Sometimes life has a way of throwing some interesting curve balls our way. We think everything is going great and then all of a sudden something happens and we have to jump on a plane to Europe on short notice. If you don’t have a passport or it is expired, expedited United States passport services can make this problem go away in a snap.
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.
This rush service that is being paid for encompasses the time from when the application is received and accepted until the passport actually shows up in the mail box at home. If this is still not fast enough, there are other passport agencies that are outside the government that can put an even quicker rush on the documents. While there services are faster, they also charge even more money.
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 US 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.
Overnight delivery can easily be arranged during the expediting process by simply asking for it when completing the necessary paperwork. It will cost another $14.96 fee per application, but again, when it comes to needing this travel documentation, it is a small price to pay. Do bear in mind that the $60 rush costs as well as the overnight fees are for each document requested.
If expedited service is requested, the form that has to be filled out is the DS-82. This is in addition to the regular forms and does not replace the standard application. When mailing in the forms and documents, be sure to write “expedite” very large and clear on the outside of the envelope. The agents are trained to look for this and will make sure that the envelope is rushed through processing.
Some expedited U.S. passport services may cost a few extra bucks, but it does make the process go much quicker. Instead of waiting for god only knows how long, the passport should be in hand in just a few weeks. The US passport can actually be had in as little as 24 hours, but it will cost a pretty penny in order to make that happen.