Using Expedited Passport Services Can Deliver Your Passport In Record Time

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:33:12 EST

Sometimes life has a way of throwingsome interesting curve balls our way. We think everything is goinggreat and then all of a sudden something happens and we have to jump ona plane to Europe on short notice. If you don’t have a passport or itis expired, expedited passport services can make this problem go awayin a snap.

While the government may try and make the process quicker andeasier, their idea of quick may not mesh with what the average personthinks is quick. Granted, they are quicker than they have ever been,but expedited services can give the whole process a much needed boostto get the passport back even quicker. By paying an extra fee, rushservice can be ordered and the passport should come back in about twoto three weeks.

This rush service that is being paid for encompasses the time fromwhen the application is received and accepted until the passportactually shows up in the mail box at home. If this is still not fastenough, there are other passport agencies that are outside thegovernment that can put an even quicker rush on the documents. Whilethere services are faster, they also charge even more money.

The whole system is powered by fees, fees and more fees. A regularpassport will cost $75 and $25 added for the standard processing. If apassport card is added, tack on another $20 to the order. Thegovernment offers a small break in the pricing for minors, but allprocessing fees remain the same. Renewals services are slightly lessexpensive.

When rush services are requested, there is yet another fee of $60added to the kitty. Because these documents are mailed out, it isgenerally recommended that overnight mail be used. This is suggestedbecause of the guaranteed delivery date and ability to track thepackage. This is piece of mind for a very small investment.

Overnight delivery is not part of the fee structure and will costanother $15 or so. We know, the fees really start to add up, but theovernight shipping is a must for security reasons. Allowing this kindof documentation to travel through regular mail is insane. It is justtoo important and too sensitive to risk losing.

If expedited service is requested, the form that has to be filledout is the DS-82. This is in addition to the regular forms and does notreplace the standard application. When mailing in the forms anddocuments, be sure to write “expedite” very large and clear on theoutside of the envelope. The agents are trained to look for this andwill make sure that the envelope is rushed through processing.

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Using Expedited Passport Services Can Deliver Your Passport In Record Time