Don't dawdle on passport applications

The media have been filled with horror stories lately from travelers having their trips curtailed because their passports have been snagged in the backlog of applications.

		Where to go if you need a passport?  See below!

Not only is February through April the busiest time for passport applications as people get ready for the summer traveling season, but also the new federal regulations requiring passports for any air trip out of the country have created a tsunami of new applications to the State Department to process.

Passports may be required for any trip to a foreign country, be it by air, land or sea, as early as Dec. 31. Estimates of how long it takes to get a new passport have increased from six to 10 weeks.

But even if you've filed your application in plenty of time, still it's wise to be vigilant in making sure your passport is returned in a timely manner.

Consider Judy Kirby of Gibsonia who called me on April 4, very concerned that her passport wouldn't come in time for a long-planned trip to the Bahamas she and her husband Pat were scheduled to take this month. She had quite a story to tell.

First know that Mrs. Kirby, 59, is no novice traveler. She had spent years working in Washington, D.C., and even once had a job in the passport office that used to be in Downtown Pittsburgh processing applications. She knew how things were done.

On Feb. 1 she mailed in completed applications for her husband's and her passport renewals, sure she was leaving plenty of time for them to be processed. She was advised there was no need to pay for either expedited service or special delivery.

By the end of March, Mrs. Kirby "was starting to wonder if I'd left enough time." She tried to call the National Passport Information line (1-877-487-2778) but was frustrated by the experience. "Not only was I not able to get an answer to my questions, I wasn't even able to connect with a live person to ask."

Increasingly concerned, she decided to take action. She called Sen. Arlen Specter's local office. After several calls, Mrs. Kirby was reassured that the applications had been processed, that the passports were in the mail, and she should relax. If all else failed, she was told, she could drive down to the Washington passport office and get one in person.

However when her husband's passport arrived in the mail on Saturday, March 31, and hers hadn't shown up by the following Tuesday, she began to worry again.

Several calls to various post office branches failed to turn up any lost or misdirected mail to her; Mrs. Kirby even checked with her neighbors to see whether the passport might have been misdelivered to them. No luck.

"I kept wondering what might have happened to that passport. Since Pat's had been delivered, I decided mine had to be in the mail."

She finally contacted the postmaster, whom she happened to know, at another branch. He said he'd look into the matter.

On the same day she called me, her husband told her that if the passport didn't arrive by the Monday after Easter, they'd take off a couple of days and drive to Washington. "He's the best in the world," she said. If you need a passport...

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Allow 8 to 10 weeks for the normal process. You can obtain necessary forms and complete instructions at http://travel.state.gov.

Passport renewals can be accomplished entirely through the mail, but if a new passport is needed, applicants will have to apply in person. Fortunately, that can be done at a designated U.S. Post Office. Applications can be submitted at 22 post offices in Pittsburgh and another 31 throughout the area. See the list below.

If you're applying for a new passport, fill out the form, but don't sign it until you submit it in person to the postal officer. You'll also need to bring a certified birth certificate (one issued by the city, county or state, photo copies are OK, but it has to have a raised registry seal).

Non-native applicants will need a naturalization certification or certificate of citizenship. In addition, you will need a proof of identity with photo ID issued by government entity, such as a driver's license, two copies of a recent head-shot, 2 inches by 2 inches. In addition to the $67 passport charge, there is a $30 application fee for a first passport.

For faster turnarounds, you can pay an additional fee of $60 per application for expedited processing, which can shorten the process by several weeks. Applications can also be submitted in person at one of the 14 passport centers around the country. The closest centers are in New York City (376 Hudson St.), Philadelphia (200 Chestnut St.) and Washington DC (1111 19th St NW suite 200 - 202-955-0198). The later has a special office to handle emergency situations.
If you're in a hurry, pay for express mail both ways, which will also allow you to track the delivery. Another trick - be sure to write your anticipated departure date on the outside of the application envelope.

U. S. Postal Service Pittsburgh District Passport Offices
Most of these offices service passport applications Monday -- Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Pittsburgh City Offices:
Allegheny Station - 325 Federal Street
Blawnox Branch - 1310 Freeport Road
Brentwood Branch - 350 Towne Square Way
Bloomfield Station - 5182 Liberty Avenue
Carson Station - 1731 E. Carson Street
Castle Shannon - 370 Castle Shannon Blvd
Cedarhurst Branch - 1099 Bower Hill Road
Gateway Center Station - 625 Stanwix Street
GMF Finance (Main) - 1001 California Avenue
Grant Street Branch - 700 Grant Street
Greentree Branch - 770 Trumbull Drive
McKnight Branch - 4981 McKnight Road
Millvale Branch - 205 Lincoln Avenue
Monroeville Branch - 2630 Monroeville Blvd
Montour Branch - 1936 Park Manor Blvd
Oakland Station - 347 S. Bouquet Street
Penn Hills Branch - 11650 Penn Hills Drive
Pleasant Hills Branch - 500 Regis Avenue
South Hills Branch - 3038 W. Liberty Avenue
Squirrel Hill Station - 1800 Murray Avenue
Swissvale Branch - 1911 Monongahela Ave
Upper St. Clair Branch - 2211 Lesnett Road

Pittsburgh Area Offices:
Aliquippa - 517 Franklin Avenue
Allison Park - 4750 William Flynn Hwy
Beaver - 777 Corporation Street
Beaver Falls - 720 11th Street
Bethel Park - 2765 South Park Road
Charleroi - 600 McKean Avenue
Connellsville -115 N. Arch Street
Coraopolis - 1140 Thorn Run Road
Delmont - 48 Greensburg Street
Gibsonia - 4098 Gibsonia Road
Glenshaw - 1541 Butler Plank Road
Greensburg - 238 S. Pennsylvania Ave
Homestead - 601 E. 8th Avenue
Ingomar - 736 W. Ingomar Road
Irwin - 110 1 Main Street
Latrobe - 811 Jefferson Street
McKees Rocks - 807 Chartiers Avenue
McKeesport - 850 Walnut Street
McMurray - 3925 Washington Road
Moundsville, WV - 1214 3rd Street
Murrysville - 1 Priority Lane
Natrona Heights - 1715 Union Avenue
New Kensington - 201 11th Street
Sewickley - 521 Thorn Street
Uniontown - 47 E. Fayette Street
Verona - 620 Allegheny River Blvd
Washington -153 Jefferson Avenue
Weirton, WV - 317 Penco Road
Wellsburg, WV - 944 Charles Street
Wexford - 10675 Perry Hwy
Wheeling, WV - 2501 Chapline Street

Fortunately, this story has a happier ending. On April 5, Mrs. Kirby got a call from the post office. The priority mail envelope with her passport had been found, stuck in a hidden corner of a mail sorter. Although the envelope had been damaged, her passport was fine. It was delivered that same day. Other than the glitch in the delivery, their passports took eight weeks to arrive. And if she hadn't taken action, her's might never have come.

I, too, have had to deal with a passport renewal for my wife and me during this busy time.

With our old passports due to expire today, it was late January when I started thinking about sending in renewal applications for my wife and me.

I downloaded the simple form from the Web site (travel.state.gov), filled them out and, along with our soon-to-expire passports, two recent head shots and checks for $67, mailed the envelope at the post office on Feb 15.

I wrote our anticipated departure date on the outside of the envelope and sent it via certified mail. That enabled me to go online a few days later and determine it had been delivered to the passport office on Feb. 18.

It's also possible to check the status of an application online through that same Web site, but I never got around to doing that. Both of our new passports came sliding through our front door mail slot on March 19, 4 1/2 weeks after I'd sent them off.

So I'm pleased to report my experience was as smooth as silk.

What are the lessons for anyone who wants to get a passport? Leave plenty of time. Be careful filling out the forms properly, supplying necessary documentation and getting the application in the mail. Then relax and let the process work.

Unless, of course, something happens.

Then, like Judy Kirby, you have to be prepared to be a relentless detective on your own behalf.