With Internet access and some time, passport renewal is only a few mouse clicks away. The websites available that offer this service have made it simple and easy to renew your passport and get ready for that upcoming business trip or vacation. These providers will make sure that everything is taken care of once the proper forms have been submitted and ship either the new passport or passport card directly to you.
There are some criteria that must be met before attempting a passport renewal via the mail. The passport in question must be undamaged and available to be returned with the application. It must be a passport issued to an individual above the age of 16 and no older than 15 years along with being issued with your current name on it.
All the forms necessary may be found online and printed out. The correct forms will have complete instructions as to what is needed to accompany them back to the issuing agency. Once all criteria is met and the proper forms filled out, you then will need to send the forms along with supporting documentation, such as your old passport, to the address given you by the agency.
When sending these in, be sure to use a traceable delivery method such as UPS or FedEx. Many of the websites will have links to their preferred shipper and locations of the nearest one to your area. This insures that your documents reach them in a timely fashion and reduces the chance of them being lost or misplaced.
Something else that must be included with all of the other documentation is the passport photo. These are easily obtained, but must meet the criteria set or they will not be accepted. There are plenty of local photo shops that can handle this task and some post offices have a passport photo service that they offer.
Once all the necessary forms have been gathered and completed, simply send them in to the address specified by the agency. They will take care of the submittal and processing from there. This make take anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks depending and it is possible to speed this up. By requesting expedited service through the provider, this time can be cut in half and may even be shortened to overnight for a fee.
Fees charged by the government for passport services are standard and can be found right on the State Department website or the post office website. Private companies that offer quicker services make up their own fee schedule, so it is best to check their site or call to find out exactly how much they will charge for the quick turnaround time.
The best way to get all of the information that is needed on passport renewal is to get online and search the government sites. While the government only offers expedited services to a certain level, there are plenty of other companies out there to serve the needs of those that need to have their USA passports quicker. Just make sure that all pricing is checked so that there are no surprises when the bill arrives for their passport renewal services.
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