Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
You must provide proof of US citizenship. This can be an expired passport,
a certified birth certificate (that means one with a raised, impressed, em-
bossed, or multicolored seal). If you do not have a certified copy of your
birth certificate, call the Bureau of Vital Statistics in the city where you
were born. You also must provide identification, which could be an expired
passport, a valid driver's license, a government ID card or certificate of
naturalization or citizenship. Here's what won't work: Social Security
card, learner's permit, temporary driver's license, credit card, expired ID
card.
Next, provide two identical photographs of yourself no larger than 2x2
inches (the image of your head from the bottom of your chin to the top of
your head must not be less than one inch or more than 1
inch). Passport
photos can be either color or black and white, but they may not be Polar-
oids or vending machine photos. The easiest way to get passport photos is
to go to your local quick-copy or photo processing store and ask for passport
shots.
Passports for adults 18 and over are $65 and are valid for 10 years. You
may pay by check, bank draft, or money order. At passport agencies you
may also pay in cash; some (but not all) post offices and clerks of court ac-
cept payment in cash.
When you receive your passport, sign it. The next step is to fill in the emer-
gency contact page in pencil.
Need to talk with someone? The only public phone number for passport in-
formation is to the National Passport Information Center (NPIC). You can
call there for information on passport emergencies, applying for a US pass-
port, or to obtain the status of a passport application. Automated informa-
tion is available 24 hours a day and live operators can be reached on
workdays from 8 am to 8 pm, Eastern Standard Time. (Services are avail-
able in English, Spanish, and by TDD.) This is a toll call; the charge is 35ยข
per minute for the automated system or $1.05 per minute for live opera-
tors. Call
A
900-225-
7778 for TDD service. Calling from a number blocked from 900 service?
Call
900-225-5674 for either automated or live service,
888-498-3648); you will be required to pay by
credit card at a flat rate of $4.95 per call. You may also contact one of the in-
dividual passport offices.
888-362-8668 (TDD
Boston Passport Agency
, Thomas P. O'Neill Federal Build-
ing, 10 Causeway Street, Room 247, Boston MA 02222-1094,
617-878-0900. Region: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hamp-
shire, Rhode Island, Upstate New York, and Vermont.
Chicago Passport Agency
, Kluczynski Federal Building, 230
S. Dearborn Street, Suite 380, Chicago IL 60604-1564,
312-
341-6020. Region: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Honolulu Passport Agency
, First Hawaiian Tower, 1132
Bishop Street, Suite 500, Honolulu HI 96813-2809,
808-522-
