Passports should be ordered when the I600A is submitted to INS. You need to get your passports right away. You cannot get your visas without them.How to get a Passport
Apply in person, at your local post office or courthouse (see below) several months prior to your planned departure date. The average time to get a passport is six to eight weeks, with the wait frequently much longer in the summer months.
Items to Bring With You When Applying
Have an Emergency? Leaving in five days?
- Passport forms - available from passport agencies, post offices, clerks of court, travel agencies and off the internet at http://travel.state.gov/passport_services.html
- Proof of US Citizenship (either a certified copy of your birth certificate or a previous passport)
- A set of identical, recent photographs (2x2 inches/must show full face, front view)
- Proof of Identity (a valid driver's license, military ID, government ID, corporate ID, Certificate of Naturalization or Citizenship.)
- Your Social Security Card (a Social Security number is not required to get a passport)
- Money! - If you are over 16 years old, it is $60 for a 10 year passport. If you are under 15 it is $40 for a 5 year passport. (For an adult passport that is $45 plus the $15 notary fee.)
You will need a check or money order made payable to Passport Services (post offices and passport agencies accept cash in the exact amount of the fee). If you passport is needed within two weeks or less, bring proof as to why you need it expedited, and an extra $35 to cover the fee!
You will need to have all of the above items, as well as your plane tickets or itinerary from an airline and proof of the emergency. Bring it all to a courthouse or post office and have the application sent to the New Orleans passport agency through an overnight mail service (USPS, Fedex or UPS). An additional $35 fee will be charged and you must include a self-address, pre-paid overnight mail envelope for the return of your passport.
Have a Passport? Need a new one?
You may apply for a passport by mail if you already have a passport. There are a few restrictions:
Have further questions? Need additional assistance?
- the passport must have been issued to you within the past 12 years
- You were over age 18 when issued the passport
- It must not be mutilated, altered or destroyed.
Obtain form DSP-82 "Application for Passport by Mail" from the courthouse or post office and attach it to you most recent passport, along with two identical passport photographs, and a check or money order for $60 (remember to make it payable to Passport Services). If applicable, also include the self- addressed stamped envelope and the $35 fee for expediting your passport.
Here is an express passport service (very expensive -- the prices are on the website) located in Washington, D.C. (they also have offices in Texas. They will handle your passports and Ukraine visas.
A Briggs Passport and Visa Expeditors
1-888-456-8472
http://www.passportsvisas.comIt is much cheaper to go through the US Post Office for a 6 to 8 week (some people experience 3 weeks) turn-around or I their express is 5 days.
http://travel.state.gov/passport_services.html
http://travel.state.gov/passport_expedite.html (to expedite)
or
http://www.house.gov/jones/passportpage.htmJeanne
