Posts Tagged ‘American Passport’
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011
According to a recent article posted on bloomberg.com millions of tourists visited the United States from overseas to celebrate the 2011 holiday season. These tourists all needs passports and sometimes visas to visit the US. These foreign passport holders spend billions of dollars in the United States. However, groups such as the U.S. Travel Association think that the US could have even more tourists in 2012 and bring in much more revenue.
New York City is the most popular travel destination and gets millions of visitors. However, according the article, New York City and the rest of the United States could get even more tourists if it wasn’t for the US visa bureaucracy. It seems that the current visa system is unprepared to handle the growth in the demand for US tourist visas and business visas. It seems that passport holders in China must wait weeks for visa interviews. Passport holders from Brazil and India who wish to visit the United States must also wait weeks for visa interviews.
The article doesn’t only mention problems, but also offers solutions to the visa problem. The article suggests increasing visa officers in the high- growth markets such as China, Brazil and India. This would help passport holders in those countries get visas more quickly. Another suggestion would be to hold visa interviews for applicants who don’t reside close to US consulates. The third suggestion would be to ease the requirement for in-person visa interviews. It seems that all of these three ideas were incorporated into the latest budget legislation that President Obama signed.
Another idea that could bring more travelers to the US in 2012 would be to expand the Visa Waiver Program. Currently passport holders from 36 countries are permitted to visit the United States without a visa. In order to be eligible for the Visa Waiver Program, countries must have a low refusal rate when granting nonimmigrant visas to American citizens, take steps to improve their passport security, and share law-enforcement and security data with the United States.
One of the problems with expanding the Visa Waiver Program is that the Department of Homeland Security needs to be able to verify the departures of almost all foreign visitors who arrive by air. That presents a great problem because there are many citizens from Brazil, India and China who would like to live in the United States permanently. Once inside the US, they may never return. It is estimated that currently there are millions of illegal immigrants in the US who have overstayed their visas.
If you need an expedited passport, emergency passport, passport renewal, same day passport, US Passport book, US Passport Card, passport photos or other passport services, be sure to contact Rush Passport™. You can 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 and Connecticut.
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Posted in Latest Passport News, Visa | Comments Off
Sunday, April 3rd, 2011
An article appeared in the Huffington Post recently that stated that the author wasn’t surprised to find out how few Americans have passports. According to a previous Rush Passport™ blog entry the states with the highest rate of passport ownership include New Jersey, Alaska, Massachusetts, New York and California.
The author goes onto mention that the cost of the US passport is too high. The author states that a first-time passport or passport renewal both cost $140 for adults and $80 for minors. That comes out to $14 dollars per year for adults because the adult passport is valid for 10 years. And then the author states that it comes out to $8 per year for minors. In actually, a passport for a minor is only valid for 5 years, so the cost is slightly higher at $16 per year. It seems that the author thought that the passport for minors was good for 10 years as well.
I don’t think that $14 per year for a US passport is a lot of money. It certainly isn’t enough to dissuade a person for traveling overseas. What about airfares, baggage fees, hotel costs, dining and souvenirs? Now those are expenses! But to not get a passport because of the $14 annual fee – that seems ridiculous.
Imagine being willing to incur the other expenses attributed to traveling abroad, but not willing to spring for the passport. It seems ridiculous!
If you need an expedited passport, emergency passport, same day passport, US Passport book, US Passport Card, passport photos or other passport services, be sure to contact Rush Passport™. You can 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.
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Friday, March 11th, 2011
Passports are not as popular with US citizens as people expect. The latest US passport statistics have been released and surprisingly enough, just 30% of US citizens are US passport holders. Are you shocked by the number of Americans without US passports? How many Americans actually have a passport? Which states have the highest ratio of citizens that are US passport holders? Do states on or close to the coast tend to have higher ratios of citizens to US passports than land locked states?
Yes, its true. States that are either on, or close to the coasts have a tendency to feature the highest percentage of citizens holding US passports. The top states with the highest ratios valid US of citizens to passports are California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Delaware. All of these states feature over 60% of the citizens with US passports. Do you know which state has the overall highest ratio of citizens to passports? If you guessed New York, you’re wrong. If you think California has the highest passport to citizen ratio, then you are wrong again. It’s not Massachusetts either. Nor is Delaware the leader in passport ratio. Yup, you guessed it, New Jersey is the winner with over 68% of its citizens holding valid US passports.
There is one state that has the lowest percentage passport holders. Do you know which state it is? Here’s a hint: It’s not east of the Mississippi or west of the Mississippi because it is Mississippi. Less than 20% of Mississippi citizens hold US passports.
Regardless of what state you live in, Rush Passport™ can help make your trips come true.
If you need a passport immediately, contact Rush Passport™. If you are a US citizen and interested in getting a US passport to travel anywhere in the world, contact Rush Passport™. If you need an expedited passport, emergency passport, same day passport, US Passport book, US Passport Card, passport photos or other passport services, be sure to contact Rush Passport™. You can 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.
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Posted in Passport Ponderings | Comments Off
Saturday, February 5th, 2011
Do you have a US passport? Do you need a US passport for travel? Do you want a US passport? How many US citizens in the US do you think have a US passport?
Of the 308 million citizens in the United States, 30% have US passports. Just 3 out of 10 people have a US passport. Those numbers seem kind of low for such an affluent country.
It seems that many Americans are comfortable in their own environment. According to a recent study by the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, in 2009, Americans took over 61 million trips outside the United States in 2009. Those numbers are down 3% from 2008. Almost half of those trips were to either Mexico or Canada. Those destinations didn’t require a US passport until 2007.
The percentage of Americans with passports has been steadily growing ever since the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative was adopted. This initiative requires American and Canadian travelers to present passports when entering the United States.
60% of Canadians hold a valid passport and 75% of those in the UK have valid passports.
It is important to understand that the United States has its own rich cultural and geographic diversity, from the beautiful beaches in Florida, the top skiing locations in Colorado to the hot desert sun in Arizona. However, for Americans who have seen much of what the US has to offer, they may want to consider getting a US passport to travel abroad and see what the rest of the world has to offer.
If you are a US citizen and interested in getting a US passport, contact Rush Passport™. If you need an expedited passport, emergency passport, same day passport, US Passport book, US Passport Card, passport photos or other passport services, be sure to contact Rush Passport™. You can 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.
Tags: adult passport, American Passport, child passport, get a passport, passport, passport agency, passport agent, passport applications, passport card, passport expeditors, Passport Service, Passport Services, passport US, passports, renew passport, rush passport, US passport, US Passport Card
Posted in Passport Ponderings, Passport Services | Comments Off
Saturday, January 1st, 2011
In a previous Rush Passport™ passport blog entry we had the opportunity to take a closer look at Babe Ruth’s original passport application. Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, the Department of State has given access to thousands of past celebrity passport applications.
This blog entry features another celebrity passport application. This person is famous for singing “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy and for being one of the most iconic women of the 20th Century.
Marilyn Monroe’s passport application was filled out in May of 1956 in San Francisco, California.
Babe Ruth’s passport application was much more extensive than Marilyn Monroe’s passport application.
Click the image for a larger look at Marilyn Monroe’s passport application and passport photo.
Come back to Rush Passport™’s passport blog to see who the next celebrity passport application belongs to. We’re sure that you won’t be disappointed…
If you are a US citizen and interested in getting a US passport, contact Rush Passport™. If you need an expedited passport, emergency passport, same day passport, US Passport book, US Passport Card, passport photos or other passport services, be sure to contact Rush Passport™. You can 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.
Tags: adult passport, American Passport, emergency passport, expedited passport, expired passport, get a passport, passport, passport agency, passport agent, passport applicants, passport application, passport book, passport card, passport emergency, passport nyc, passport photos, passports, rush passport, US passport, US Passport Card, US Passports
Posted in Passport Ponderings | No Comments »
Friday, September 17th, 2010
Online passports are really taking off in India. The facility for online application introduced by the passport office has greatly reduced the amount of manual work necessary for the registration of passport applications.
Within 24 hours, they are able to nearly double the amount of passports being processed in half the time. This is important because it helps people who have passport emergencies, need rush passports, need passports on the same day and travelers who have lost their passports, have expired passports or need passport renewal services.
The online application for passports not only saves time but has also reduced the need for the employment of extra staff at the Passport Office.
Previously, the entire passport application filing work was done manually. Since the online passport system has been introduced, much of the work is completed online.
Passport officials at the passport office note that not only is work getting done fast, but the online passport registration has minimized the chances of the passport applications being rejected for inaccuracies.
Passport applicants not only file passport applications online, but they also get information regarding the status of their passport applications. After online applications are filed, the passport applicant receives an online registration number that can be reviewed online.
Passport applicants can also find out their passports were issued and received notification and reasons for rejection of their passport applications.
Currently, it takes 2-3 days after the application has been filed before they should visit the passport office.
If 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™ : Expediter of Passports, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida.
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Saturday, September 11th, 2010
Got a passport? The summer is coming to a close, but it’s not too late to get in last minute summer travel. Kids are back to school and prices have dropped. Now is the perfect time to get your passport! Why not visit Rush Passport™ and get the ball rolling?
If you are looking for some travel ideas – why not turn to some Hollywood movies to find some destinations where you can get that passport stamped?
Why not imagine that you are Julia Roberts, the star of “Eat Pray Love”? She got her passport stamped in India, Indonesia and Italy!
Speaking of Italy – the actors in “Letters to Juliet” all got their passports stamped in Italy as well. Diane Lane also got her passport stamped while filming “Under the Tuscan Sun”.
Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy flew to Vienna and got their passports stamped while filming “Before Sunrise.”
Delpy’s passport got some more action in Paris when writing, directing and starring in “Two Days in Paris.”
Whit Stillman’s 1996 film “Barcelona” helped get his passport stamped in Spain.
Sofia Coppola, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson all got their passports stamped in Tokyo for the movie “Lost in Translation”.
Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson and Adrien Brody visited India and got their passports stamped while filming the Wes Anderson film “The Darjeeling Limited.”
Colin Farrell got a Bruges passport stamp when starring in the crime comedy “In Bruges”.
Don’t have your passport? Maybe it’s about time that you got your passport… Has your passport been sitting there collecting dust? Maybe it’s a good time to dust it off and get some passport stamps!
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.
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Thursday, September 9th, 2010
Nigerians are being urged to get the new electronic passports before the December 31st, 2010 deadline. If not, they may not be able to use their existing passports to travel outside the country.
The current Machine Readable Passport, MRP will be invalid as of midnight December, 31st of this year.
Nigerian officials warn that failure to comply with the new passport regulations will result in travel outside the country being denied. Passport officials are being instructed to challenge any MRP passport holders who fail to present the new electronic passports.
In addition, the Passport Office is requiring all foreign nationals in Nigeria to register biometrically.
Currently, most travel passports in the world are MRPs. They were standardized by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and contain a special Machine Readable Zone or MRZ that appears at the bottom of the identity page in the front pages of a passport.
The information that must be provided in the zone include: passport holder’s name, passport number, passport holder’s nationality, date of birth, gender, passport expiration date and personal identity number. Some countries also include optional, supplementary information.
A biometric passport or e-passport (ePassport) is a combination of paper and electronic passport. Biometric passports contain biometric data used to confirm the authenticity of passport holders. E-passports use smart card technology, a microprocessor chip (computer chip) and antenna (for both power to the chip and communication) embedded in either the front, back cover, or center page of the passport.
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, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida.
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Tuesday, September 7th, 2010
Passport News Update: The US Customs and Border Protection agency has announced two important changes to the Visa Waiver Program. This policy change is in effect for foreign passport holders planning to visit the US.
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The first change begins on September 8, 2010. Business and leisure travelers who use their passports to enter the US will be charged a new operational and travel promotion fee of $14.00. This fee will register passport holders for ESTA. This is an electronic travel authorization that passport holders must get before boarding a plane or ship to the United States. The ESTA application is to be filled out online prior to travel. Once approved, ESTA travel authorization is valid for two years or until the traveler’s passport expires.
The second change, involves a transition to paperless processing for Visa Waiver Program travelers. It applies to those passport holders arriving by air or sea who have already obtained ESTA authorization. Under the new automated process, if a passport holder is at a designated port of entry, the passport officer will stamp the applicant’s passport. The passport holder’s departure from the US will be documented electronically.
Currently, thirty six countries participate in the Visa Waiver Program. Those countries are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
If 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.
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Sunday, September 5th, 2010
Passports in the UK are about to get a makeover! The UK Passports have been redesigned in an effort to help fight identity theft and passport fraud.
Enhanced passport security features include placing the passport security chip out of view as well as a personal data section of the new passport that features holograms.
The passport holder’s personal details used to be on the back of the passport and now they appear on the passport’s second page. The passport photo of the passport holder now appears twice. The new passports will be in circulation starting October 2010.
Cosmetic changes to the UK passport include pages that will display UK scenes such as the White Cliffs of Dover and the Giant’s Causeway.
The government expects the new passport to give UK citizens added piece of mind as well as solid protection from identity theft and passport fraud.
The main difference between the existing passports and the enhanced passports is that the security chip will now be hidden inside the passport cover.
This new feature is intended to make it more difficult to alter the chip without causing visible damage to the passport cover.
The change of adding the personal data to page 2 of the passport is an effort to speed up passenger wait times when traveling through border patrols.
This combination of physical and electronic security features will make the UK passport one of the most secure passports in the world, in line with the international passport standards.
If 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™ : Expediter of Passports, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida.
Tags: adult passport, American Passport, child passport, expired passport, get a passport, getting a passport, lost passport, passport, passport applications, passport book, passport card, passport emergency, Passport holders, passport security, Passport Services, renew passport, rush passport, rushpassport.com, UK Passport, US Passport Card
Posted in Latest Passport News, Passport Ponderings, Passport Services | No Comments »
