US Passport Renewal For Infant    by Ben Pate

in Travel / Travel Tips    (submitted 2011-02-09)

This is a guide on what you need to do in order to gain a US emergency children passport renewal. A minor is any person under the age of 16, and they will need to have a parent or legal guardians with them in order to proceed with the renewal process. Although guidelines do state both parents it is acceptable to have only one if that is all that is possible.

Your first port of call for a passport renewal is to gather up all the required documents and fill in the relevant forms. The first one being the DS-11 application form for a US passport, but whatever you do though do not sign this until you visit the acceptance officer as they must witness all of the documents and seal them. Also bear in mind the date on the form, from this point you have only five days in which to present the application to the US Department of state before it becomes invalid.

There are a number of other documents and forms which need to be either enclosed or completed and attached and these include; proof of US citizenship such as a old passport or birth certificate with the appropriate seal, or a certified copy. Two photos that are identical must be provided and should be 2x2 inches in size, the photos do not have to be recent but must have been taken within the last six months. Another point is the background on passport photos has to be white.

An itinerary is also required is the required processing time is under two weeks, failure to submit this information will delay the application considerably. As mentioned in the first paragraph if both parents or legal guardians are not able to attend then you will need to have a notarized DS 3053 form. This is a statement of consent or special circumstances form and will allow for single parents or legal guardians to apply for a U. S renewal for a minor when the non-applying parent is not available. The acceptance agent will check all the documents, witness them and then seal the envelope.

Next is the payment, checks or money order must be payable to the U. S Department of State and will must also provide two letters of authorization. These can be signed by one party but two copies are needed to proceed with the application, failure to do so will hold up the order.

A passport processing order form is the final requirement and this too must be attached on the outside of the sealed envelope. The purpose of this is to allow staff to see the name of the applicant, their date of birth and the date of departure. This enables a quicker turn around on more urgent applications.

The fees required by each party are detailed as follows: the government fee will need to be in the sealed envelope, the service and FedEx return fees should be attached on the outside of the envelope and lastly the acceptance agents fee. Check everything to ensure you have it all covered and that the monies enclosed or attached correspond with the service or product you require.

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Lastly before you visit the acceptance agent check everything one more time and if you are even the slightest bit unsure contact either your local agent or the issuing authority directly for guidance for your US online passport renewal. It is far better to be paranoid of making a mistake and checking it constantly than to be over confident and miss out something vital. Although this process may seem rather longwinded, when it comes to the safety of our children we can never do enough. This is all done to ensure that no-one who is not legally responsible for a child can apply for a US expedite baby passport.