Earlier this year, I hit an important milestone: For the first time, I put a stamp on my entire passport. It felt like an accomplishment until I realized that, even though the document was three years away from expiration, I still had to renew it at a time when people were complaining about it. waiting for months.
I have at least one trip per month planned until October. I don’t know how can I send my passport for renewal and get a new one before I go on my next assignment. It is nearly impossible to contact a passport agent by phone right now – believe me, I have tried – so scheduling a same-day passport appointment is not an option.
“Why don’t you apply for a second passport?” My boss asked when I warned him that I might have to cancel some of my next business trips. Stunned, I told him I didn’t even know it was a thing. But he was right – Americans can meet certain conditions for a sub-passport book.
With only a month and a few days left before my next scheduled trip, I applied. It could have saved me time compared to applying for a standard original passport renewal. Here’s how I navigated the process and why it might also help you if you qualify.
Criteria
To get approved for a second US passportyou must meet at least one of three conditions:
- You have stamps in your passport that may result in being refused entry to another country (e.g. Israeli stamps in some countries).
- You have more than one international trip coming up and you need to apply for a visa, which means your current passport will no longer be in your possession for a while.
- You can demonstrate your job requires you to travel frequently. For example, flight attendants, pilots and foreign journalists are likely to be eligible for a second passport.
Because I’m a travel journalist, I qualified under the last person and started looking to buy my backup passport.
Related: You can visit these 4 beautiful places abroad without a US passport
details
There are two ways you can apply, depending on your situation. I couldn’t part my passport to send it in, that’s the whole reason why I couldn’t do the standard renewal in the first place.
So I omitted form DS-82, which is used for standard renewal requests, and second passport, where applicants submit their primary passport. Instead, I fill in Form DS-11 — the same form used when applying for your first passport or a new passport if you have not had a passport for 15 years or more.
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While completing the DS-11, I was told that I must apply in person at the accepting facility — in most cases, including my own, the post office — because I must use the original birth certificate my passport instead of my passport as proof of citizenship.
I have also been told that I can choose to issue a secondary passport with more pages free of charge, just as if you had a primary passport. My primary passport has fewer pages. After learning my lesson, I chose the bigger book.
In the end, I found out that the sub-passport is valid for four years. That’s different from the 10-year shelf life of a standard passport. A second US passport is also not eligible for renewal.
Related: Here’s how to avoid the 7-week passport renewal story
Application
To apply in person at a designated acceptance facility, you must make an appointment. I started by using the US Department of State acceptance facility finder, allowing you to find the facility closest to you. Then I made an appointment directly on the US Postal Service website.
On the day of my appointment in April, I collected my pre-printed application form, two passport photo which I picked up at CVS a few days ago, my driver’s license for identity verification, my checkbook for the application fee ($130, plus $60 for expedited processing, and an extra $19.53 for one to two day delivery. ) and my credit card for the $35 postage acceptance fee.
In addition, I have written a letter outlining why I am applying and outlining all of my upcoming travel, along with proof of booking and a letter from my employer. I also took my current passport, just in case, but not necessary.
I arrived on time for my appointment and the lady at the counter checked my application to make sure it was filled out correctly. You have to leave the signature area blank, which I did. She made me sign in front of her to compare with the signature on my ID, which she then copied. She took my birth certificate and my application fee check, packed them all up, and mailed them to me.
I paid the $35 acceptance fee to the post office and I was on my way – but not before I was told that even expedited processing takes seven to nine weeks. From there, all I could do was hold my breath, even though the odds didn’t look good.
Related: What is the difference between a passport book and a passport card?
Wait
Fast forward to May, and my next assignment date – a trip to Greece for New cruise ship launch – Is near. I decided to proceed as planned and hoped that the customs and border guards in Athens would agree to stamp my passport on one of the “notes” pages. (I had a few stamps there, thanks to other agents who didn’t pay attention to where they put the visas in the past.) I think, worst case scenario, they won’t let me in, they’ll take me enter. on the next flight back home, and I’ll have a story anyway.
Fortunately, neither of those scenarios came to fruition. Instead, something completely unexpected happened. Five minutes after I drove to the airport, my mother called.
“You wouldn’t believe this,” she said. “The mail has just arrived, and I think you have received your passport.”
I turned around, drove back home and grabbed it, marveling at the timing. From there, the trip went smoothly.
Related: Here’s what to expect from the new US passport design
bottom line
I had to do some homework to figure out the process of applying for a second passport, but it was so worth it. I received it exactly a month and two days after applying. My birth certificate even came in the same envelope. (Typically, proof of citizenship is returned separately by post without tracking — a concept that has always bothered me.)
Don’t know if use this procedure instead standard innovation is what helped me get my new passport faster. Several of my TPG colleagues applied for renewals at the same time and the results were very different. One received hers within three weeks, while others wait three months and almost had to cancel a vacation to Paris.
Getting a second US passport isn’t an option for everyone, but in my case it provided me with a usable passport for enough time so I could get started. your scheduled trip seamlessly. It may also be right for you if you meet at least one of the criteria.
