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Nov 19

Getting Your Passport Same Day or within 24 hours!

Posted by barbados on Nov 19, 2010 in Places | Comments Off

While I recently found out it was possible to obtain a passport the same day, there were restrictions and you must appear with every piece of documentation necessary, a check and a credit card just in case.

In summary, you will need:

1- Your drivers license,
2- A State Issued, Certified Birth certificate- not the pretty one with your baby feet on it regardless of whether it has a raised seal. Mine did and it was unacceptable.
3- Proof of travel in the form of an itinerary with confirmation or tickets issued in your name showing a date within 14 days.
4- Two photos meeting the standards required by the Passport Agency. Formatting requirements set forth here: http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/get_874.html
5- if applying for an immediate passport at a government run passport agency for your children, they will need to appear with you. Photos will be necessary for everyone requiring a passport- even infants. Our child’s passport expires in 5 years due to the changes in appearance kids experience, so we’ll need to repeat the process in 5 years.

In Detail, here’s the process:

FIRST AND FOREMOST: Find an official US Government Passport agency in your state. There may not be one and you could have to travel to another state to get this done. At the bottom of this page, you will find a list. 1-877-487-2778 is the phone number to set an appointment.

1- find your original birth certificate. Not the one with your footprints on it, the official one containing an id number for your birth, a raised seal and filed with the state. If you don’t have it, you’ll need to order one from the state in which you were born. NOTE: There appear to be many web sites offering this service, but I would not order from anyone but the actual state. Your search should be something like “California Office of Vital Records”. You will be able to visit the office to buy one on-the-spot, but in many cases it will be too far away. This will necessitate ordering over the phone or online. BE CAREFUL where you enter your social security number!! I wound up ordering it online through the state web site, but there was no expedited option to purchase it immediately. The site quoted 5 business days. They did however offer an option to ship overnight and it arrived in two business days. Cost $95.

2- You must have government id with a photo. This includes a drivers license or some other form of id with your picture that is issued by the government. They will not accept your social security card as proof.

3- Get two passport photos. Formatting requirements set forth here: http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/get_874.html. Many local companies such as postnet will take the pictures for a fee. It cost us $14 per person.

4- You must have proof of travel. Yes, that means you have to book travel, have a confirmation number and be able to prove you need it quickly to use the expedited option at a government office. Personally, without the preceding three items, I would not book anything. If there is a delay in receiving your birth certificate it would definitely cause you to scramble on many fronts changing dates.

5- Call 1-877-487-2778 to set an appointment at the passport agency . Your confirmation number will be required and be sure to allow ample time to get it done. This really was an all-day process with a 10am appointment resulting in a 3pm issuance of our passports. The office was 1 1/2 hours away from our home. Many of you will be much further and that may necessitate alternate options such as using a company that specializes in getting passports quick. The fees are roughly double, but you will have no choice.

Adult passports were $195 each for same-day and children were $135 each at the passport agency. If you don’t have a time constraint, the process involves mailing your information or stopping into the same passport agency where the fees will be lower since you aren’t requiring same day service. Either way, good luck and be patient. Projecting your tension onto the folks at the passport agency will not result in anything but increased frustration, so keep yourself under control!!!

List of passport agencies from: http://travel.state.gov/passport/npic/agencies/agencies_913.html

* Arkansas Passport Center
191 Office Park Drive
Hot Springs, AR 71913

Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* Boston Passport Agency
10 Causeway Street
Suite 247
Boston, MA 02222-1094

This Agency issues the US Passport Card on-site!
Hours: 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* Buffalo Passport Agency
Genesee Gateway Building
111 Genesee Road
Suite 101
Buffalo, NY 14203

This Agency issues the US Passport Card on-site!
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., M,T,Th,F; 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, local time, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* Chicago Passport Agency
Kluczynski Federal Building
230 S. Dearborn Street,
18th Floor
Chicago, IL 60604-1564

This Agency issues the US Passport Card on-site!
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* Colorado Passport Agency
Cherry Creek III
3151 South Vaughn Way, Suite 600
Aurora, CO 80014

Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* Connecticut Passport Agency
50 Washington Street
Norwalk, CT 06854
Parking Entrance located at 27 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive

Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* Dallas Passport Agency
Earle Cabell Federal Building
1100 Commerce St, Suite 1120
Dallas, TX 75242

This Agency issues the US Passport Card on-site!
Hours: 8:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m., Local Time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays.
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* Detroit Passport Agency
211 West Fort Street, 2nd floor
Detroit, MI 48226-3269

This Agency issues the US Passport Card on-site!
Hours: 9:00 a.m.- 3:30 p.m., Local Time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* Honolulu Passport Agency
Prince Kuhio Federal Building
300 Ala Moana Blvd.
Suite 1-330
Honolulu, HI 96850

Hours: 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* Houston Passport Agency
Mickey Leland Federal Building
1919 Smith Street
4th Floor
Houston, TX 77002-8049

This Agency issues the US Passport Card on-site!
Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* Los Angeles Passport Agency
Federal Building
11000 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 1000
Los Angeles, CA 90024-3615

This Agency issues the US Passport Card on-site!
Hours: 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* Miami Passport Agency
Omni Center
1501 Biscayne Boulevard
Suite 210
Miami, FL 33132

This Agency issues the US Passport Card on-site!
Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* Minneapolis Passport Agency
212 3rd Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55401

This Agency issues the US Passport Card on-site!
Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m, M, T,Th, F; 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, local time,
excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* National Passport Center
207 International Drive
* Portsmouth, NH 03801
*
o
+ Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
+ Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778
*

* New Orleans Passport Agency
One Canal Place
* (corner of Canal and North Peters Streets)
365 Canal Street, Suite 1300
New Orleans, LA 70130-6508

Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 12 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* New York Passport Agency
Great New York Federal Building
376 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014

This Agency issues the US Passport Card on-site!
Hours: 7:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* Philadelphia Passport Agency
U.S. Custom House
200 Chestnut Street
Room 103
Philadelphia, PA 19106-2970

Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* San Francisco Passport Agency
95 Hawthorne Street
5th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105-3901

Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* Seattle Passport Agency
Henry Jackson Federal Building
915 Second Avenue
Suite 992
Seattle, WA 98174-1091

This Agency issues the US Passport Card on-site!
Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* Washington Passport Agency
1111 19th Street, N.W.
First Floor, Sidewalk Level
Washington, D.C. 20036

Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

Western Passport Center
7373 East Rosewood Street
Tucson, AZ 85710

This Agency issues the US Passport Card on-site!
Hours: Mon, Tues, Thur, Fri – 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Wed. 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., local time, excluding Federal holidays
Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778

* Special Issuance Agency
1111 19th Street, N.W. Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20036

Hours: 8:15 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Appointments: Contact Your Official Travel Office for Appointment Information

Nov 19

Central Wyoming- No Man’s Land! Rawlins, WY – No man should visit.

Posted by barbados on Nov 19, 2010 in Places | Comments Off

Central Wyoming- No Man’s Land!

Drove through Wyoming from the south east corner near Cheyenne, to Yellowstone National Park and was astounded at the millions of acres of vacant land that exists in the heart of the state. It was breathtaking and scary at the same time. The realization that we hadn’t seen a police officer in 8 hours of driving underscored the need for self-sustainability among its peoples.

While we enjoyed Yellowstone immensely, I will never, I repeat – never, make that drive again and it has nothing to do with the length of the drive. FIVE of the strangest incidents I could possibly describe occurred on this trip and you probably won’t believe all of them.

  • Our first stop was in the city of Rawlins for gas. The station happened to have a deli counter, so on arrival, I said hello to the 60-year-old lady behind the counter. Here’s where the fun began. Here’s the dialogue: ME: (while holding up a large perhaps foot-and-a-half long hero). Could you make me one of these with just ham and swiss? HER: Where did you get that? ME: right here in front of the meat case. HER: I’ve Never seen that bread before. At this point, she starts looking around in places the bread could never be and I’m wondering if there is perhaps my accent was part of the problem and she just didn’t want to help me. ME: The bread is behind you on top of the toaster oven. SHE: Blank stare. ME: Do you make sandwiches at home? SHE: Sure! ME: Could you make me one on the bread behind you? SHE: I wouldn’t know what to charge you. Then, blank stare again. At this point I walked out of the store.
  • The second incident occurred a few hours later at a gas station where a pretty blond girl was working the counter inside. First, we pull up at the station and there is a huge bulldog with his butt and balls hanging out the passenger window. It was quite the site. The owner of course strikes up a conversation about the dog starting with “that’s quite a set isn’t it”. I’m guessing this is a frequent conversation for him. However, the real issue was the girl inside. I went in to pay and she never blinked, never spoke – just took my money, made change and put it on the counter. At this point I’m starting to get a complex because everyone is just staring, but this was freaky. I asked her a question about short cuts and she didn’t even answer…. Just stared at me.
  • Here’s where the fun really began and the third incident – you guessed it – was in the city of Rawlins on the way back from Yellowstone. We stop at the same rest stop where the sandwich incident occurred and I knew better than to speak with anyone. It was dark, perhaps 10pm on a Sunday night. I go in to get some coffee which seems to be a major problem there and you’ll understand by the end of this story. The sandwich place doesn’t have any fresh coffee, so I return to the car and my wife is waving like hurry up. When I get there, she explains that those two guys are trying to break into the liquor store. We hightail it over to the diner a few blocks away and it gets better…
  • We pull up to the diner for the fourth incident and they have a take out window and a door to the main seating area. I say “lock the doors” and go in for two large coffees. The lady behind the take out window smiles and shows me those nasty teeth you see in a Meth ad. I say two large coffees to go. She says no problem and yells over to a pretty spanish girl who clearly does not belong in this area. I later learn that there’s a prison nearby which explains a lot of this. When Rawlins was asked if they wanted town hall or a prison, they chose a prison. Makes perfect sense… OK, so after yelling over to the girl, the girl in turn yells to a waitress that we need two large coffees to go. The waitress yells so make the coffee your freaking self. This is where the fun begins.
  • The Spanish girl cannot find a coffee pot and is yelling at everyone. At this point three guys walk in who look like they are straight from the movie deliverance. Thankfully, they take a seat. A moment later the door to the restaurant busts open with a woman screaming I NEED YOUR CELL PHONE!! Not me, says me. She’s ranting jibberish about walking for hours on the interstate and the lady with rotted teeth says “Honey, I told you, you cannot call the prison from here”. Now it makes sense, her man is inside and she needs to reach him. BACK TO THE COFFEE. The Spanish girl cannot find a pot, so she pushes the brew button with nothing more than a styrofoam cup to catch it. I say to the toothy woman that there is no way I want that coffee, it’s gonna be 200 proof, plus how is she going to catch the rest of the pot?? She says “it’s strong to begin with so that will be one hell of a cup”. At this point, I realize this entire town is being affected by the water or meth or oil refining because they just ain’t right!
  • Its been about 10 minutes since I walked in and my wife looks panicked at this point since I return without coffee. I recount the story and we shake our heads in amazement but we still don’t have any coffee.
  • Last but not least is our stop at McDonalds. In Rawlins. Yeah, we don’t learn. We order two large coffees with cream and sugar on the side. When we get to the window, a huge dude with a pony tail and tatoos that signify prison time is taking the money at the window. I say “how’s your night going”. MISTAKE! At this point he unloads that these mother f—ers are trying to tell him what to do and blah blah blah. Many curses omitted. I ask if he just got out. He shakes his head and I say just take it easy bro. He smiles, takes a deep breath and hands us the coffee. It was delicious.

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