We came "this close" to cancelling our trip

[larryhead]

So last night we spent several late, excruciating hours tearing apart the apartment looking for the girl's passport. We couldn't find it anywhere, and I mean we tore the place apart, went through all books on shelves, drawers, boxes of papers, cabinets, old coat pockets, purses, luggage, EVERYWHERE. Finally we gave up after 1am and went to bed.

Since we're supposed to leave for Mexico tomorrow morning, this was not good! :(

This morning we were calling several passport agencies (voicemail box "full" or system busy, or just plain broken, argh!), calling parents, etc. etc. and I'm thinking "Fuck, we are going to have to cancel the whole trip because it will take weeks to get a new passport."

And then... she found it in a mess drawer that both of us had looked in about five times each. It was a fucking miracle really.

So, I'm happy to say the trip is still on and I will me MIA for all of next week! :thumbsup:

Just curious, does anyone know of a way to get a new passport same-day, is it even possible? From the sites I looked at, it seemed like even the expensive "express" services still took several days.

[mrjohnchimpo]

it is impossible. especially around this time of year.

really people should leave 6 to 8 months to get a passport now. our passport system is screwed, and has higher security than it did even a couple of years ago.

[Ag Au]

wheew! lucky you. that is the WORST feeling in the world, thinking something so important just up and vanished. i think slam had a close call with his once while traveling. the closest i came was with the accidental swap that didn't inconvenience me much.

is mexico travel completely passport travel these days? i knew it was headed in that direction....

i haven't heard about any replacement services that take less than a few days either.

and oh, have fun! i think you will really enjoy it now.:upsidedown:

[mrjohnchimpo]

my girl is experiencing something like this. she is going to jamaica in a week with her family. they submitted their passport stuff in January...they all submitted the same information. her whole family got their passports. she got a letter saying they needed more information. So she submitted a whole BUNCH of stupid crap they were requesting (like copies of high school IDs and whatnot) about 3 weeks ago. after about a week she started calling their system to get in touch with a human and wasn't able to (i even tried as well and their automated systems are complete crap). Finally her mom got ahold of somebody yesterday in order to expedite.

she still doesn't have it and she's leaving in 10 days. in short, she's a little um, excitable, right now.

[larryhead]

it is impossible. especially around this time of year.

really people should leave 6 to 8 months to get a passport now. our passport system is screwed, and has higher security than it did even a couple of years ago.

yeah, that is kinda what i figured. 6-8 months seems pretty safe... if everything goes smoothly. which is just ridiculous. :drumfingers:

i just read too that the new passports will all have computer chips in them (which opens all sorts of new security & privacy problems).. i somehow doubt this will speed up the process either..

the other issue that concerned us, was that even if we reported her passport missing and were somehow able to get her new one, i still think should would have been flagged in all sorts of security databases, and we'd have all sorts of new problems.

the whole system is fucked... guard your passports carefully!

[hasslehound]

passportsandvisas.com/

I used one of their "slower" options and fed-exed the materials to them on a Monday, and had my passport fed-exed back to my place Wednesday morning. I was amazed.

I'm assuming they also sold my identity to some immigrants, but so far I haven't noticed anything.

[larryhead]

wheew! lucky you. that is the WORST feeling in the world, thinking something so important just up and vanished. i think slam had a close call with his once while traveling. the closest i came was with the accidental swap that didn't inconvenience me much.

is mexico travel completely passport travel these days? i knew it was headed in that direction....

i haven't heard about any replacement services that take less than a few days either.

and oh, have fun! i think you will really enjoy it now.:upsidedown:

thanks ag au :)

i cannot remember the last time i felt just sick to my stomach with anxiety... while tearing the place apart, it finally got the point where every little corner became the most obvious place where the passport just HAD to be. i remember going through food pantry thinking it simply MUST be here amongst the cereal boxes and canned food... it was making me nuts!

[larryhead]

passportsandvisas.com/

I used one of their "slower" options and fed-exed the materials to them on a Monday, and had my passport fed-exed back to my place Wednesday morning. I was amazed.

I'm assuming they also sold my identity to some immigrants, but so far I haven't noticed anything.

yeah, saw that site... it looked promising, but the "same day" service they advertise is really still a few days. still though, glad to hear it actually worked... that will probably save someone's ass down the line. :)

(btw, at $169 + government fees, that site must make serious bank!)

[mrjohnchimpo]

yeah, that is kinda what i figured. 6-8 months seems pretty safe... if everything goes smoothly. which is just ridiculous. :drumfingers:

i just read too that the new passports will all have computer chips in them (which opens all sorts of new security & privacy problems).. i somehow doubt this will speed up the process either..

the other issue that concerned us, was that even if we reported her passport missing and were somehow able to get her new one, i still think should would have been flagged in all sorts of security databases, and we'd have all sorts of new problems.

the whole system is fucked... guard your passports carefully!

we don't have to get new ones if the current ones don't have the new chip in it, do we? cause mine is from 2003 and i'm leaving the country in july so if i need to i gotta get cracking.

[larryhead]

we don't have to get new ones if the current ones don't have the new chip in it, do we? cause mine is from 2003 and i'm leaving the country in july so if i need to i gotta get cracking.


According to the US Electronic Passport FAQ (http://travel.state.gov/passport/eppt/eppt_2788.html) you can still use your current one until it expires.

[False Alarm]

is mexico travel completely passport travel these days? i knew it was headed in that direction....

i think you must have a passport to fly in now. you can still use your birth certificate to get in by land for like the rest of the year or something, but next year you'll need a passport to get in that way too. can't remember rules for entering by sea but that'll be passport next year for sure and may be already.
------------------------------------
500 posts bitches! senior member in the joint!

[False Alarm]

my girl is experiencing something like this. she is going to jamaica in a week with her family. they submitted their passport stuff in January...they all submitted the same information. her whole family got their passports. she got a letter saying they needed more information. So she submitted a whole BUNCH of stupid crap they were requesting (like copies of high school IDs and whatnot) about 3 weeks ago. after about a week she started calling their system to get in touch with a human and wasn't able to (i even tried as well and their automated systems are complete crap). Finally her mom got ahold of somebody yesterday in order to expedite.

she still doesn't have it and she's leaving in 10 days. in short, she's a little um, excitable, right now.
i dunno dude she might be in trouble. i expedited my passport on jan 23 (the deadline for getting into mexico without a passport, btw) and it took two weeks, but i've heard it's now taking as long as 10 weeks. special K did hers the same week i did (no expedite), but she didn't get a whole new passport, just updated her address, which normally takes like a week or something, and she just got hers a couple days ago. your girl might wanna use hasslehaas's site or something joe or she gonna be cuttin it close!

[cuscus]

Beginning January 23, 2007, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda will be required to present a valid passport, Air NEXUS card, or U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document, or an Alien Registration Card, Form I-551, if applicable.
As early as January 1, 2008, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea (including ferries), may be required to present a valid passport or other documents as determined by the Department of Homeland Security. While recent legislative changes permit a later deadline, the Departments of State and Homeland Security are working to meet all requirements as soon as possible. Ample advance notice will be provided to enable the public to obtain passports or passport cards for land/sea entries
Its on the same link LH posted

[mrjohnchimpo]

your girl might wanna use hasslehaas's site or something joe or she gonna be cuttin it close!
ill check it out.

however, her folks are planning on postponing the trip if she don't have her passport (nice, huh? my folks woulda been like "SEE YA you already travelled the world!"), so like, it would suck, but they will still go once it's in.

and congrats on being a senior member! it's about freaking time!

[JVO]

and congrats on being a senior member! it's about freaking time!


I just noticed that too. :headbang:

Once baseball season gets going maybe we can wrangle some more posts out of ya.

[larryhead]

500 posts bitches! senior member in the joint!

Congrats, about time! :thumbsup:

[meatball]

I saw something on the news one morning last week that people are having all sorts of problems with the long wait for getting a passport. Hasslehound you are one lucky sonofa that you got yours so quickly.