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How to Apply for a Passport

For those Americans looking to travel or live overseas, the most important document that is needed is a US Passport. A passport is a document that verifies your identity as well as the nationality of your citizenship. The US Passport is internationally recognized and is issued by the US Department of State.

If you are planning on traveling or living abroad a passport is necessary. It should be noted that starting in 2007; all US citizens must have and carry a US Passport when traveling to any other country including Mexico and Canada.

Commonwealths such as Puerto Rico do not require you to carry a US Passport; however it is an excellent document that can verify your identity immediately.

Applying for a New US Passport

For those that have never applied for a US passport before, applying for one is pretty much straightforward.

For those that are applying for their first time, you will need to personally go down to a passport acceptance facility in the US. There are over 8,000 passport acceptance facilities, most of which are your local or regional US post offices. When you go down to the facility bring along with you:

• Two passport photographs of yourself (2 x 2 inches in size, both photos must be identical to one another and they must be of you within the last 6 months)
• Proof that you are a US citizen (Original birth or raised birth certificate)
• A valid photo ID
• A New Passport Application (you can download the application from the Internet or receive one and complete it at the office. Please note: Do not sign the US Passport Application, until told to do so (this is so it can be witnessed by a representative).You can download a US Passport application at Travel.State.Gov: Applications and Forms.

How long does it take to get a US Passport?

For those looking to apply for a US Passport for the first time, there are two ways to receive your passport once you apply. Two choices are routine service and expedited service.

Routine Service - Routine service requires a processing time of 10 to 12 weeks from the date that you submit your application to a US Passport acceptance facility. The cost of processing a US passport for the first time is as follows: The passport application fee is $67. The execution fee is $30. The total is $97.

Expedited Passport Service - Expedited services requires a processing time of about 2 to 3 weeks. However, in some cases you can receive your passport in as little as one week. The cost of expedited passport services is as follows: The passport application fee is $67, the execution fee is $30, and the expedited service cost $60 for each application. It should also be noted that to ensure quick service, you should also arrange overnight delivery when sending your passport application for processing and for the US State Department to return your documents and passports to you via overnight delivery. The total cost is $157, but can be $20 to $50 more for overnight delivery fees.

You can find out more information about the US Passport process, as well as any fees involved at Travel.State.Gov: Passports.

How to Get a Passport is another useful guide on this topic.