Friday, January 3, 2020

Passport renewal just got a whole lot easier

Alexander Graham Bell would have been proud to see today's
advances in telephone technology
(Courtesy: Pixabay)


CHARLOTTE, NC – The process of obtaining your first passport or renewing your old one, though not difficult, has always been one of those "put-it-off-as-long-as-possible" hassles of the traveler's world.....until now.

To begin with, many inexperienced travelers are often shocked to learn that the expiration date printed in that little blue book, in many cases, really means you must renew your passport at least six months before it expires or they will most likely be doing their trip at home.

That's because many places will not allow visitors to enter the country if their passport runs out within six months of traveling. All they will do is collect your luggage and put it and you on the next flight home.

Therefore it's critical to be aware of that little quirk and take care of it well in advance.

In the dark pre-internet days of travel, last minute passport renewals were not only hand-wringingly stressful but also extremely expensive. While the process remains costly today, much of that previous tension can be eliminated, or certainly minimized, thanks to the addition of the World Wide Web to our arsenal of recent travel innovations.

Launched in 2014, an app named Mobile Passport may one day become the travel industry's "most valuable player" because it allows absent-minded travelers and procrastinators to renew their passports within 24 hours. 

At the same time, since is an app on your telephone, the beauty is that it can be used to get you through Customs & Immigration. The popular travel magazine Conde Nast Traveler claims that Mobile Passport saves even more time than Global Entry.

Before the onset of the Mobile Passport era, typically the steps for renewal involved setting an alarm for six months before the passport's expiration date, filling out the proper paperwork, getting a new photo, mailing in the application, and then...waiting, sometimes for up to eight weeks.

If you were on the leading edge of the passport renewal cusp,  crunch time could be a nerve wracking ordeal.

Today, Mobile Passport allows users to fill out their passport and declaration information and submit it in advance of returning to the U.S., letting them skip the paperwork, long lines and interviews at customs and immigration.

As part of a partnership with RushMyPassport -- a website with the sole purpose of shortening the process of obtaining and renewing passports -- Mobile Passport has established a system that utilizes modern technology to add yet another contemporary solution to a rapidly growing list of resources that have made travel easier than ever before.

Perhaps most important, Mobile Passport will send you a notification six months before your passport expires, meaning that you no longer need to remember to do it yourself.  

Following notification, MP Provides step-by-step instructions for renewing your passport. Should you need your new passport ASAP, RushMyPassport can help expedite the process in as little as 24 hours. Keep in mind the process can be pricey, but it's probably better than the alternative of cancellation.

Fees start at the standard government price of $170 and get higher as the turnaround time gets shorter.

You still have to physically mail in the application and photo, but that's infinitely easier than driving to a passport agency, the post office or trying to figure out the instructions at the 

Mobile Passport isn't the only source for expedited renewal services, however. FedEx also offers services at more than 2,000 locations with a tiered system of time-frames ranging from 24-hour service to rush renewal that takes between 10 and 12 business days.

At $449 for 24 hour service, it is expensive, but considering the possibility of losing a trip altogether, it could also be viewed as a bargain.

For travelers, either of these passport renewal programs could very well be something that will never be used. Then again, considering the relief from the angst their availability provides by simply being aware of their existence might one day be a huge pill to swallow, but they could also be a blessing that did not even exist in the not so distant past.





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