Everyone has been in a situation where something unexpected happens. In many cases, this just calls for some minor adjustments to our plans. When unexpected travel is thrown into the picture, there is a lot more that has to happen in order to pull it off. First and foremost, the person is going to have to get an expedited passport so that they can get their overseas ticket.

While the government may try and make the process quicker and easier, their idea of quick may not mesh with what the average person thinks is quick. Granted, they are quicker than they have ever been, but expedited services can give the whole process a much needed boost to get the passport back even quicker. By paying an extra fee, rush service can be ordered and the passport should come back in about two to three weeks.

The two to three week period is considered door-to-door, meaning that it accounts for time in the mail in each direction. There are some ways to short-cut this a bit, such as taking the document directly to a designated passport center, generally the local post office. In some cases, persons apply for a passport in the traditional manner but then request expedition due to a change in travel plans. In this case, it will take about five to seven days to track online the document’s process after asking for a rush on it.

As you can imagine, there are some significant fees for any service over and above the standard processing fees. For regular service, the applicant will have to pay $120 to get both a passport and passport card. Getting the book alone is $20 cheaper, but is a good idea to have them both. Fees for minors are slightly less.

To receive an expedited passport, expect to pony up and additional $60 and this can only be done by applicants within the United States. It is not possible for a citizen residing in a foreign country to request expedition. Add to the cost, which is now $180, the Department of State’s strong emphasis on using overnight delivery to receive the new passport book. After spending the extra money to rush the paperwork process, it simply does not make sense to rely on regular mail service to receive the much anticipated document.

The overnight delivery will cost about $15 in addition to all of the other fees that are being charged. While some people may be rolling their eyes at this point as the costs continue to add up, this is a fee that is money well spent. The documents will be secure and able to be tracked this way and considering how important they are, $15 is nothing compared to the aggravation that would ensue if they were lost.

If the rush is requested for a renewal, the form used is DS-82. If the submission is done by mail, the word expedite should be written in clear bold letters on the outside of the mailing envelope. Here again, the Department of State suggests that overnight delivery is the best bet.

The process for receiving an expedited United States passport is little different than the regular requirements. The key is to use overnight delivery services and to make certain if one opts for regular mail, for goodness sake, use a certified or registered process. This is the only way that it will be possible to track the US passport in the event of a snafu. One final tip is to be certain to use good packaging materials like a Tyvek mailing envelope to protect critical identification documents.

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