Renewing A Passport Is Easier Than You Think

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 14:25:14 EST

So you want to renew your expired passport? You have several optionswhen doing this, all of which depend on your current status and yourlocation. We’ll talk more about them as we go along in this article.First we’ll begin by talking about renewing your passport by mail.

Renewing your passport by mail is a convenient way to have yourpassport renewed. That’s because you no longer need to pay the passportoffice a visit just to submit your passport application. All you needto do is submit your application form by mail, along with the requireddocuments to accomplish this. You’ll then receive your new passport bymail.

There are restrictions as to who can renew their passports by mail,however. First of all, your passport needs to be in a good condition.It means the passport office will not accept damaged passports. Asidefrom that, your passport must have been issued within the last 15years, or when you are already 16 years old. You can also renew yourpassport by mail if it contains your legal name. If not, you should atleast be able to legally document your name change.

If any of the conditions do not apply to you, then you will be requiredto submit your passport application in person. Once again, you’ll needto apply in person if your passport was damaged or if it was issuedmore than 15 years ago, etc. Don’t worry about this though, as this isonly a measure to ensure that the passport office is issuing thepassports to the right people.

Passport renewal by mail applies to those in the US or to US citizensliving in Canada. So if you are eligible to do this, simply downloadForm DS-82 online, and then complete it. You can either fill it in onyour computer then print it out or print it out first then fill it inby hand. Once you have completed the form, you can then mail it to thepassport office along with the other documents required.

If you are living outside the US or Canada, however, you cannot chooseto apply for a passport renewal by mail. You will then need to visityour nearest US Embassy or Consulate for your passport renewal. Justprovide them with the necessary requirements and they will help youprocess your passport. Keep this in mind just in case you are travelingto a foreign destination.

For your security, you should use a traceable method of delivery whensending your passport by mail. This ensures that it is only received bythe addressee and nobody else. Also, make sure you use a durableenvelope to keep the documents contained in it safe before processing.

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Renewing A Passport Is Easier Than You Think