to be processed.

Meanwhile, while waiting, better not have any trips planned out of Canada.

Great Britain's passports are also good for 10 years.

[G&G]

When we read on a HAL thread that you needed a passport that would not expire for six months to cruise to certain countries we opted to renew our passports this month. The fees that we were charged was $75/passport to renew. This includes express mail service from US Passport Agency back to applicant.

An additional fee of $14.95/passport would be required if you wish to have the passport Fed Ex to you.

An additional fee of $60/passport would be required if you wish to have your passport renewal expedited. This means mailed, processed and returned in 2-3 weeks.

We did not do the expedited passport process. We were told it was taking up to 6 weeks to process our renewal. We just received our new passports; it took only 2 weeks and 4 days from the time we mailed the application to Philadelphia to receive our new passports.

[Kween Karen]

Those are very steep increases for sure.
I would think that the US would want people to have passports....just for identity sake. These steep prices, I would think, will prevent many from having the document.

[PROCRUISE]

Write your Congressional Representative-for all the good that will do!

[JimVrhovac]

Welcome to the world of BIG Government that can do anything it wants, or charge anything it wants, and we have no way to contest the charges......

NOT A POLITICAL STATEMENT BUT:
This country spoke its opinion in the last election and it has gotten what it asked for.....

Jim (without Ruth)

[lka1012]

I'm glad I just renewed mine before my last cruise.

[jhannah]

Yikes! Those increases ARE steep! But what are ya' gonna' do?

BOHICA!

[JennyandJoeS]

The choice is either pay it, or stay home. lol

[Taxguy77]

Write your Congressional Representative-for all the good that will do!

Can yours read?:confused::p:D

[HWY 101]

and increase fees..

http://www.moviefone.com/celebrity/arnold-schwarzenegger/1739838/main?flv=1

[Divi]

What is a passport card? What is it good for?
We renewed our passports last month, six months before their actual expiry date.
They were $85 each, good for five years ( really not quite 4.5 ) and were delivered to our house in less than two weeks at no additional charge.
A passport is definitely the best I.D. these days.

[maxout]

What is a passport card? What is it good for?
We renewed our passports last month, six months before their actual expiry date.
They were $85 each, good for five years ( really not quite 4.5 ) and were delivered to our house in less than two weeks at no additional charge.
A passport is definitely the best I.D. these days.


For info on the Passport Card click the picture below...


http://www.arlialexander.com/img/passport_card2.jpg (http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppt_card/ppt_card_3926.html)

[HWY 101]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1209378

[TracieABD]

I have a bunch of years left on mine (just renewed last year)
What are the extra visa pages ($82) and how do you put them into your passport?

[Himself]

It seems to me that when I renewed in February or March of 2005 the Fee was $40.00 or so. The fees went up a month after I renewed. I see no breaks for Senior Citiznes.

[TracieABD]

It seems to me that when I renewed in February or March of 2005 the Fee was $40.00 or so. The fees went up a month after I renewed. I see no breaks for Senior Citiznes.

Totally off-topic (oh, well... shame on me). Did I see that you will be on the Rotterdam on July 12?
There is a Roll Call for this sailing. Just thought you might want to know!:)

[timothy998]

We just booked our cruise late last month for March 2011, and we'll have to renew the kids' and my DW's and/or my passports...I was thinking of waiting until the fall, but these new fees make the decision to move forward with the renewals now a better plan of action...$100 is $100!

[GeriatricNurse]

Ours in Canada also cost in the $100 range but they are only good for 5 years. Now that works for the US but most of the countries require a validity of 6 months beyond the expiry so ours are only good for 4 years and 5 months as it takes time from the time you "renew" which in our case a re-apply as it takes a few weeks for them to be processed.

Meanwhile, while waiting, better not have any trips planned out of Canada.

Great Britain's passports are also good for 10 years.


Our passports in Canada currently cost $85. Supposedly, beginning in 2011, 10 year passports will be issued by our government!
Australia also has 10 passports.

[lorekauf]

Our passports in Canada currently cost $85. Supposedly, beginning in 2011, 10 year passports will be issued by our government!
Australia also has 10 passports.
I hadn't heard that so thanks for the info. The price is what it is so either pay it or you can't travel. I don't think the price is outragous. I'm sure many of us spend a lot more on other things and don't blink an eye.

[RedmondCruiser]

The passport is good for 10 years. The new passports have an embedded chip that once scanned will show your picture and all vital information. New technology is not cheap. Its for your own good and it does make us safer in one arena.

I just got the new passport and the passport card and would have gladly paid the higher amount.

Sure I would like to go back to the time when cars cost $3000 - houses were $25000 and gas was 35 cents but those days are gone and never coming back. Since passports run for 10 years its still not a bad price.

[doctork]

I have a bunch of years left on mine (just renewed last year)
What are the extra visa pages ($82) and how do you put them into your passport?

Since the passport book is good for 10 years but has only 24 pages, you may run out of visa pages before the passport expires if you travel frequently. So you can have more pages added by either mailing it in or having the pages added at an embassy overseas. It takes a just a few minutes and was done for me for free at the Kabul embassy a few years ago; I think $82 is very expensive for 5 minutes work and a few pieces of passport paper. However, if you have run out of pages and need a visa for an upcoming trip, it's cheaper than getting a whole new passport, and obviously the State Department knows that.

It's possible that additional pages would be added at low or no cost overseas at an embassy, when there would be a hefty fee at home. You'd want to test that at a time and place where it wasn't of critical importance - maybe near the end of your pages when you are in a foreign country anyway and could stop by the embassy and ask.

[TracieABD]

Thank you so much for that info. I do travel pretty frequently, and could actually run out of pages. I guess I had never given it a thought as to what would happen if I did run out of pages.
Yikes! :eek:I just looked at my passport that I have had for about a year and already 6 pages are gone... I keep travelling to China, and their visa take up a whole page plus an additional page for stamps.
I guess I will need to keep up with this!:)

[jcrandle]

The stated intent of the Passport fee is to offset the cost of processing and delivering the passport to the recipient. If you believe that the cost is too great, write your congressperson and suggest that the processing be offshored to a cheaper venue. China, India and Bangladesh come to mind.

Another alternative would be to allow US taxpayers to subsidize the cost of the relatively few citizens that use the passport services. It brings to mind the question "How much should taxpayers subsidize government services that only a few benefit from?".

[doctork]

The stated intent of the Passport fee is to offset the cost of processing and delivering the passport to the recipient. If you believe that the cost is too great, write your congressperson and suggest that the processing be offshored to a cheaper venue. China, India and Bangladesh come to mind.

Another alternative would be to allow US taxpayers to subsidize the cost of the relatively few citizens that use the passport services. It brings to mind the question "How much should taxpayers subsidize government services that only a few benefit from?".

I don't think anyone here has objected to paying a service fee for a passport. At least my concern is the large increase from the current rate of $75 to the proposed $135; that is nearly double. About 20% of Americans have passports, or about 60 million people, which does not seem to me to be a "few citizens."

In most other venues of my life, prices that double, or increasing the fees I can charge for my services, require justification. And in most arenas, higher volume results in lower unit costs. The recent change to require a passport to cross the US-Canada border, instead of a driver's license and voter registration card, has greatly increased the number of US citizens required to obtain a passport in order to shop or visit friends or family or go to school in Canada. But the prices are proposed to greatly increase, not be reduced.

This is probably more important and more noticeable to those of us who live close to the Canadian border and go back and forth frequently, or even daily in the case of those who live in Point Roberts or similar.

[jtl513]

At least my concern is the large increase from the current rate of $75 to the proposed $135; that is nearly double.Currently a new passport carries a $75 application fee plus a $25 "execution fee", so a "Total cost" of $135 would be a 35% increase.
http://travel.state.gov/passport/fees/fees_837.html

A renewal does not have the execution fee, so increasing that from $75 to $110 would be a 47% increase.

Bad, but not "nearly double".

[G&G]

Currently a new passport carries a $75 application fee plus a $25 "execution fee", so a "Total cost" of $135 would be a 35% increase.
http://travel.state.gov/passport/fees/fees_837.html

A renewal does not have the execution fee, so increasing that from $75 to $110 would be a 47% increase.

Bad, but not "nearly double".

As a follow up to an earlier post, we just received our passports (renewed). It costs $75. If expedited another $60. Though the US Passport Agency said it would take 6 weeks to process, it actually only took 2-1/2 weeks to process. Why the high costs ?

Our original passports were mailed to Philadephia, PA to be renewed. When we received our renewed passport, the passport was express mailed from Portsmouth, NH. Our old pssport was returned in a separate envelope regular mail from Portsmouth, NH. What is going on ? Why not mail the originals to Portsmouth and send back both passports in same envelope !

[Cinema15]

When we read on a HAL thread that you needed a passport that would not expire for six months to cruise to certain countries we opted to renew our passports this month. The fees that we were charged was $75/passport to renew. This includes express mail service from US Passport Agency back to applicant.

An additional fee of $14.95/passport would be required if you wish to have the passport Fed Ex to you.

An additional fee of $60/passport would be required if you wish to have your passport renewal expedited. This means mailed, processed and returned in 2-3 weeks.

We did not do the expedited passport process. We were told it was taking up to 6 weeks to process our renewal. We just received our new passports; it took only 2 weeks and 4 days from the time we mailed the application to Philadelphia to receive our new passports.



$60 to expedite your passport is a complete waste of hard-earned cash. As one can see by this post the applying for passports has peaked and 99 percent of applicants are receiving their passports in a relatively timely fashion. Unless it's a dire need do not spend the extra money!

[TracieABD]

I intentionally send my passport in about 6 months early just to avoid the fees. This last round, it was back in 3-4 weeks. My son just renewed in the last six months... His was back in 2 weeks! Yes, they are getting faster!:)

[jtl513]

What is going on ? Why not mail the originals to Portsmouth and send back both passports in same envelope !When we renewed last June we got three envelopes back, but I don't remember if the new ones came in separate envelopes or the old ones came back in separate envelopes. I think the new ones came back separately ... and we have non-consecutive numbers! (There's one number in between us.) Your government at work!! :rolleyes:

[doctork]

Currently a new passport carries a $75 application fee plus a $25 "execution fee", so a "Total cost" of $135 would be a 35% increase.
http://travel.state.gov/passport/fees/fees_837.html

A renewal does not have the execution fee, so increasing that from $75 to $110 would be a 47% increase.

Bad, but not "nearly double".

So the "execution fee" has been eliminated? That is somewhat of a cost break if the proposed $135 fee increase already includes the execution fee. But currently it costs nothing to add pages; I had thought there was already a fee charged while one was within the US, and that for some reason that fee was not charged when you needed new passport pages while overseas.

I had arrived in Kabul to do volunteer aid work with several empty pages remaining in my book, but then the "emergency departure" planning required multi-entry Pakistani and Tajik visas too. Presto - I needed more pages, which US embassy personnel obligingly added to my book, quickly and at no addtional charge.

For more than a year after I left Afghanistan, I remained on the embassy alert list and received notices whenever there was a security threat that US citizens in the area should know about. If that is what the extra fees support, it's a worthwhile expenditure.

[GeriatricNurse]

Our passports in Canada currently cost $85. Supposedly, beginning in 2011, 10 year passports will be issued by our government!
Australia also has 10 passports.

I hadn't heard that so thanks for the info. The price is what it is so either pay it or you can't travel. I don't think the price is outragous. I'm sure many of us spend a lot more on other things and don't blink an eye.


It was announced in the (Canadian) federal budget in February 2008, that Canadian travellers will be issued a higher-security electronic passport starting in 2011 that will be valid for 10 years instead of the current five.:)

[jtl513]

So the "execution fee" has been eliminated? That is somewhat of a cost break if the proposed $135 fee increase already includes the execution fee.This page http://travel.state.gov/passport/fees/fees_4734.html
doesn't mention any execution fee, and says
•Total Cost: $135 for a first-time U.S. Passport Book for adults (age 16 and over)

I presume that means $135 is the total cost.

[crusinbanjo]

Welcome to the world of BIG Government that can do anything it wants, or charge anything it wants, and we have no way to contest the charges......

NOT A POLITICAL STATEMENT BUT:
This country spoke its opinion in the last election and it has gotten what it asked for.....

Jim (without Ruth)

Just another TAX. Get used to it, they are not going down!

[Typhoon1]

If passports reach those prices I'll switch to the card.

The only time I use it if for Caribbean or Mexican cruises.

[JORAY]

I have a bunch of years left on mine (just renewed last year)
What are the extra visa pages ($82) and how do you put them into your passport?

You don't put them in the Passport Office does. When I traveled on Int'l business I had three put in they are about foot long and fold out. There is also a "business" size passport which has more pages to start with.

Ray

[02143]

Passports today include more sophisticated technology than they used to in the past. It's part of our federal government's ongoing efforts to make our border and immigration services more secure. U.S. citizens have experienced less of this than foreign visitors, who have to be fingerprinted, I believe. You're paying more because it costs more to produce the new style of passports.

The cost of security should fall on the people who bear the passport rather than the general taxpayer, I believe. It's a small cost compared to a single airline ticket and certainly a cruise, and it's good for 10 years--$13.50 a year.

[02143]

NOT A POLITICAL STATEMENT BUT:
This country spoke its opinion in the last election and it has gotten what it asked for.....


That's not a political statement? LOL.

[Mary Ellen]

You don't put them in the Passport Office does. When I traveled on Int'l business I had three put in they are about foot long and fold out.We had additional pages inserted into our passports a year or two ago. They aren't anything like you describe. The additional pages have a different background motif and are slightly smaller than the original pages, but they are pages. Nothing folds out.

[jtl513]

If passports reach those prices I'll switch to the card.

The only time I use it if for Caribbean or Mexican cruises.That's fine, unless you have some trouble and have to fly home.

[califgary]

We did not do the expedited passport process. We were told it was taking up to 6 weeks to process our renewal. We just received our new passports; it took only 2 weeks and 4 days from the time we mailed the application to Philadelphia to receive our new passports.[/QUOTE]


That is great news! I sent ours out for regular processing - something about sending your passport away and feeling "stuck" somehow - good to hear they are working things quickly hopefully ours will come back as soon as yours did! I got the "we are processing your passport" email last Friday so it seems things are moving along.

[m steve]

the cost of a passport is not significant.

[MrsMuir]

Our passports cost a heck of a lot more than the fees. What day was yesterday?

All you grumpy types who begruge the $13.50 a year fee to USERS (not a tax) should be grateful that you can afford to travel abroad and especially that you have a passport issued by a free country.