Steps to Getting Your Passport

I recently made my first trip to Europe and actually enjoyed myself, and believe me if I can sit on a plane for 11 hours, you can too. I thought that I would write about my experience in case anyone is considering the trip and needed a little advice.

The first thing you should think about doing, especially if you’ve never been out of the country, sure you’ve been to Canada, but does that really count, is getting your passport.  If this is your first passport here is some information you should look at:
http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/first/first_830.html

You must fill out and print this Form DS-11:
http://travel.state.gov/passport/forms/ds11/ds11_842.html

You need to take the DS-11 form, in person to an acceptance facility, here is a site that will tell you what facility’s are near you:
http://iafdb.travel.state.gov/

You will need to take your birth certificate and drivers license, and make a photo copy of the front and back of them to take with you. You will need a passport photo; most sites will do this for you. When you apply for the passport you will need to pay the fees, which currently is around $135.

You should plan on it taking 4 to 6 weeks before getting your passport, check here to see current wait time:
http://travel.state.gov/passport/processing/processing_1740.html

So, you’ve got the hard part out of the way! Now for the fun part, where should you go?
I’ll talk about some great European travel sites on my next post.

Have you gotten a passport lately? How long did it take to get it? Where did you go to apply for it?

About the author

JimsGotWeb

I write short stories, love to travel, install auto glass, and collect Beatles memorabilia.