Posts Tagged ‘passport blog’
Monday, January 30th, 2012
The number of Americans passport holders is growing. This shouldn’t sound too strange because the US population is also growing. However, a greater percentage of Americans have their passports than ever before. More than 33% of Americans, approximately 110 million out of 313 million Americans have passports. In the year 2000, there were less than 50 million Americans with passports. In 1989, just 7 million Americans held passports. In 1989, less than 3 percent of Americans had passports. Today, less than 25 years later the percentage of Americans with passports has grown more than 30%. What is the reason for this phenomenon?
For starters, Americans have a very large country in comparison to their European counterparts. Larger territory means more areas to visit within the country. This eliminates the need for a passport. For the most part in the early 1990′s Americans felt that there was plenty to see here in the United States. In addition, passports were not needed to travel to the Caribbean, Bermuda, Mexico or Canada back then.
Americans used to be able to cross borders into Mexico and Canada without a passport. Now with passports required for travel, many Americans have gotten their passports. Still, two thirds of Americans do not have passports.
In 2007 the US Department of State set the record with over 18 million passport issued. Experts agree that the increase in passports is primarily linked to citizens who needed passports for travel to Mexico and Canada.
Business travelers also account for the increase in passport issued in this country. Companies seeking for new methods to increase revenue look to foreign countries. This creates a need for employees to get passports for business travel.
If you still haven’t gotten your passport, what are you waiting for?
If you need more pages in your passport, a visa, 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.
Tags: bermuda passport, Canada passport, caribbean passport, do I need a passport to travel to Bermuda, expedited passport, mexico passport, passport, passport agency, passport blog, passport card, passport nyc, passport office, passports, passports nyc, rush passport, should I get a passport, US passport
Posted in Passport Ponderings, Passport Services | Comments Off
Sunday, June 12th, 2011
Passport fees too expensive? Do you think that passports cost too much money? Two members of congress from NY have a plan to make passports more affordable. Democrats Brian Higgins and Kathy Hochul represent districts near the US – Canada border where thousands of passport holders travel cross each day.
Their constituents not only want the passport fees to be lower, but they need passports now more than ever before due to the stricter requirements for travelers wishing to cross the US – Canada border.
The plan to lower the cost of passports may carry some weight since both Higgins and Hochul server on the Homeland Security Committee.
An adult passport currently costs $110 + $25 processing fee. The adult passport is good for 10 years. The cost is approximately $13 per year. Proponents think that by lowering the cost of getting a passport more people will apply for passports. Others think that passport fees are already low enough. New technology and security measures have made the cost of producing a US passport rise. By lowering the cost of the passport, the passports would actually cost the US Department of State money.
If you need a US passport card or other passport services such as an expedited passport, emergency passport, same day passport, US Passport book or passport photos 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, NYC Passport Agency, passport, passport blog, passport book, passport card, passport cost, passport emergency, passport fees, Passport holders, passport nyc, passport photos, passports, same day passport, US Department of State, US passport
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Monday, May 9th, 2011
Bin Laden’s wife, Amal Ahmed Abdul Fatah’s passport photo was recently published in a Pakistani newspaper. The passport photo shows the young woman whose face is framed by a headscarf. This is the bin Laden wife who was shot in the calf during the U.S. Navy Seal mission in which Osama bin Laden was killed. For what reason the passport photo was released is uncertain, but what is certain is that Pakistan is refusing to let US officials anywhere near bin Laden’s wife Amal.
It is hypothesized that bin Laden’s wife has information that may be detrimental to Pakistan. US officials have many questions about how she was able to get to the Abbottabad safehouse where Osama bin Laden was hiding.
It would be very interesting to know the path that her passport had taken to make that journey. Did Pakistani officials help her at passport crossings? The story of how bin Laden’s wife was able to make the trip to the Abbottabad safehouse in Pakistan may reveal information to prove or disprove that Pakistan authorities had been aware that Osama bin Laden had been hiding right under their noses for several years.
Pakistan is ordering all those with US passports except for essential personnel to leave the country. It seems that the bin Laden raid has brought about a tense situation in Pakistan for US passport holders. At the time of this article (May, 2010) visa expediters are not allowed to apply for visas to Pakistan. Visa applications must be made in person. To check back to see if anything has change, follow this link the Rush Passport™ Pakistan visa page: http://rushpassport.com/Visas-Pakistan.php
If you need a US passport card or other passport services such as an expedited passport, emergency passport, same day passport, US Passport book or passport photos 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: abbottabad safehouse, amal ahmen abdul fatah, bin laden passport, Long Island, pakistan visa, passport, passport blog, passport card, passport ny, passport photo, passports, rush passport, Rush Passport blog, US passport
Posted in Latest Passport News, Passport Ponderings | Comments Off
Thursday, January 13th, 2011
A Columbus Ohio man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for attempting to get a fake passport to travel to Pakistan and for keeping an arsenal of assault weapons and pipe bombs. The man, Abdullah Muslim, formally known as Johnnie Clagg converted to Islam while spending time in prison.
According to prosecutors in the case, Muslim stole personal information from people and then attempted to use the information to get a passport. Once he got the passport, he planned to leave the country to visit Pakistan.
Muslim was wanted on charges of identity theft and attempting to falsify a passport. Police stopped his vehicle in Columbus, Ohio back in October of 2009. After his arrest, federal agents found an arsenal of weapons including two AK 47s, a 9mm semiautomatic rifle and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, pipe bomb materials, a ballistic face mask and vest, and a flak jacket.
It is unknown if Muslim has ties to any terror organizations or if he was acting alone. If he hadn’t been caught for trying to get a falsified passport, one can only speculate as to the damage that he could have done.
It is important for people to keep forms of personal identification safe. If you suspect that your passport is missing or stolen, you should report it immediately.
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: emergency passport, fake passport, get a passport, lost passport, New York Passport, obtain a passport, passport, passport application, passport blog, passport book, passport expeditors, passport news, passport ny, Passport Services, passports, rush passport, stolen passport, US passport, US Passport Card
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Wednesday, January 5th, 2011
In a previous Rush Passport™ passport blog entry Ernest Hemingway’s passport application and passport photo were revealed. You can thank the Freedom of Information Act that required the Department of State to give the public access to thousands of celebrity passport applications.
This passport blog entry features another celebrity passport application. This famous celebrity icon is famous for appearing in one of the most widely seen movies of all time – The Wizard of Oz. In 1999, this actress was named among the ten greatest female stars in the history of American cinema by the American Film Institute.
While this actress / singer didn’t get as many passport stamps as Ernest Hemingway, she did get her passport stamped in England, Scotland, Ireland and Australia.
A strange note about her passport renewal in 1957. The passport is marked with the following specific stamp: “This passport is valid for travel to and in Bulgaria.”
If you still don’t know who this famous American is, here’s your last hint: She’s Liza Minnelli’s mother. For a larger look at her passport application and passport photo, click on the photo or just click here: zoom into passport application.
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: celebrity passport photo, emergency passport, passport, passport agency nyc, passport application, passport blog, passport celebrity, passport news, passport ny, passport photo, passport photo application, passport renewal, passports, rush passport, same day passport, US passport
Posted in Passport Ponderings | No Comments »
Monday, January 3rd, 2011
In a previous Rush Passport™ passport blog entry Marilyn Monroe’s passport application and passport photo were revealed. Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, the Department of State has given the public access to thousands of past celebrity passport applications.
This blog entry features another celebrity passport application. This famous author used his passport to travel around the world! One of the most traveled celebrities; his passport probably has more stamps than any other celebrity featured in this celebrity passport blog series. Born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois, this prolific author is also famous for leaving for Italy to become an ambulance driver during World War I. After being seriously wounded, this famous American used his passport to return home. In 1921 he was married and got his passport stamped once again as he and his new wife moved to Paris.
After a short time, he moved back to the states and then went onto Toronto (at that time, a passport wasn’t needed to travel to Canada) to become a freelance writer for the Toronto Star.
As a freelance writer he traveled around the globe getting his passport stamped in Smyrna while covering the Greco-Turkish War. He wrote travel pieces about tuna fishing and bullfighting in Spain, where he added yet another stamp to his passport. He went on to Germany for another passport stamp, then onto Italy again, then to Geneva where he collected more passport stamps, and eventually returned back to Paris.
Shortly after writing The Old Man and the Sea in 1952, this famous author added more passport stamps in Africa, and traveled to the Caribbean (where no passport was needed) and back and forth to Cuba where he established a residence and where his passport accumulated many stamps.
If you still don’t know who this famous American is, just click the image for a larger look at his passport application and passport photo or just click here to see his passport application.
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, celebrity passport photo, NYC Passport, passport, passport agency, passport agency nyc, passport agent, passport application, passport blog, passport book, passport emergency, passport news, passport ny, passport photo, passport renewal, passports, rush passport, US passport, US Passport Card
Posted in Passport Ponderings | No Comments »
Monday, December 27th, 2010
People are obsessed with celebrities. In a previous Rush Passport™ passport blog entry it was reported that a passport employee was even hit with felony charges for accessing confidential celebrity passports.
However, you can see some of the world’s most famous celebrity passport applications here at Rush Passport™’s celebrity passport blog. Can you guess whose passport application states that he is going to Havana, Cuba for the purpose of “baseball playing”? It’s not Fidel Castro’s application – but here’s a hint – ever heard of the Sultan of Swat? Give up? You’ll have to check Rush Passport™’s passport blog over this next week to find out. At Rush Passport™’s passport blog, we will be giving you access to 6 of the most famous celebrities of the past 100 years – and don’t worry – there won’t be any felony charges filed against you.
Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, to access celebrity passport applications, you don’t even need a publicist’s approval or a big payout… this information is all free. All you have to do is ask the State Department. Passport applications list such details as birth and marriage histories, travel plans, autographs, and some of them even include passport photos.
While I did say that this juicy celebrity passport database is all free – I didn’t say that it would be quick. Unlike the passport expediting process – that can take as little as 6 hours at Rush Passport™, the celebrity passport application requests took approximately a year and a half to process.
For some reason, the last time we checked, Elvis Presley’s passport application was off limits. There was no formal explanation from the State Department.
Another celebrity passport application states that a woman was taking the Queen Mary to Europe on “business.” Her husband is listed as Joseph Paul DiMaggio. I guess that’s enough of hint to figure out whom that celebrity passport application belongs to.
In addition to finding out some great facts about our favorite celebrities, the celebrity passport applications of the past asked for some additional information that is not on today’s passport application. For example, in 1920 passport applicants were asked to list the size of their mouths, and the shape of their chins and foreheads. Passport applications only cost $2 back then and passports were only valid for 2 years.
It is also important to note that passports were not required for US citizens (except for a brief time during the Civil War) until 1941.
Today passports are required to go to Mexico and Canada whereas a driver’s license used to be enough. Passports are also valid for 10 years. Today’s passports feature biometric passport chips that contain important passport holder data.
Check back at Rush Passport™‘s passport blog to see which celebrity passport applications we will be posting.
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: 24 hour passport, adult passport, celebrity passport, celebrity passports, Connecticut Passport, emergency passport, freedom of information act, get a passport, Long Island Passport, New York Passport, passport, passport agency, passport blog, passport expediting, passport nyc, passport renewal, Passport Services, passports, renew passport, rush passport, same day passport, State Department, US passport, US Passport Card, westchester passport
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Sunday, December 19th, 2010
In recent passport news, it was reported that Taiwan wished to be considered eligible for visa-free entry to the United States. That would mean that Taiwan citizens with valid passports would be able to travel to the US without need for a visa. This new passport policy would go into effect in 2011. Taiwan is anxious to get this passport initiative into effect and passport officials have been putting all of the components together so that this passport resolution is passed. As part of the visa-waiver program requirements, Taiwan will agree to exchange information on stolen or counterfeit passports, on terrorists and will collaborate to fighting global crime.
Taiwan must satisfy the conditions mentioned above before the US would consider them for the visa-waiver program (VWP). Taiwan passport officials claim that there is a need for a visa-waiver program with the US due to the extensive flow of passport holders between Taiwan and the US. Taiwan was recently granted visa-free privileges in parts of Europe. Issues with granting Taiwan visa-free privileges include visa refusal rates, cases of overstay in the US and a passport application and issuance procedure that requires potential travelers to apply for passports and visas in person.
Taiwan is putting in place new procedures that will require visa applicants to complete their passport applications in person. This new passport application practice is scheduled to begin March 1, 2011. Taiwanese passport officials recently met with the US Department of Homeland Security in Washington, DC to discuss this new passport proposal. Currently 96 countries / regions across the globe grant Taiwanese passport holders visa exemptions.
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, counterfeit passport, get a passport, new passport, passport, passport agency, passport applicants, passport blog, passport proposal, passports, rush passport, stolen passport, Taiwan passport, Taiwan visa, US passport, US Passport Book, US Passport Card, Visa, visa-free entry, visa-waiver program
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Wednesday, December 15th, 2010
In a previous Rush Passport™ passport blog entry, we posed the question as to whether or not Julian Assange’s passport should be cancelled or not. The following is an update to that passport blog entry.
The judge in the Julian Assange case has ruled that the WikiLeaks founder can go free on bail if he can post 240,000 GBP (approximately $378,000 US dollars).
As part of the bail condition, Assange would need to wear an electronic monitoring device and also would have to surrender his passport. Prosecutors are up in arms and have promised to appeal the ruling.
In the meantime, Assange’s supporters are quickly raising funds so that he can be released.
However, even if the money is raised, Assange will remain in custody until the prosecutors’ appeal is heard.
While the battle over Assange, his bail, and his passport rage on in England, other issues loom for the WikiLeaks founder in Sweden and the United States.
Assange is wanted in Sweden on charges of rape and other sex crimes. In the US, authorities are considering espionage charges against Assange for publishing excerpts from classified diplomatic documents.
If Assange is released, will he be a threat to skip bail? How will he leave the country without his passport? We will just have to wait and see how this all plays out…
Regardless of what your feelings are about Assange’s passport, 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: emergency passport, expedited passport, Julian Assange passport, NY Passport, passport, passport agency, passport agent, passport blog, passport book, passport card, passport ny, passport nyc, passport office, passport photos, Passport Services, rush passport, same day passport, surrender passport, US passport, WikiLeaks
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Thursday, November 11th, 2010
In a previous, Rush Passport™ passport blog article, it was reported that a US government passport office employee was arrested for using her computer passport security privileges to gain access to the confidential passport data and passport applications of more than 100 celebrities and their families.
According to an article in the Washington Times, the passport employee has pleaded guilty to lying to passport department officials. What was at first thought to be a passport security breach of 100 or so celebrity passports has now turned into a breach of over 500 confidential passport application files of famous Americans.
The former passport employee, Brooke E. Reyna, a 28 year old woman from Barrington, New Hampshire pleaded guilty in federal court to making false statements. When asked whether she looked at celebrity passports, she said that she did not. Now she admits that she did look through confidential files containing celebrity passport photos and celebrity passport personal data.
Since 2008, Reyna is the 10th State Department employee to plead guilty in a celebrity passport investigation. The passport investigation began when it was determined that the passports of then-presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain had been accessed.
Reyna was formerly employed at the National Passport Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and it determined that is the location where the celebrity passport security breaches took places.
The passport database is officially known as the Passport Information Electronic Records System (PIERS). This passport database system contains celebrity passport data as well as all imaged passport applications since 1994.
Some of the information contained within the passport database includes celebrity passport photos, passport applicant’s full name, passport applicant’s date and place of birth, passport applicant’s current address, passport applicant’s telephone numbers, passport applicant’s parent information, passport applicant’s spouse’s name and passport applicant’s emergency contact information.
Mrs. Reyna admitted to viewing the celebrity passports of more than 500 celebrities including actors, actresses, reality tv contestants, tv personalities, musicians, singers, fashion models, professional athletes. Not only did Reyna view the celebrity passports, but she also viewed the passports of members of their families, including their children’s passports.
When news of this celebrity passport breach first broke, the FBI and other government authorities were trying to determine whether Reyna simply viewed the celebrity passports or if she collected or sold any of the confidential celebrity passport data.
At this time it seems that Reyna’s sole purpose for viewing the celebrity passport applications was her own curiosity.
Even though Rush Passport™ is the Celebrity Passport Expeditor to the Stars, you don’t have to be a celebrity to get a passport. If you are a US citizen and you would like to know how to get a US Passport or US Passport Card or if you would like to know about how to renew your 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.
Tags: actor passport, celebrity passport, celebrity passport expeditor to the stars, celebrity passport photos, children's passports, famous passports, how to get a passport, Long Island Passport, National Passport Center, passport, passport application, passport blog, passport breach, passport celebrities, passport department, passport employee, passport office, passport security, passports, rush passport, tv passports, westchester passport
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