David asks…
how can i get an emergency usa passport while im in canada. do i have to drive to seattle from vancouver ?
I am supposed to go to europe on wednesday but i found out recently that my passpprt may be stolen. I would be able to drive to seattle but does that give me enough time to get a replacement passport to be on the plane in vancouver by wednesday ?how will i get through the boarder in washington state if i do not have a passport. I feel very stressed and would appreciate an answer asap thank you very much joe hudson
admin answers:
Just go to the Gov website and follow the procedure for lost or stolen passports. The United States, I believe, has a consulate in Vancouver and you can pick up your replacement passport there.
I think it will turn out okay. Lot's of people have their passports lost or stolen while overseas. Usually it doesn't take more than a day or two to get a replacement. If there is a Consulate in Vancouver, you might be able to walk in the door with your documentation and walk out with a new passport. Anyway it wouldn't hurt to give the Consulate a call to find out.
Good luck and have a good trip to Europe!
Betty asks…
What is the procedure in entering Canada from Seattle by car?
I will be going to Canada for the first time, and I have some questions.
I am under the impression that green card holders (permanant residents of US) do not need to use any sort of visa to enter Canada if the purpose is to visit the country. If I am wrong, please do not hesitate to corrct me. :)
The questions are as follows:
1) I'm a green card holder, and I have a valid foreign passport. When I go thru the US-Canada border, do I need to show the officers my passport and my green card??
2) I also have a valid Canadian traveling visa which has never been used before. Do I need to notify the officer that I have a Canadian tourist visa?
3) Is there any forms to fill out? Is it one form per person or per car?
4) From your experience, how long does it take to get thru the Seattle border on Friday mornings?
5) What kind of questions do the officers ask? Just curious
6) Finally---For now, do US citizens only need to show their birth certificate and valid DL?
admin answers:
1) No, either one will do. Bring them both (most of your documents) as back up, but either will do. You can use your passport along with the visa, or your green card. You need to prove 2 things when crossing the border, your citizenship status and your identity. A passport proves both, and as a green card has a picture it proves both as well. Most Americans us a birth certificate to prove they are American, and it doesn't have a picture. That is why they have to produce 2 documents. But you will have a divers license as well anyway.
2) Only if you use your foreign passport for entry.
3) 98% of the time none. If you fly everyone fills them out. If Canadian or American driving, only in special cercumstances is there paperwork.
4) Plan on a 30 minute wait and hope for a 10 minute wait. Friday afternoon plan on an hour wait and hope for a 20 minute wait. The closer to friday evening you get, the busier. Canadian radio station news1130 gives traffic reports every 10 minutes that include border waits. You can listen for which crossing has a shorter wait time. Right at the border there is also a station that gives border tips and wait times.
5) They usually start with what the nature of your trip is, business or pleasure. They then go into specifics on what you will be doing. Both sides of the border are getting pretty inquisitive, what you want to see and do while visiting. And they ask what your job is. From your ansswer they seem to decide that you have a job to return to and can afford a vacation, or you don't seem to be a smuggler or you aren't trying to cross for work purposes.
6) Hard to see you angle on this one? Yes, Americans and Canadians do not need a passport yet to drive accross the border. That tentatively is schedueled to change sometime next year. If you are traveling with others, what you list is all they need. But your case is no different, you are just using a green card instead of a birth certificate.
Paul asks…
I heard a rumor that after the new year, everyone will have to have a passport to travel anywhere in the us?
I am planning a trip from fairbanks alaska to seattle washington in march of 2007. I was told that as of january 2007 everyone will have to have a passport to travel anywhere on any airline, even if it is within the united states. Is any or all of this true? if so how long approximatly does it take to get a passport and how much does it cost?Thank you in advance for any info you might be able to give!
admin answers:
You don't need a passport for travel within the US. If you were getting off the plane in Canada for any reason you would need one after Jan 23, 2007. Here's the US State Dept page on that: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html
We love travel, so we say go ahead and get your passport and start dreaming. Here's the info on getting a passport. Http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html You have to apply in person the first time. The fee should be $97.
The average is six weeks for a US citizen to get a passport... So says the Passport Services Office. To obtain a passport for the first time, you need to go in person to a "passport acceptance facility". You must make an appointment for this service. For more information to http://iafdb.travel.state.gov/ It always pays to get your passport early to avoid stress if you can.
Our info on Passports and Visas http://www.mousetourstravels.com/visas-and-passports.html
Happy travels... Even if you don't travel the world... Just remember that life is a journey... Embrace and enjoy it! Http://www.mousetourstravels.com
Chris asks…
Regional Passport Agency?
So I am leaving to Mexico Dec 7th, I called today and made a appt for Wednesday Nov 25th 8:00 am
what I want to know is how do the Regional Passport Agencys work? Were going to the Seattle location (driving 5 hours each way). Do they do same day? or do you get it in the mail the next day? can you wait for it there? Like how do you actually get the passport and when?
anyone been to the seattle location? thanks
admin answers:
On an early morning appointment you should be able to get your passport the same day.
Http://travel.state.gov/passport/about/agencies/agencies_901.html ..
Charles asks…
Are there any 'downsides' to the passport for delinquent child support program?
Advanced
AP
Passport rules snag child support cash
By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press Writer Tue Aug 14, 6:38 PM ET
WASHINGTON - The price of a passport: $311,491 in back child support payments for a U.S. businessman now living in China; $46,000 for a musician seeking to perform overseas, and $45,849 for a man planning a Dominican Republic vacation.
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The new passport requirements that have complicated travel this summer also have uncovered untold numbers of child support scofflaws and forced them to pay millions.
The State Department denies passports to noncustodial parents who owe more than $2,500 in child support. Once the parents make good on their debts, they can reapply for passports.
Now that millions of additional travelers need passports to fly back from Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and South America, collections under the Passport Denial Program are on pace to about double this year, federal officials told The Associated Press.
In all, states have reported collecting at least $22.5 million through the program thus far in 2007. The money is then forwarded to the parent to whom it is owed.
Some people never learn.
A boxer paid $39,000 in back child support to the state of Nevada last year to get a passport, which he lost. This year, his promoter had to loan him $8,930 so he could pay off his new child support debts and get a new passport to fight overseas.
In one case last year, a man got his parents to pay his overdue child support — $50,498 to the state of Illinois.
"For us, it's been amazing to see how people who owe back child support seem to be able to come up with good chunks of money when it involves needing their passport," said Adolfo Capestany, spokesman for the state of Washington's Division of Child Support. "Folks will do anything to get that passport, so it is a good collection tool."
The $22.5 million reported to have been collected through the program this year is a conservative estimate. Some states voluntarily report the payments to the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, but other states don't.
It took all of 2006 to collect the same amount under the program, which began in 1998.
Also contributing to the increased collections was a drop in the threshold for reporting child support debts to the State Department, from $5,000 to $2,500. As a result, 400,000 more cases were submitted to the department.
The state of Washington obtained $24,000 for Teresa Markley through the program. The money accrued over a couple of decades. She said she could have really used the money in past years, and at one point in the 1990s went on welfare for a few months to make ends meet. While her children are now grown, she said the payment still meant a great deal to her.
"What it means to me now is just to have some validation for the suffering I went through," said Markley, a resident of Tacoma, Wash.
Jeannette Dean of Seattle said she had to tap into her retirement savings and her son's savings bond to help pay for basic necessities after Washington state was unable to help her collect delinquent child support payments.
But this year, she received about $36,000 through the passport program. She said the money will be used to replenish the lost savings.
"It has given back to having a normal life versus struggling to pay dental bills and hospitals bills and things like that," Dean said.
The passport denial program is just one of several tools the government has to collect overdue child support. Overall collections totaled about $24 billion last year.
The largest share by far — $20.1 billion — came from withholding from a worker's paycheck. Unemployment insurance or state and federal income tax refunds can also be seized. States with lotteries also can deduct delinquent payments from winnings. Some states submit the names of those behind on their payments to credit reporting agencies.
Payments generated through the new passport requirements are an important sliver of what states collect each year on behalf of about 17 million children, said Margot Bean, commissioner for the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement.
"We often get payments of over $100,000," Bean said. "For whatever reason, this was the only way we could get the money."
For some families, the payments can mean the difference between having to rely on the government for assistance or not relying on it, Bean said. In cases where families have needed cash assistance through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program, a portion of the payments received through the passport program is used to reimburse the government.
Another jump in collections from the Passport Denial Program can be expected next year or in early 2009. That's when the new passport requirements will likely take effect for land and sea travelers too.
___
On the Net:
Passport Denial Program: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/newhire/fop/passport.htm
admin answers:
I don't owe child support, or have a kid for that matter, but this is just my opinion:
It Sucks Big Time !!
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