Posts Tagged ‘New York Passport Agency’

Hollywood Passport Ideas from Rush Passport™: The Passport Expediter to the Stars

Saturday, September 11th, 2010
Passport Hollywood

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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Passport News Update: Passport Policy Changes in Effect September 8, 2010

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.   

passport.com”>Passport Visa WaiverThe 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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President Obama’s Passport Called into Question

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
passport president barack obama

Obama’s Passport may be the final proof against the “birther” conspiracy.

The Official White House website recently featured a video clip that included a glimpse at President Obama’s passport.  The president’s passport confirms that he was indeed born in the United States.

The passport clip was posted during a segment dedicated to answering questions from regular citizens.  A citizen, Johnathan Talcott, of Pittsburgh, PA, asked a question regarding the President’s passport. In an effort to answer the question, an administration trip coordinator, Jordan Whichard, is seen on the video clip not only showing where Obama keeps his passport – but a glimpse of the passport itself.

A close-up view of the passport reveals that the President was born on August 4, 1961.  On his passport, the “Place of Birth” is listed as Hawaii, U.S.A.

According to the US Dept of State website, in order to get a passport, American citizens must provide a “certified birth certificate issued by the city, country or state.”  This requirement suggests that President Obama would have had to produce documentation that confirmed when and where he was born in order to obtain the US Passport.

Proponents of the “birther conspiracy” argue that Obama was not born in the United States, thus ineligible to be President.  They have argued that he was actually born in Kenya.  Some say that he was born in Indonesia.  They believe that the passport is a fake.

In the short video clip, some of details on the passport, including the date of issuance and expiration, are blurred out.  This may add fuel to the ‘birther conspiracy”.

Whether or not you think Obama’s passport is real or fake, if you are interested in getting a genuine 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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Passport Fee Cut in the Works for US and Canada

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Passports may be too expensive, evidenced by the decreased tourism between the United States and Canada.  There may be room for improvement should the two countries make it cheaper to get a passport.

Passport US Canada

Provincial and state politicians have been talking about trying to convince Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama to cut passport fees in an effort to stimulate tourism.

An adult Canadian passport costs between $87 and $105 and an adult US Passport costs between $110 and $135.  Keep in mind that Canadian passports are only valid for five years while US adult passports are valid for 10 years.

Passport rates in Canada for children under the age of 15 range between $20 and $39 and children pay $105 for a US Passport.  Passports for children under 16 years of age in both countries are valid for only five years, with the exception of passports for Canadian children under three years old – which are valid for three years.

The Canadian government estimates that nearly 50% of Canadians have a passport.  The US Passport figures come out at somewhere between 25% and 30%.

While the economic recession is partly to blame for the decrease in tourism, some feel that new U.S. border passport requirements may also be at fault.  In January of 2007, the US began requiring passports for entry from Canada by air.  In June 2009 US Passports became required for land crossings between the US and Canada. 

The U.S. began issuing cheaper passport cards in July 2008 that permitted Americans to re-enter the U.S. by land or sea. The passport cards cost much less at rates between $30 and $55 than traditional passports.

Statistics show that a paltry 2.7 million Americans, (less than 1% of the entire population, had applied for a passport card as of March 2010.)

I guess that I am within the top 1% of Americans as I proudly am a US Passport Card holder!   If you are interested in being in the top 1% of Americans who hold a US Passport Card or if you are interested in getting a standard issue US Passport Book, 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 / Passport Expediters.

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Passport Expired? Rush Passport™ Can Help You Get a Passport!

Sunday, August 15th, 2010
Expired Passport

An expired passport may cause people to wonder:

  • “My passport is expired, what should I do?”
  • “How do I get a new passport?”
  • “What should I do with my expired passport?”
  • “Can I get a new passport?”

An expired passport almost always means trouble.  In this case, the expired passport was both trouble as well as a blessing. 

For golfer Phillip Brain the expired passport was a problem.  It meant that he could not travel to Canada for the Canadian Amateur golf tournament.  For golfer Bill Hutcheson the expired passport was a blessing – as Hutcheson secured the final spot in the tournament after Brain was denied entry due to his expired passport.

Phillip Brain was in Nice, France when he found out that his passport was expired.  He quickly tried to renew his passport in time for the Canadian Amateur golf tournament, but he could not get the passport in time.

The expired passport meant that Hutcheson would qualify for the final spot in the tournament.  Phillip Brain’s brother Jonathan, also a golfer, was in London, England, when he realized that his passport was expired, but he was able to get his new passport in time and he was able to board the plane from London to Toronto. 

In the meantime, his brother Phillip never left Nice as he waited for his passport, but his passport never arrived.

It is always best to renew your passport before it expires.  If your passport is already expired or if your passport is going to expire soon, we can help.  If you are interested in getting a genuine 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

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Passport Application Backlog is Over

Saturday, August 14th, 2010

The Passport backlog in Ireland is finally over!  People who wish to get a passport can now expect to get a passport processed within 10 working days.

Get a Passport

Back in May in a previous Rush Passport™ passport blog entry, it was reported that there was a backlog of over 70,000 passports.  The passport team at the passport agency formulated a plan to alleviate the passport backlog and they were successful.  In less than 4 months, the passport agency has made a significant impact in passport processing times. 

Currently, there are just fewer than 25,000 passport applications in the system.  This number of passport applications being processed is considered to be within the normal range.

The recruitment of 50 extra temporary passport staff helped to expedite more than 68,000 additional passport applications over the past few months.

At the end of April there were over 69,000 passport applications awaiting processing.  As of June 17, there were still approximately 68,000 passport applications in the backlog.

At that time, passports were taking 4 to 5 weeks to process.  Now there is a 10 working day passport guarantee is being offered to passport applicants.

Today, with just 25,000 passport applications in the system, Ireland’s passport processing bureau should be seen as an inspiration to other countries around the world that are experiencing a backlog of passport applications.

The number of passports being issued daily is in Ireland is approximately 3,200.  Each year, the Passport Office processes over 650,000 passport applications.

If you are interested in getting a genuine 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.

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Passport Stories: A Tale of Two Passports

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Passports are powerful documents that allow the bearers to travel around the world – and in this case – the bearer and the person the passport was issued don’t even have to be the same people!  A grandmother from the UK was shocked to discover that she traveled some 3,500 miles to Turkey and back – using someone else’s passport.

Get a Passport

Lesley Needham, 54, arranged the trip to Turkey with her friend Sheila Hudson.  Upon check-in at Gatwick Airport’s South Terminal one July morning, they showed their passports and they went through passport control.

What the passport agents did not know is that the pair unintentionally handed them each other’s passports.  The passport agents returned the passports to the women – with each woman receiving the other’s passport.

Seven days later, upon returning from their vacation to Turkey they both went through passport control at the London airport – each still holding the wrong passports.

Both women passed through passport control without issue.

As it turns out, passport security in Turkey and the UK both failed to recognize the passport mix-up.

From the above photograph, it is understandable how the passport mishap could’ve happened as the pair actually sort of resemble each other.

This passport blunder leads one to wonder about just how secure passport control is in both Turkey and the UK.

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.

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Need a Passport? Get a Passport.

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Need a passport?  Get a passport!  According to an article from the Washington Post, something valuable is for sale in China – a US Passport and citizenship for your new baby.  The cost: $1,475.

Need a Passport? Get a Passport!

A husband and wife team, who live in Shanghai, run an agency that provides US Passports to the babies of expectant Chinese mothers willing to travel to the United States to give birth.

For the $1,475 fee, expectant mothers get a three-month stay in the US – two months before the birth and one month after.  The accommodations include cable TV, wireless internet and all meals, for just $35 per day.

The mothers pay their own airfare and are responsible for getting a US visa.

A US Passport carries weight in China as the United States is seen as a place where students can get into a good university or land a high-paying job.

The main reasons they want US Passports for their babies are better education and better setting.

There are plenty of “birth tourism” packages sold online that offer US Passports.

If you are wondering about the legality of such a practice – the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, states that anyone born on US soil has the right to citizenship.

US officials confirm that it is not illegal to travel to the US for the purpose of giving birth to a child who can get a US Passport.

Opponents argue that the 14th Amendment was never intended to provide an instant passport to the children of people who are here illegally or who travel here for the purpose of gaining US citizenship for their child.

If more and more people use “birth tourism” it may be more difficult to get a visa.

If you do not have your passport or if you need to renew your passport or would like more information about 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.

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