nonstop

It's been coming for a long time-been in the press for at least two years. Our passports were set to expire this June and we are going to AXA. Recognizing there would be a big backlog because everyone would wait until the last minute we simply renewed ours last July(1 year early) after our trip to Anguilla last year.
Our daughter's is expiring next March, after she gets back from AXA this summer she will start the renewal process 8 months early so she will have it in plenty of time.
Now here is something to think about:
Fast forward 10 years and think of the crush of renewals. For me? I'll probably renew in year 9.

Wednesday

Careful, some folks don't rea;ize the relax was just for IN/OUT of US, had nothing to do with requirements to get IN different countries....

What apparently wasn't clear to many travelers was
that the photo ID and receipt were only good for leaving
and re-entering the U.S. Mexico, Canada and other countries still
require some other proof of U.S. citizenship--usually a birth
certificate--before entering.

nonstop

Wednesday-

Excellent point, that will trip up some people.

jlillberto

I decided at pretty much the last minute to take my 12 yr. old granddaughter to Paris in March. I paid the expediting fee and we had her passport in hand in about ten days.

Hurkit

Yeah, Make sure you check with where ever you are going. I ordered my passport on 3/28 and still do not have it. I called my congressman's district office friday and they are working on it now. I did check requirements for the BVI's and in lieu of a passport, you can bring a photo ID and an original birth certificate.

jennreyiw

Just to keep everyone up to date we applied for our passports on 2/16/07 - as of yesterday they were still being processed. However, I logged on today and they have actually been completed and mailed. If my counting is correct that is a total of just under 17 weeks. We applied at our local postoffice - I don't know where the closest office is from KC, but I assume it is Chicago.

Now if the post office will deliver them we can rest easy and wait for our trip in October. I am certainly glad we applied so early.

bajangirl

A friend applied for passports for herself and her 2 kids in early January for travel in late June, and still hasn't got them.

lt20

We leave for the Bahamas in mid August and had planned to expedite. We were thrilled to hear of the policy change as it saved us $250 in expedite fees. The funny part is, we applied with no expedite and all 4 of us got them in less than 2 weeks. 10 days exactly I think and they were in my mailbox. Go figure.

Marianna

Our son's passport arrived yesterday as they said it would. That's a relief!

mrcamp

I know the relaxed passport requirements only applies when one is leaving and entering the US. I wonder how that comes into play when one is going on a cruise. I do not remember showing my passport at any of the ports we stopped at on any of the cruises we have been on.

As I said above, we applied last month and going on a Southern Caribb cruise in August 19th. Does not look like we will get it on time. I have already printed the so called application receipt online. I will see if I can get my congress person involved if neccessary.