Archive for October, 2010

Passport Lost? Passport Stolen? Don’t Go to Twitter! Go to Rush Passport™.

Friday, October 29th, 2010

Lost Passport Stolen PassportLost your passport?  Did you need to get a new passport?  Are you unsure of how to get a passport?  Do you need to get your passport today?  Do you need an emergency passport?  Well, you’re not alone.  In an effort to keep passports in a safe place, passport holders often put them in too safe a place and end up losing their passports altogether.  Stolen passports are also possible, but passport theft usually occurs once a passport holder is traveling.  People also lose their passports during travel.

In you recall a previous Rush Passport passport blog entry introduced our readers to Mexican soccer player, Carlos Vela.  In April 2010, Vela lost his passport and ended up missing the biggest game of his career – after he was unable to travel to Barcelona for the Arsenal’s Champions League quarter-final soccer match.  His team lost the match and now Vela actually takes his passport with him to bed! 

The latest passport blunder came at the hands of another athlete, star cricket player Graeme Swann.  Swann realized that his passport was lost right just 48 hours before departure for a big match in Australia.

Swann actually tweeted to his 78,000 Twitter followers “Are passports still absolutely required to travel overseas? If so then I fear today may be one of frantic searching.”

Twitter would not have been my first choice if I discovered that my passport was missing 48 hours before a scheduled flight abroad.  I would’ve called Rush Passport™!

However, all turned out fine five hours later when Swann again turned to Twitter to add: “My passport turned up in my ‘safe’ place, down the back of my kitchen bin.”

Losing a passport is no fun!  But, here’s some advice: Don’t go to Twitter – visit Rush Passport™.

If you are a US citizen and you are interested in getting an expedited US Passport or if you are interested in getting a US Passport Card, visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent.  (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport Agency.  Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida.

US Passport Card Allows Travel to Mexico and Canada. But, Do You Know the Restrictions?

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

Rush Passport US Passport CardArizona has been in the news lately because of the passport controversy surrounding SB 1070 as evidenced by a past Rush Passport™ blog entry from July 2010.  This time Arizona is in the news for something passport related, but it has to do more with misinformation.

Getting a passport is not exactly rocket science, but it can be confusing.  There is a lot of misinformation out there and passport applicants can sometimes get stuck in red tape.

Making travel plans and trying to get everything in order can be stressful.  Getting a passport doesn’t need to be.  Some people don’t even know where to start when it comes to getting a passport.  Others find the question of how to get a passport puzzling.  However, when the clerk at the post office who is supposed to be handling your passport application is one of those people who finds the passport process confusing – it can present a major disaster.

This was just the case that a family from Highlands Ranch, Arizona experienced when they went to the post office to get their passports.  The family was planning a trip to Mexico, but found themselves unable to leave the US.

Lara Marxhausen states that she visited the post office to get passports for her and here family in preparation for their upcoming trip to Mexico.  Marxhausen says that the passport clerk suggested that she could save money by getting a passport card instead of the traditional passport book.

Marxhausen thought it would be a great way to save money and according to the clerk the passport card does allow US citizens to travel into Mexico.  This is correct.  However, the passport card is only good for travel to Mexico and Canada by land.  Unfortunately, the Marxhausen family found this out at the airport when they tried boarding the plane from Phoenix to Mexico.

Don’t make this mistake.  Be sure to read all passport application paperwork carefully – and when in doubt – speak with a passport expert.

If you are a US citizen and you are interested in getting an expedited US Passport to fill up with passport stamps or if you are interested in getting a US Passport Card, visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent.  (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport Agency.  Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida.

Passports Ranked According to Number of Countries for Which Visa-Free Travel is Permitted. How Did the US Passport Stack Up? Who Topped The List?

Monday, October 25th, 2010

Passports are travel documents that allow people to travel from one country to another.  However, sometimes it’s not as simple as just showing your passport at border patrol.  Depending on the circumstances, there may be restrictions that apply.  When producing your passport, there may be additional requirements such as acquiring a visa.  Specific countries have specific visa regulations dependent on which country you are traveling to. 

Brtish Passport Visa Free TravelWith that being said, a recent study found that the British passport allows for visa-free travel between the UK and 166 different countries.  The previous leaders in visa-free travel were the Danes.  People from Denmark can travel to 164 countries without a visa.

The top 10 list of countries for which a passport will suffice when traveling abroad include Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Sweden.  The United States passport also made the top 10, coming in 7th place despite being the leader in 2006.  Countries with the lowest visa free ranking and most passport restrictions include China, India, North Korea and Russia.

Being able to get on a plane and knowing that your passport will be sufficient takes an enormous weight off a passport holder’s shoulders.   Traveling can be stressful enough without having to deal with passport issues and visa restrictions.

If you are a US citizen and you are interested in getting an expedited US Passport to fill up with passport stamps or if you are interested in getting a US Passport Card, visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent.  (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport Agency.  Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida.

How to Get a Passport With a Puerto Rican Birth Certificate – Time is Running Out

Saturday, October 23rd, 2010

Passport Puerto RicoAccording to the US Department of State website, “The Puerto Rican government has passed a new law that will invalidate all Puerto Rican birth certificates starting October 30, 2010.”

The US Department of State is still accepting Puerto Rican birth certificates for passport services and will continue to do so until the new passport policy is announced on October 30th.  The new passport legislation will not affect Puerto Rican-born passport holders with valid US passports.

Originally the Puerto Rican government planned to discontinue accepting Puerto Rican birth certificates as proof to obtain a passport on July 1, 2010.  However, an amendment was recently passed by the Puerto Rican government that extended the date of invalidation to October 30, 2010.

To learn more about the Puerto Rican birth certificate law and how it affects those seeking to get a US passport, visit the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration website at:

www.prfaa.com/birthcertificates/ (English)

www.prfaa.com/certificadosdenacimiento/ (Spanish)

If you are a US citizen and you are interested in getting an expedited US Passport to fill up with passport stamps or if you are interested in getting a US Passport Card, visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent.  (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport Agency.  Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida.

How to Get a Passport Book Filled With Stamps

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

Passports give us the authorization to travel the world.  To some of us, it is only a dream.  In actuality, 67% of Americans do not even have a passport.  Is it because they do not have a desire to travel or is it because they don’t know how to get a passport – or could it be a little of both.

How to get a US passport bookEach time that you use your passport to travel abroad, you are eligible to collect passport stamps from the countries you visit.  These souvenirs decorate your passport and serve as reminders of all the places you’ve traveled.

Most people love to get passport stamps and each one is considered as a badge of honor.  There is one man, however who actually prefers not to get his passport stamped.  Sanjeev Midha, a 49 year old man from New Jersey tries his best not to get passport stamps.

He is a member of an elite group of passport holders consisting mostly of pilots, celebrities and business travelers who with 96 total passport pages have reached the maximum number of pages allowed in a passport.

The latest US passports come equipped with the standard 28 pages.  New US passports issued after 1996 have 20 pages reserved for stamps.  The maximum number of pages has increased to 100 pages.

Midha loves to travel and his passport pages are packed with stamp after stamp.

For instance, last summer Midha got quite a bit of passport stamps as he flew to Paris and moved onto Switzerland, Italy and Austria before flying to Turkey.  Then he flew to Spain to catch the World Cup finals.  After flying back home to New Jersey for just one evening, the family left for Asia. Their passports got stamped in China and Mongolia and India before flying to Toronto for a wedding and then straight to another vacation in Belize.

With plans to visit Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar in December, Midha will reach the 100 mark for the number of countries he has visited.

If you are a US citizen and you are interested in getting an expedited US Passport to fill up with passport stamps or if you are interested in getting a US Passport Card, visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent.  (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport Agency.  Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida.

How to Get a Passport? Rush Passport is the Answer…

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

How to get a passport?  That is a term that is searched quite often on Google.  In fact, that term is searched so often, you will be amazed!  Try this: visit Google and type in: ‘How to get a’ and don’t even type in the word ‘passport’.  The word ‘passport’ will automatically appear as the first choice that Google generates.  In fact, there almost 20,000,000 search results returned for the query “how to get a passport”.  Getting a passport can be a daunting experience.  There is a lot of paperwork involved and time spent waiting on line at the Passport Agency.  To get a new passport it is essential that you appear in person at a passport acceptance office – unless of course you use a passport expediting service. This is where Rush Passport™ can help.  Rush Passport™, Official US Passport Expeditors, registered with the US Department of State and foreign consulates is the perfect choice when you need an expedited passport.  At Rush Passport™ you can even get your passport on the same day!

How to Get a PassportIf you need to get a passport, contact Rush Passport™ and we will take care of all of the details, making getting a passport a simple process.  If you already have a passport that is approaching its passport expiration date or if your passport is already expired, Rush Passport™ can also help!

Using Rush Passport™ is a much smoother option, since you don’t have to make an appointment or visit the passport office in person. In addition, you will get personal passport service from an experienced and knowledgeable passport agent.  This will help you to avoid making errors in your passport application that could delay your passport from being issued in a timely fashion.

If you are a US citizen and you are interested in getting an expedited US Passport or US Passport Card, visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent.  (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport Agency.  Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida.

Passport Security Measures Advance With Latest Technology

Sunday, October 17th, 2010

US Passport technology is about to get a boost!  The US is always taking steps to be at the forefront of passport security.  Passport security and the latest technological advances go hand in hand.  The US Department of State has selected a passport security company to provide enhanced security features for the US Passport Card.  The purpose of the enhanced security features is to increase the level of security and fraud-detection capabilities of the US Passport Card.

Passport ExpeditorsThe plan is to add steganographic technology and software to the US Passport Cards.  Steganographic technology has been in use in other government agencies, security printing firms and other major corporations for nearly thirty years.  Steganographic technology as it pertains to passports includes cover embedding, data scrambling, data encryption, encoding and decoding methods, as well as optical and digital authentication devices.

The US passport is considered one of the most secure passports in the world.  It is a priority of the US Department of State to produce passports that are as secure as state-of-the-art technology permits.

If you are a US citizen and you are interested in getting a US Passport or US Passport Card, we can help!  Visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent.  (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport Agency.  Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida

Lost Passport: A Matter of Life and Death

Friday, October 15th, 2010

A lost passport became a matter of life or death as an Indian maid died after she was stranded at an airport in Oman for five days.  Ironically, when she was alive she was not able to get back home to India, but now in death she was transported back home without a problem.   

Lost Passport QatarThe woman, 40-year-old Beebi Lumada, died as a result of a heart attack that may have been stress related.

The woman’s dilemma began when she tried to fly from Muscat, Oman back home to southern India.  She used her Indian passport to board a flight from Muscat to Doha, Qatar and then was supposed to board a connecting flight to Chennai, India.

However, Lumada lost her passport on the first leg of the flight from Muscat to Doha.

Upon arrival at the airport in Doha, she tried to locate her passport, but she was unsuccessful.  She attempted to board the connecting flight to India without her passport, but officials at Qatar Airways did not allow her to board the flight.

Instead, as per airline policy, she was flown back to Muscat.

However, because she could not produce a passport, she was not allowed to reenter Oman.  She was kept in an airport holding area for 5 nights.  Qatar Airways provided her with food and bedding.

On her 6th day at the airport holding area, still without a passport, she suffered a seizure and died.

The office of the minister for overseas Indian affairs feels that the airport and airline authorities should have been able to prevent this from happening.

The Muscat police blame the Indian Embassy for failing to provide the woman with a temporary passport.

Amnesty International has demanded an investigation. In the meantime, Lumada’s body has been returned to India.

If you are a US citizen and you have lost your US Passport or US Passport Card, we can help!  Visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent.  (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport Agency.  Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida

Get a Passport For the Holiday Season From Rush Passport – The Celebrity Passport Expeditors

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

Rush Passport ExpeditorThe holiday season is almost upon us.  If you’re planning overseas travel during the coming holiday season be sure that you have a valid US passport.  It is important to see that your passport is not expired.  An expired passport can present a problem if it is not caught early.  It is a good time to apply for a new passport or renew a passport that is due to expire.

In order to apply for a US passport book or U.S. passport card it is essential that you have your passport photos taken.  The standard passport processing time to receive the passport book or passport card is currently 4-6 weeks.  Expedited passport processing is available if you have a passport emergency and need your passport for immediate travel.

Rush Passport™, Official US Passport Expeditors, registered with the US Department of State and foreign consulates is the perfect choice when you need an expedited passport.  At Rush Passport™ you can even get your passport on the same day!

If you are a US citizen and you are interested in getting an expedited US Passport or US Passport Card, visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent.  (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport Agency.  Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida

Machine Readable Passports to Replace Hand Written Passports by 2012

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Passport problems for Pakistanis in the United Arab Emirates and in other Gulf countries are being caused by hand-written passports.  Pakistanis are being strongly encouraged to replace their hand-written passports with the new biometric machine readable passports (MRP).

Pakistanis are being told not to wait for their passports to expire.  Instead they are being advised to get biometric passports as soon as possible.

passport PakistanMany countries in the world have restricted travel for holders of hand-written passports.  Biometric passports have become the passport of choice around the world because this form of passport is considered more secure.

As of September 15, the UAE government no longer accepts manual passports.  In addition, no visas are being issued to manual passport holders.

The Pakistan government has asked the UAE government for a 1 year grace period in which the manual passports will be accepted.  However, it is unlikely that the UAE will grant the request due to passport security concerns.

In addition, the manual passports will be completely invalid by 2012.

If you are a US citizen and you are interested in getting a US Passport or US Passport Card, visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent.  (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport Agency.  Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida.