I have a USA passport that will expire in a few months. I’m currently outside the usa and was planning to come back to the usa for a week or so… get it renewed… then head back outside the usa. The thing is i believe it takes few weeks to receive the new passport.
The thing is I know for certain i will have to come back to the usa in few months when my current passport expires. So i figured come back to usa get passport renewed… then it would be sent to my usa home… and well just make sure i come back to the usa in few months before my current passport expires… then if i do go outside the usa again… then i take the new one.
First off, is it true when you renew a passport, your current passport is no longer valid? If true, i didn’t know this and this would be a problem for me since i only plan to stay in the usa for 1 week only mainly b/c im comign back to renew it but also b/c im allowed to stay 180 days in a row in my current country so i figure doing this would fix both issues.
The thing is i believe u can renew passport online so if u do that, then you still have your passport right or do you need to mail it in? Also what about the current picture? I would want a new picture since my passport is well 10 years old and want a new one. I don’t recall the process 10 years ago when i got my passport but i think i either sent in a picture of myself or went to the place and they took my picture.
I read that you could expedite getting your passport for extra. Has anyone done this? I read you could even have this done in one day with hefty fees. But waiting a week for it would be fine as well. How long does it take on average to receive new passport? The thing im most concerned with is can i still keep my current passport and use it when i go and have a passport renewed? If so… then there will be zero issues at all with everything since i can come back to usa, renew it, then leave… then just make sure i come back to usa again when my current passport expires later on.
Thanks.
http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/services/expedited.html
Your best bet is to go to one of the passport offices in person and arrange with them to get it back to you as quickly as possible.
Yes i checked that site already. But could i keep my current passport when i go and renew it?
Thus i initially thought go and renew but i keep my old passport and could still use it until it expires. Thus i could leave the usa in a week or so and when i come back in few months, my passport would be in my usa home etc.
Are you anywhere near a US Embassy or Consulate? That might be where you need to go.
Maybe 5 years ago, we were visiting an Eastern European capital and my wife “misplaced” her passport (it may have been lifted out of her bag).
We went the next morning to the US Embassy. We didn’t have to wait in line, we were helped immediately. They seemed to have access to an online database as the person behind the counter was able to ID her from the info on his computer screen without her furnishing anything. They directed us to a shop a block away that had a passport photo service (very convenient and no coincidence). We returned and literally walked out of the building with a new passport in less than 30 minutes.
I seem to recall it was of limited duration - maybe 12 months - and a new 10 year passport was sent to her by mail about one month later.
With an upcoming expiration, it might be an approach to consider.
Im not sure if there is anything like that nearby. If there is, i probably have to cab there etc.
But main question is could i still use my current passport after i get it renewed?
You can’t renew online. You can renew by mail but you must submit your old passport with the renewal.
You are required to submit a new picture with your renewal application.
If you have less than six months left on your passport, any country you are attempting to enter could and probably will turn you away. They all seem to like you to have six months or more left, that’s the magic number.
I have renewed my US passport at the US Embassy in Bangkok multiple times, the most recent being 2012. Before 9/11, new passports would be done here in country IIRC, but ever since 9/11 they’re all done at the National Passport Center stateside (New Hampshire, I think).
But when you apply for renewal at an embassy, they let you keep your old passport until it comes time to pick up your new one. I’ve renewed twice now since 9/11, and it’s always been ready in two weeks or less (just eight days this last time) even though they’ll say it could take three or four weeks. This is probably faster than renewing in the US from what I’ve heard.
When you get your new passport, the embassy invalidates your old passport, but you still keep it. (They punch holes in it and stamp CANCELED on the main info page.) Then they give you a letter to take to local Immigration requesting they transfer the visa from your old passport into your new one. Easy-peasy.
To answer some of the other questions: Yes, you must have a new photo, and there are specific requirements for what the photo will look like. Here in Thailand, the photo shops are all familiar with photo requirements for passports and visas, so that’s never a problem.
I have never heard you can order a passport online, although possibly that’s an option that exists in the US these days, dunno. It certainly is not an option if you are living outside the US. And getting it in one day? That sounds completely like a fantasy.
Seriously, if you are outside the US now, why not just let the nearest embassy or consulate handle it? It’s really no problem and is likely to be faster than applying inside the US.
Okay but if i renew it in person, will they take my old passport?
No, they will not. As I said, you keep your old passport until they hand you your brand-spanking-new passport. And when you receive your new passport, and not before, they will invalidate your old passport. There really is no problem with this. Even once they invalidate it, they don’t take it away. I still have all my old passports.
EDIT: The US Embassy nearest you will have an American Services section. (That’s where you renew your passport.) The one here in Bangkok has always been extremely helpful. If you have any questions, e-mail or telephone them, and they’ll be glad to answer you.
Okay. So basically if i go and renew it then in a week i can just go outside the usa again with my current passport and just make sure i go back to the usa when my current passport expires?
My plan is to go back to the usa and get it renewed, leave in a week back to Mexico… then go back to usa in few months once my current passport is close to expire. Of course my new passport would already be sent to my usa address already by then. Would this be fine?
When did the State Dept. stop taking the current passport along with the application? When I last renewed my passport (in Seoul, South Korea), I had to turn over the still valid passport with my application. I got the new passport along with the old passport, the old one having been destroyed (a hole drilled through the entire thing).
Not the OP but can I add a question?
I need to renew an expired US passport, I have the passport but no other form of photo ID. I don’t understand why the expired passport doesn’t count, and there is no way I can get another photo ID unless I get someone I know to make me a silly employee ID or something like that(unofficial basically).
I know of no US citizen who can appear with me and do the “know you for two years” form.
This is annoying me so should I just go to the embassy and say don’t got it, can’t get it. Or would that waste money?
Oh and to make it stranger the general state department website says you don’t need it if you had a passport issued within the last fifteen years, but then the local embassy website asks for it and has some confusing things.
That is my understanding. But again, check with American Services at your nearest embassy or consulate. They are very helpful.
Actually, I seem to remember now this happening to me in the past as well. But it certainly did not happen in 2012, the last time I renewed here in Bangkok, and I think it did not happen in 2003. Possibly there were too many complaints from people who still needed it for banking and such, particularly after they started having all the passports done stateside instead of locally; just a guess. Again, always check with American Services, and they will tell you what’s what.
I have no idea what to do in a case like that. Again, ask American Services.
I know in Canada you must submit the old one to get the new one. So I wish you good luck, I think this could prove difficult for you.
Please return and let us know how it worked out. I for one, will be interested to learn whether you can get your wish and keep using the old one, while applying for a new one!
I have always had to send in my current passport with my renewal. You can hire an expediter to speed things up, but it will cost like an extra $250 +/-. The last time I renewed my passport, I got the new one back within a week.
It sounds like it’s handled differently from country to country. I’ve renewed my US passport in the UK a couple times. They sent a courier to pick up the old passport and new photo. They return the old invalidated one with the new one. So here at least it’s not possible to hold your current passport while the new one is being processed. Which makes sense, they don’t want the situation where duplicate valid passports exist.
But that’s inside the US?
Not only might it be different from country to country but the practice has changed over time just here in Thailand. But in my keeping my old passport with me while the new one was being processed, there was no chance of duplicate valid passports, because when I picked my new one up at the embassy, it was not activated until I handed my old one to them and they invalidated it on the spot. I still had only one at a time.
Again, to sound like a broken record, just check with American Services at the embassy beforehand.
That sounds great, but the OP wants a definitive answer from us. :rolleyes: