Posts Tagged ‘New Passport’
If it’s your first time to apply for a passport, you’ll likely be confused with all the things you need to deal with in such as short time. For one, there are all the forms and documents that you need to provide, and sometimes you will be required to do a little legwork. It’s not really that confusing, however, and it shouldn’t be complicated. Let’s make things a lot easier by showing you what you need to know about applying for a First Time Passport.
First of all, you need to be familiar with the different forms used when applying for passports. There are forms used when you’re applying for the first time, others are used when renewing it, and there are those that one fills in when they’ve lost their passport. But for the purposes of this article, let’s just focus on what you need for now.
The form filled in by first time passport applicants is Form DS-11. It used to be that you had to go the nearest passport office to get a copy of this form. But today you can download this form via the US Department of State’s website. Once downloaded, you can fill the form in before printing it, or you could also print it first then fill it in later using a pen.
You will need to submit this form along with the other documents that may be required of you once you have completed this. When processing your passport, you have two options of going about this procedure. The first one is the routine passport processing, which you can choose if you’re not in a hurry to get your passport. Currently, the processing time for routine passports is four to six weeks.
An expedited passport is what you need if you need to travel within four weeks. Expedited passports are given priority over those that go through routine processing. Because of this, expedited passports are processed a lot faster.
Expedited passports are typically processed within a two to three week timeframe. This is the processing option of those who already have tickets for travel in less than two weeks. Aside from that, people who need to apply for a foreign visa in four weeks also opt to get an expedited First Time Passport.
Just take note that because expedited passports are given priority over routine ones, you will have to pay a little extra for that kind of service. It isn’t that pricey, and it’s actually money well spent if you really need to travel outside of the country quickly, yet do not have the passport to do so. If your passport can’t wait, have your application expedited.
Let’s wrap things up here. You have to choices when it comes to applying for a First Time Passport Application. You can either take the routine processing path, or choose to have the process sped up with the expedited passport processing. Both options have their pros and cons, but if you’re after speed and convenience, then the expedited route is the obvious choice.




















