Oh yes, another passport questions, but please help!

[njhorseman]

I live in the UK and am always bemused by all the passport threads on here. Why do people in the USA seem to be so resistant to getting a passport? Surely it must save all the worry about what documents to take. I know it costs money, just as it does here, but it's surely worth it.

 

US citizens are not the only people who under certain circumstances can travel internationally with just proper ID and without a passport. In Europe, citizens of countries that have subscribed to the Schengen Agreement (largely EU countries excluding the UK and Ireland) are permitted to travel from country to country within the Schengen area without a passport. I'm sure no one wags a disapproving finger at those Schengen-area citizens for travelling without a passport the way some posters here do to US citizens who take advantage of the laws permitting limited international travel with a passport.

[flamomo]

If you do decide to go with the BC and DL ..... be sure the BC has a raised seal. That's what they require for it to be considered "official".

[Shmoo here]

If you do decide to go with the BC and DL ..... be sure the BC has a raised seal. That's what they require for it to be considered "official".

 

No, it just has to be "certified". Not all certified birth certificates have a raised seal. Ours don't.

 

:)

[tulsacubfan]

If you do decide to go with the BC and DL ..... be sure the BC has a raised seal. That's what they require for it to be considered "official".

 

Not every states uses a raised seal to certify anymore.

[Donray]

My husband and I are going on a cruise in October 2012. We leave from Galveston and will be going to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozamel. We will be on the Carnival Magic. I know Carnival tells you that they recommend getting passports. BUT....can we travel with our stamped birth certificates and picture drivers license. I know IF we got left behind. (that will never happen, my husband is a watch moniter) or if we had an emergency, we would not be able to fly home. HOWEVER, we are ok with that. Someone please tell me if we can make our choice and travel without a passport. This is making me a nervous wreck! :confused:

 

Is your birth certificate government issued? It is not one given by a hospital. And, they match the name on driver license.

[Warm Breezes]

Hi Missyk55. No, I wasn't frustrated at you asking the passport question. This forum is here to help with any question, no matter how many times the question has been asked before, but as a UK citizen I just find it difficult to understand why our US friends seem so resistant to the idea of getting passports. Here in the UK we have all the same problems - will they lose my birth certificate? where can I get a photo done that will satisfy the passport authority? etc etc - but it's well worth the expense and hassle to have that valuable document. I've had one for the whole of my adult life and would never let it expire even if I have no immediate travel plans. It's a great way of identifying yourself for reasons other than travel, such as when opening a new bank account for example. I made sure that my daughter had one at an early age, and she has done the same for her children (one still only a baby). Anyway, hope you enjoy your cruise and that you don't have any trouble with documents whatever ones you decide to use. :)

 

My reasons for NOT getting a passport YET:

 

1. It is not required for the type of traveling I currently do...closed loop cruises and/or through out the US.

 

2. If I would have started purchasing passports when I first start cruising for our family of 4, I would have spent over $1000 on passports by now (it would be 5 adult and 5 children by over the last 11 years) that we would never had needed.

 

3. I am not afraid of the minimal risk involved in being on foreign soil for the brief amount of time we are in port without passports. IMHO opinion the cost is too much for the minimal risk involved in getting passports.

 

4. I have not read of anyone getting left stranded in a foreign country and not being able to get home. Yes it may take more time and it will cost to expedite a passport then. But you will get home and again the risk is so small of that happening that I am willing to take that chance.

 

5. In my 46 years I have never been in a situation where I needed a passport. My DL and BC have always been sufficient in any travel I have had. I never had to wait in extra long lines because of that and I have never had any issues using them as my proof of ID. I have never been inconvenienced by carrying around both sets of ID vs a passport (especially not a $1000 worth of inconvenience).

 

6. If I am going to do a trip that requires one, then I will purchase one. I am not going to spend my valuable money or waste passport years until I need to for a trip I am planning.

 

7. I cannot just take off on a whim and travel to a foreign country. It would take months of planning for my family to get the time off together and plan a trip like that. We would have plenty of time to purchase a passport if we needed one.

 

8. If my work needed me to travel out of the country (which at this stage in my life with a husband and 2 teenagers I wouldn't want to do) then they would pay (as they have others in my company) to have a passport expedited for me.

 

Did I answer your question?

[Donray]

My reasons for NOT getting a passport YET:

 

1. It is not required for the type of traveling I currently do...closed loop cruises and/or through out the US.

 

2. If I would have started purchasing passports when I first start cruising for our family of 4, I would have spent over $1000 on passports by now (it would be 5 adult and 5 children by over the last 11 years) that we would never had needed.

 

3. I am not afraid of the minimal risk involved in being on foreign soil for the brief amount of time we are in port without passports. IMHO opinion the cost is too much for the minimal risk involved in getting passports.

 

4. I have not read of anyone getting left stranded in a foreign country and not being able to get home. Yes it may take more time and it will cost to expedite a passport then. But you will get home and again the risk is so small of that happening that I am willing to take that chance.

 

5. In my 46 years I have never been in a situation where I needed a passport. My DL and BC have always been sufficient in any travel I have had. I never had to wait in extra long lines because of that and I have never had any issues using them as my proof of ID. I have never been inconvenienced by carrying around both sets of ID vs a passport (especially not a $1000 worth of inconvenience).

 

6. If I am going to do a trip that requires one, then I will purchase one. I am not going to spend my valuable money or waste passport years until I need to for a trip I am planning.

 

7. I cannot just take off on a whim and travel to a foreign country. It would take months of planning for my family to get the time off together and plan a trip like that. We would have plenty of time to purchase a passport if we needed one.

 

8. If my work needed me to travel out of the country (which at this stage in my life with a husband and 2 teenagers I wouldn't want to do) then they would pay (as they have others in my company) to have a passport expedited for me.

 

Did I answer your question?

 

Why was this needed? Who asked you why you don't have a passport?

 

Lots of people that don't care about traveling to places where you need a passport don't have one. My 92 year old mother never had a passport.

 

Don't understand why your response was needed.

 

You give the reasons that most people give. You cannot afford to get passports and that is OK.

[Warm Breezes]

Why was this needed? Who asked you why you don't have a passport?

 

Lots of people that don't care about traveling to places where you need a passport don't have one. My 92 year old mother never had a passport.

 

Don't understand why your response was needed.

 

You give the reasons that most people give. You cannot afford to get passports and that is OK.

 

I was responding to 2 posts by Starbright from the UK who was questioning why some Americans do not get passports. If you are not interested in my response then don't read it. I wasn't directing it at you. But I was answering a question posed by another poster twice on this thread.

 

Personally I can afford passports. You did not see anywhere in my post where I said I couldn't. I said I wasn't willing to spend my money on something that IMHO wasn't necessary or required for the type of traveling I do. Although not affording to get a passport is also a valid reason for some Americans.

[cruise12004]

Wow, I am sorry that I had to be the 1 millioneth post regarding passports. But, I just wanted to make sure. And to answer the question about why I don't just get passports and be done with it...well, I live in a very very rural town and yes, I could send the application in the mail, but to find somewhere to have the picture made would require me taking off of work for at least half a day or more. And since I am so rural, I worry about them losing my birth certificate in the mail. And if that happened, I would really be up a creek without a paddle. Sorry if I frustrated anyone by having to answer this question for me, but I really do appreicate it!

Get yourself a passport. Consider the fact that you my be inconvenienced for a few days for a document that you will have for 10 years

[fleckle]

The official passport website has the specifications listed for the photos so you can do them with a digital camera.

Exactly. There is no need to go anywhere or pay anyone for passport photos when it is so easy to take them and print them yourselves.

 

It does require a little bit of patience though because it is important to read and follow the instructions.

 

They explain what they want very clearly and precisely.

 

We just followed these instructions and had no problem at all.

 

Passport Photo Requirements

 

 

It is helpful to look at the Photo Examples they show for tips on what to do and what not to do.

 

We found it easiest if you take a number of shots. Then you can just select the best photo, zoom and crop it as necessary to resize it to the exact dimensions required.

 

They can reject the photo if it is the wrong size, so don't guess but keep a ruler handy to measure it. That way you can be sure you have it right.

[Keith1010]

Nowadays, you can easily get passport photos at a wide range of places from Costso to Walgreens to CVS. I would just have them take the photos.

 

Keith

[fleckle]

Nowadays, you can easily get passport photos at a wide range of places from Costso to Walgreens to CVS. I would just have them take the photos.

That is fine for those who have such places readily available nearby.

 

In the USA many people live in rural areas where it would take them much longer to travel to a Costco or Walgreens or CVS than just to take their own passport photos at home or at work.

 

Even those who live closer do not always have transportation readily available, or have other reasons why they cannot go.

 

Taking your own passport photo is certainly not something that everyone would want to do, but it is just another viable option available, for example, to people like the poster who stated that finding somewhere to have the photo made would require taking off work for at least half a day.

[Keith1010]

RE: Passport Photos

 

There are also Walmarts for passport photos and two photos are $7.44 and many post offices also have these service. I think it is far easier to have it done by one of them or the ones I mentioned earlier to ensure that the size is done correctly, and the background is right and that it is cut properly.

 

Also many small towns have photographers who do this too.

 

Just my opinion.

 

Keith

[circuitrider]

Is there anywhere locally that can develop pictures from a digital camera? Then take some pictures of you against a completely white background (if you don't have a wall or door that would work, you can use a piece of poster board). Then go to epassportphoto, upload the photos, and it'll spit out an image file that you can take to a photo processor to "develop". If you have a CVS, Wal-Mart, or the like nearby, you can probably upload it to their website and order it that way. If not...if there's any place in town that can take a photo from a digital camera card (i.e. SD card), then place the image file epassportphoto gives you and put it on the SD card. Take that in, they should be able to print off your photo.

 

You might be able to print off the photo yourself if you have a decent photo printer with photo paper. I haven't done this, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

[Nebr.cruiser]

RE: Passport Photos

 

There are also Walmarts for passport photos and two photos are $7.44 and many post offices also have these service. I think it is far easier to have it done by one of them or the ones I mentioned earlier to ensure that the size is done correctly, and the background is right and that it is cut properly.

 

Also many small towns have photographers who do this too.

 

Just my opinion.

 

Keith

 

Absolutely, it is much easier and probably better to use Walmart or Walgreens, etc. What I think many people don't realize is that for some even these stores are a long ways off. And for really small towns, there may not be a local photogographer.

 

I live in a rural setting, though I am within 17 miles of a 'big' town of 25,000, so it's not a problem for me. But, people who live in the ranch country of Western Nebr., for instance, can live 35-50 miles from any kind of town. And out there, a small town is 300-900 people, or less; no Walmarts or Walgreens, and a 'big' town (over 2000) may be a 100 miles away. Some of our huge counties have only one small town in them. These counties are bigger than some countries.

 

Having to take a half day off work to get passport photos taken is not a stretch at all; it might take a whole day. And small post offices won't offer this service, either.

 

It's hard for people from cities or suburban areas to really understand; sometimes a city of 100,000 is considered a 'small town'. Here, a small town is 300 people or less.

 

It's a great idea to take your own picture and upload it to places like Snapfish, print it out and send in for a passport, if someone knows how to do this; not everyone does.

[Keith1010]

Yes, I really do understand that for some it might be a challenge.

 

I think between all of these posts we listed the options.

 

Keith

[Holders3]

As I said earlier you can do the photo yourself. You need a digital camera, a white background, a computer and color printer and some photo quality paper. The website gives you all the pointers of how to make it acceptable to the passport people( no glasses, look straight ahead, shoulders to head, that kind of thing)

 

Really it's very easy. Google free passport photos online. I did mine at epassportphoto.com

 

Best of luck.

[fleckle]

As I said earlier you can do the photo yourself. You need a digital camera, a white background, a computer and color printer and some photo quality paper. The website gives you all the pointers of how to make it acceptable to the passport people( no glasses, look straight ahead, shoulders to head, that kind of thing)

You are absolutely right. You don't need to be a professional photographer to do it yourself and don't need to upload the photos anywhere.

You only need to be willing to read and follow the instructions.

 

We took our own passport photos at home with an ordinary point-and-shoot camera and printed them out on an ordinary ink-jet printer.

We also printed extra copies to have for future visa applications.

 

For photos for two people, the whole thing took us about 20 minutes from start to finish, most of which was spent playing around with carefully measuring and checking the sizing as it was our first time doing it, so we wanted to make sure we got it right.

 

If we had been at a Walmart, Walgreens, Costco or such, certainly it would have been faster to have the photos taken and printed there than the time it took us to do it ourselves.

 

But the time spent traveling to get there and back would have taken us much longer than doing it ourselves at home.

[missyk55]

Thanks for all the information! We looked at my husband's passport and doesn't expire until 2014. I am going to try my hand at doing my own photo. I have a photo printer and a digital camera. I contacted two post offices within 20 miles from me and they don't do anything. I did get someone to pick me up an application. I love country living but it sure can be frustrating when the closest major town is 50 to 75 miles away. :eek:

[Shmoo here]

Thanks for all the information! We looked at my husband's passport and doesn't expire until 2014. I am going to try my hand at doing my own photo. I have a photo printer and a digital camera. I contacted two post offices within 20 miles from me and they don't do anything. I did get someone to pick me up an application. I love country living but it sure can be frustrating when the closest major town is 50 to 75 miles away. :eek:

 

You can fill out the application online and then print it.

 

:)

[Henlady]

Does a married woman need to carry her marriage license also if useing a BC and DL? Last name is now different on Birth Certificate and Dr. License as a result of marriage.

[Alliezona09]

Does a married woman need to carry her marriage license also if useing a BC and DL? Last name is now different on Birth Certificate and Dr. License as a result of marriage.

 

In 8 cruises with a BC & DL, I had never been asked for a marriage license ~ but that doesn't mean that they never would. Better safe than sorry and carry a copy~