Renewing Your Missing Passport Is Easy

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:53:56 EST

The key to dealing with lost or stolen passports lies in two things:quick action, and knowing what to do next. That is because yourpassport contains your personal information and therefore you need tohave the information secured right away. You must act quickly themoment you realize that you lost your passport or it was stolen fromyou.

To report a lost or stolen passport, you can either call the USDepartment of State or send them the appropriate form for reportinglost passports. Calling their office provides you with the convenienceand speed of reporting your loss. However, there are times when placinga phone call isn't possible, especially during federal holidays. Intimes like these, you'll need to send a report by mail.

Sending your report by mail requires you to fill in Form DS-64. Thisform will contain your statement regarding your lost passport. Becauseof this, you need to be thorough and accurate when filling in the itemsin this form. Make sure you don't leave any important item unansweredbefore submitting this paperwork.

Once you have filled in Form DS-64, you can either mail it to the USDepartment of State's Lost or Stolen Passport Section, or submit it inperson along with a passport application form. If you want to makespeedy report on your lost passport but are unable to do so by phone,submit it personally instead. Along with that, also submit yourapplication for a new passport. That way, you accomplish two importantthings in a single trip.

If you're going to submit an application for a passport, you'll need tofill in the Form DS-11. It is worth noting that you can alreadydownload both forms at the US Department of State's website. You canfill in the form first on your computer then print it out, or print itout first then fill it in by hand later.

Keep in mind that once your passport was reported lost or stolen, it isautomatically invalidated. This is a measure done to prevent identitytheft, since as mentioned earlier, your passport contains some of yoursensitive personal information. Once your passport is invalidated, youcannot request its revalidation. You will need to apply for a newpassport.

Now what if you lost your passport while on vacation in a foreigncountry? You'll also need to be quick in reporting the loss of yourpassport, especially in that you're in unfamiliar territory. Butinstead of going to the US Department of State's passport office,you'll need to head to your nearest US Consulate or Embassy. They willthen help you invalidate your passport as well as apply for a new one.

TRCB.com RSS Feed

Renewing Your Missing Passport Is Easy