How to Get Your Passport

Traveling to a foreign country is always a dream cherished by mere mortals. Amongst those of us who are financially well off, can surely go on such a rendezvous with a foreign land. Otherwise it gets a little difficult. Nevertheless, even those who can afford a tour abroad, do not get it as easy as a cake walk. The formalities, the permissions and stuff is a major obstacle. A passport is the first major roadblock for a foreign tour. You may need to run from pillar to post to get the passport if you do not do a little bit of homework.

Getting your Passport

The road to getting your passport is long and winding. This is not to scare you off guys, but to help you mentally prepare yourself for the things you may encounter to get your passport. Here we go then! Gear up!

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No government or official document can be procured without filling up the form and the same thing applies to passport as well. Hence you kick start your passport campaign by getting the requisite forms. You can get the passport application forms online these days, or in USA, you can approach a US Post office. If you download the form all the instructions will be given there in the form, from the specifications of the paper to the ink used for printing material on it.

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Here comes the most treacherous and bothersome part if you are pondering over how do I get a passport - "what do you need to get your passport?". You need to get a proof of American citizenship as prescribed by the US Department of State and it could be either of these:

1. Certified U.S. birth certificate issued by the city, county or state (not a copy - call the government of the state in which you were born to get an official version with a notary's seal.
2. Records of birth abroad
3. Naturalization certificate
4. Certificate of citizenship

In addition to that you will require driver's license, government ID: city, state or federal or military ID: military and dependents. All of these have to be valid along with previous US passport (altered or damaged passports will not be accepted), naturalization certificate and finally a certificate of citizenship.

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You will also need minimum 2 photographs in your normal clothes without anything on your head. You will need to check the requirements in the form. Keep your social security number ready as it will be required throughout the process. After you have gathered all this, check out the latest passport processing fees and the form of payment.

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All you need to now is to find a passport office located nearest you. That is the answer to where to get your passport, if you had that query! Submit the whole paraphernalia of documents with a completely and properly filled form, without any correction or any mistake. If you are in rush, and want to know how to get your passport in hurry, you can pay extra $60 in addition to overnight delivery charges and there you are! If you are in luck you may even get the passport on the same day!

But generally after you have submitted the requisite documents, you can forget about getting your passport for a minimum of 2 weeks and can keep on doing that for as good as 2 months! If you were wondering how long does it take to get your passport, that was the solution to your query!

Once you get the passport, please immediately make a copy of that passport and related travel documents too and to be on the safer side, mail them to yourself. Another thing is that if you already have a passport, you can use it in place of a birth certificate. But cross check it with the officials. That's it! I hope this article was helpful!