Passport renewal for kids

[sam_gordon]

What a pain - when my kids were young my husband never had to come along with me to renew the kids passports.

And both parents still don't need to be present. See my post above.

 

[LoveSpringsteen]

I've never had to bring copies of anything, the library we go to takes care of that for us. I highly recommend a library or other community facility rather than a post office.

This is what I was going to suggest. Check your local library to see if they offer this service. Our local library renewed my kids' passports the last time they were up and it was a much better experience vs. going to the Post Office. All I had to do was call to make sure the staff member who does these renewals was available and we went and renewed.

 

[easyas123]

Oh no doubt it is a pain, but there is good reasoning behind it as @CaptainAmerica said. Parental abduction.

Oh yes, I'm aware of that being a issue. I was speaking generally. Sometimes it's a pain to jive schedules in this day and age but you gotta do what you gotta do I suppose. We were able to bring in a form signed by the parent who wasn't there and never had a issue luckily. It's been about 8 or 10 years now since we had to do that so the kids are renewing on their own at this point.

 

[mjkacmom]

I've never had to bring copies of anything, the library we go to takes care of that for us. I highly recommend a library or other community facility rather than a post office.

There are no libraries or community facilities that do them here, and we are in a suburban/urban area. Our rev center used to do walk ins once a month but not since Covid.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Some colleges have passport facilities. Our local one does--MUCH easier than the Post Office! DD18 goes there, and renewed her passport last year. No appointment needed, no lines, and she got it back surprisingly quickly. If you can avoid the post office, I would do that in a heartbeat. In the case of our local college, they also have a post office, literally across the hall, so we were able to mail the forms straight from there (I think that's what it was--we had to go over to the post office for something throughout the passport process).

 

[kdonnel]

As other recent threads have pointed out, the 8-11 week estimates for non expedited appear to be off by a factor of 2.

My son's passport was returned in exactly 4 weeks. My wife and I mailed ours off a week after his so ours should arrive next week.

 

[Colleen27]

Oh yes, I'm aware of that being a issue. I was speaking generally. Sometimes it's a pain to jive schedules in this day and age but you gotta do what you gotta do I suppose. We were able to bring in a form signed by the parent who wasn't there and never had a issue luckily. It's been about 8 or 10 years now since we had to do that so the kids are renewing on their own at this point.

That's still an option. I was worried we wouldn't be able to coordinate DH's schedule to get the girls' passports, so it was a relief to see that him not being there was as simple as bringing what amounts to a "permission slip". It has to be notarized, but since our bank has a notary on duty at all times, that's easier than coordinating things for us to all be available in person during the post office's passport acceptance hours. It never actually came into play, because older DD was 16 and didn't need second-parent approval when she got hers and DH ended up applying for his at the same time as younger DD since he's hoping to join us for part of our next international trip, but it was good to know there is an easier option.

 

[fly girl]

Oh yes, I'm aware of that being a issue. I was speaking generally. Sometimes it's a pain to jive schedules in this day and age but you gotta do what you gotta do I suppose. We were able to bring in a form signed by the parent who wasn't there and never had a issue luckily. It's been about 8 or 10 years now since we had to do that so the kids are renewing on their own at this point.

I hear ya! This was the last child passport we had to do and I was happy. My husband travels for a living so coordinating can be tricky.

Many previous posters mentioned that both parents don’t have to be present, and that is correct. You would need a notarized form if one couldn’t attend. Definitely nice for some parents. But for us (and I imagine others) it was just easier to both go as we are still married and our bank is well known for not always having a notary on hand. (Learned that when I needed to update my spousal military ID.) Either way, it’s an extra step that while it has a purpose is a extra hassle for most.

 

[sam_gordon]

Here's the link where you can put in your zip code and find a nearby acceptance facility:
https://iafdb.travel.state.gov/
In addition to post offices, our county clerk's office is one and there's one at a nearby large university.

 

[bcla]

You're usually good with details, but you've missed the mark a couple times...
1) They're not sending the information electronically. Pictures get stapled to the application and they need original birth certificates, and the check gets stapled to the application. That all gets sent physically to whatever office.
2) Both parents do NOT need to be present. However, if they aren't, there's a form that needs filled out so the "missing" parent acknowledges the passport is being applied for. There's also forms if you can't find the other parent and a list of documents you can provide if you're the sole provider.
3) While you can use the previous passport in place of a birth certificate, it (or the BC) needs to be an original or a certified copy. A photocopy is NOT acceptable.

This is all covered in the link you posted.

1) I was referring to someone who posted about a passport envelope with a mailing address from across the country. Once the photo is scanned and the data input, all of that can be transmitted electronically now.

2) I acknowledged that.

3) This one is tricky, because a previous passport is considered proof of citizenship. But the other thing a birth certificate typically proves is who the parents are. There aren't too many documents that do that, so generally most parents will just bring along a certified copy of a birth certificate (we did anyways). I've heard of people just bringing photocopies of birth certificates and having them accepted as proof that the people who showed up with the child are the parents. However, that wouldn't necessarily serve as primary proof of citizenship if the previous passport is submitted.

 

[bcla]

Some colleges have passport facilities. Our local one does--MUCH easier than the Post Office! DD18 goes there, and renewed her passport last year. No appointment needed, no lines, and she got it back surprisingly quickly. If you can avoid the post office, I would do that in a heartbeat. In the case of our local college, they also have a post office, literally across the hall, so we were able to mail the forms straight from there (I think that's what it was--we had to go over to the post office for something throughout the passport process).

There are a lot of places that do that, but right now the issue is that many have suspended passport operations. Post offices fit into the stereotype, but city/county clerks, libraries, and (as you noted) even college facilities have it. I mentioned we did it at a university rec gym, but some places like UC Santa Cruz has theirs at the campus bookstore. We went to a place that didn't accept appointments, but that really depends on the location. I've never heard of a post office doing passport acceptance without an appointment.

I don't believe that anything has to be mailed individually if you go to a "passport acceptance facility". The fee that you pay separately ($30 now?) is supposed to cover everything, and I don't recall having to mail anything. When we did our kid's first one (age 1) at the UC Berkeley rec gym, I was waiting for a while (someone was filling out an application by hand) and noticed this big envelope behind the counter that was already pre-addressed to the San Francisco Passport Agency. The envelope had an official mail warning and was obviously big enough for several applications.

 

[sam_gordon]

1) I was referring to someone who posted about a passport envelope with a mailing address from across the country. Once the photo is scanned and the data input, all of that can be transmitted electronically now.

Of course it can. But it's not being scanned and input electronically at most acceptance facilities is my point.

3) This one is tricky, because a previous passport is considered proof of citizenship. But the other thing a birth certificate typically proves is who the parents are. There aren't too many documents that do that, so generally most parents will just bring along a certified copy of a birth certificate (we did anyways). I've heard of people just bringing photocopies of birth certificates and having them accepted as proof that the people who showed up with the child are the parents. However, that wouldn't necessarily serve as primary proof of citizenship if the previous passport is submitted.

Here's the part of your post I'm referring to:

But you'll probably want at least a photocopy of the birth certificate with the name of both parents (if not a certified copy).

The photocopy of the BC will NOT be accepted. You MUST have the original or a certified copy.

 

[bcla]

I've never heard of a library that did Passport Applications. Where I live, the Post Office is your only choice for getting them, but the PO will do the pictures for you for an additional $15.

Libraries. City/county clerks. Public universities. Those are the usual suspects outside of post offices.

Another way to do it would be "Passport Days" at regional passport agency offices. No appointment and they don't even charge the "acceptance fee". However, I haven't heard of one of them in a long time. These notices were from 2017:

https://twitter.com/x/status/908072958836473856

https://twitter.com/x/status/910987187767914498

https://twitter.com/x/status/910081212944932865

 

[bcla]

Of course it can. But it's not being scanned and input electronically at most acceptance facilities is my point.


Here's the part of your post I'm referring to:

The photocopy of the BC will NOT be accepted. You MUST have the original or a certified copy.

I wasn't trying to imply that it's scanned at the acceptance facility. It's scanned and input at the passport agency. But that means they can now just transmit that data to a different passport agency location that might have less of a processing backlog. What I remember in a different passport topic was that someone in Washington state who apparently had to follow up with the New Orleans Passport Office.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/a...by-the-state-department.3867997/post-63696888​

we did have an issue we had to follow up on - and the case was being handled by resources in the New Orleans office. I was surprised by that - I would have thought there would be aWest coast office, but I guess geographic distribution isn’t part of the process.​

Also it's kind of a fine point, but I'm just saying that the photocopy issue is supposedly about whether or not a birth certificate is only used as the proof of parental relationship. I wouldn't necessarily recommend showing up with just a photocopy of a birth certificate, but I've heard of them being accepted (only as evidence of who the parents are) as long as a previous passport was submitted as proof of citizenship. The last time we renewed our child's passport was expedited at the San Francisco Passport Agency. We brought a certified birth certificate copy and a photocopy of it along with an expired passport. They kept the photocopy of the birth certificate, unlike our first time passport application (as a passport acceptance facility) where the certified copy of the birth certificate had to be submitted with the rest of the application and mailed back to us.

This strangely enough describes the issue better than the State Dept:

https://www.immigrationdirect.com/b...plication-how-to-prove-parental-relationship/​

Acceptable documents to prove the parent/child relationship include:​

• Birth certificate
• Adoption Decree
• Divorce/custody decree
• Consular report of birth abroad of a United States citizen (FS-240)

Regular photocopies of these documents are sufficient. In cases where you’re using the documents to also establish citizenship, however, only certified copies are acceptable.​

There are several permutations. A child born overseas with a Certificate of Citizenship (typical if a parent naturalizes and the child gets automatic derivative US citizenship) could have that submitted for a first time passport application as proof of citizenship, but then a photocopy of foreign birth certificate could be used to show who the parents are.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Libraries. City/county clerks. Public universities. Those are the usual suspects outside of post offices.

It must be a state by state thing, the Post Office really is the only place to get them where I live. I put in my zip code and told it I wanted the 25 closest facilities and they were all post offices.

 

[bcla]

It must be a state by state thing, the Post Office really is the only place to get them where I live. I put in my zip code and told it I wanted the 25 closest facilities and they were all post offices.

I don't think it's necessarily a state thing, but whether or not local government agencies or libraries thought of doing it. I'd think that at least at one time there were likely city/county clerks or other government agencies that had it available. I hear a lot of complaints that they hate doing it at post offices.

Part of the issue now seems to be that a lot of places are suspending the service, so they're no longer listed. I can't find the university rec gym that we used listed, although their website still has the old information. I recall a lot more locations from the last time I was thinking of doing it, although going to the passport office was the only way to ensure it was available in less than a week.

This public library has a notice that they've suspended passport acceptance.

https://www.burlingame.org/library/passports.php​

DUE TO PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES PUT IN PLACE TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF COVID-19, THE BURLINGAME PUBLIC LIBRARY IS NOT PROCESSING PASSPORTS AT THIS TIME.​

I found this from the Henderson (Kentucky) County Public Library. I looked it up and they're the only place that does it in the entire county.

https://www.hcpl.org/services/passport.html​

The library processes passport applications by appointment only.​

​

To schedule an appointment, please call 270-826-3712 x217. Customers should allow 30 minutes for the appointment. If customers are more than 15 minutes late for their passport appointment, the appointment will be cancelled, and customers must reschedule. Please note that we do not accept same-day appointments.​

 

[PrincessShmoo]

There are several permutations. A child born overseas with a Certificate of Citizenship (typical if a parent naturalizes and the child gets automatic derivative US citizenship) could have that submitted for a first time passport application as proof of citizenship, but then a photocopy of foreign birth certificate could be used to show who the parents are.

I have the certificate that says I'm a citizen, in spite of being born overseas. My original birth certificate is in German. Luckily, the first time I applied for a passport as an adult, I could use my mother's passport for ID. When I was a child, minors were included in the mother's passport (picture of my mom 3 kids on her passport & everyone's names), so I used that. Didn't need the birth certificate.

 

[bcla]

I have the certificate that says I'm a citizen, in spite of being born overseas. My original birth certificate is in German. Luckily, the first time I applied for a passport as an adult, I could use my mother's passport for ID. When I was a child, minors were included in the mother's passport (picture of my mom 3 kids on her passport & everyone's names), so I used that. Didn't need the birth certificate.

Those photos with a child on mom's lap were always odd. Fortunately they don't allow that any more. They do have recommendations for taking infant photos, such as placing a child on a white sheet/blanket. My kid was maybe 16 months old, and I took the photo while being carried. Couldn't get it perfect so I rotated the image to make up for a side lean and then cropped it. It was fine as long as I didn't color correct anything.

I guess for derivative citizenship it's either a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (has to be obtained outside the US) or a Certificate of Citizenship (has to be obtained inside the US).