Posts Tagged ‘passport offices’

US Passport Offices to Close on March 4th?

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

passport office nyMarch 4th is the day that the Republicans and Democrats must agree on a new spending plan or the government will grind to a halt.

To find out just what that means to the passport industry, we have to look back to 1996 when America was affected by a federal government shutdown due to a budget fiasco.

In just 9 days, the possibility of a government shutdown increases.

On November 14th, 1995 US passport offices didn’t open due to the government shutdown.

If all US passport offices are closed, that means that approximately 25,000 visas and passports each day do not get processed.  In 1995 passport offices were shut down for 5 days.  Tourism and airlines lost millions of dollars and over 100,000 visas and passports went unprocessed.

People depend on US passports and with passport offices closed, it created problems for thousands of people.

If you have an upcoming trip and you need to get a passport, it is advisable to come in to Rush Passport as soon as possible to avoid any potential issues caused by the pending March 4th budget agreement.

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.

Rush Passport™, Official US Passport Expeditors Makes it Easy to Get a Passport.

Friday, November 19th, 2010

Passport ExpeditorsRecent passport problems at passport offices are just another reason to come to Rush Passport™ for all of your passport needs.  Let Rush Passport™, official US Passport expeditors, handle everything.  Who needs the stress of waiting on long lines at the passport office only to find out that you failed to fill out the paperwork properly, your passport photos are not within the regulations or your identification is not acceptable?  Going to the passport office in person can be confusing, annoying and even dangerous!

Recently a “suspicious white powder” was found on a package in the mail room at the National Passport/Visa Center in New Hampshire.  A passport agency employee alerted authorities after finding the substance in the mailroom of the passport agency.

Everyone in the building at the time including passport agency staff and hopeful passport applicants were all evacuated.  It was later determined that the substance was not an actual threat.

Then in an unrelated incident in Tucson, Arizona a security guard was shot while leaving the US passport office.  It is unclear as to why the shooters chose to shoot the security guard or if there was any significance to the fact that the shooting occurred outside of the US passport office.  Witnesses say that two people in a late model Chevy Suburban opened fire on the 53 year old security guard as he left the U.S. passport office.   Thankfully, the guard, Russel Buchanan of Huachuca City was not seriously injured.

Getting a passport should not be a dangerous or stressful experience.  Rush Passport™ has an experienced and knowledgeable passport agency staff that is ready to assist you with all of your passport needs from passport photos to new passports and everything in between.

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.

Get Your Passport on Friday the 13th? Why Not?

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Passport superstitious?  Today is Friday the 13th, so don’t walk under any ladders today and watch out for black cats crossing your path.  But something that you should do today is go out and get your passport

Jason Passport

Go out and get your passports and travel today as the superstitious will not be in the passport offices or at the airports today

If you are not one of the people who suffers from triskaidekaphobia –the fear of the number 13 – then you should go out and get your passports and travel today as the superstitious will not be in the passport offices or at the airports today.

Studies show that millions of dollars are lost as the superstitious shelve their passports and cancel travel plans due to Friday the 13th.

While history shows that it is no more dangerous to travel on Friday the 13th, one of the most notorious of all plane crashes occurred on Friday the 13th in 1972 when a plane crashed in the Andes and the survivors resorted to cannibalism.

In addition, Winston Churchill was known to lock up his passport and postpone all travel on Friday the 13th.

Passport holders may find a hard time booking a cruise on Friday the 13th as few British captains are willing to set sail on a ship’s maiden voyage on a Friday – let alone Friday the 13th.

So, if you’ve ever dreamed of stretching your legs out across the aisles in first class – then first get your passport – and then book your flight on Friday the 13th and you will be almost guaranteed to find the plane much emptier that usual.  If its too late to travel today, then maybe you can try May 13th, 2011 as it is the next time Friday the 13th shows up on the calendar.  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: Response to NY Times Article

Thursday, July 1st, 2010
Emergency Passport

Passport Emergency? Call Rush Passport 24 hours a day / 7 days a week!

Need to get a passport in a hurry?  You can do it yourself, but here’s some advice – don’t!  After reading this blog, you’ll understand why it’s much better to call Rush Passport™, Official US Passport Expeditors, Registered with the US Department of State and Foreign Consulates.

A recent article in the NY Times tells an all too familiar story.  Ms. Azlant and her boyfriend Mr. Duffy would much rather have been on a plane to Aruba, and they would have been if her passport had not expired five days earlier.  This happens to somebody everyday!

Instead of going to a passport expeditor, there the young Brooklyn couple were – sitting outside on the sidewalk in front of the New York Passport Agency at 376 Hudson Street.  There are 17 passport centers nationwide and the NYC location is the busiest of all, servicing upwards of 3,000 wannabe travelers each week. In all, including select post offices, there are over 9,000 locations around the U.S., that accept passport applications, but these 17 passport centers are for the most urgent passport situations.

This is where people go after finding out that they have a problem on the day that they are supposed to travel.  Common passport emergencies include families who get to the airport for an international flight only to find out that their children’s passports are expired.  Other examples are even more critical as people are in desperate need of a passport to visit a relative who has passed away or even worse – to pay last respects to someone dying overseas. Others have lost their passports or had them stolen.  And yet others come in from other states across the US because there are no passport offices that can help them where they live, so they figure they will give it a shot in New York City.

Just because you have spent hours waiting on the sidewalk doesn’t guarantee that you will be granted a passport.  The Passport Agency is very strict about which applicants are issued passports.  By 7:30 a.m., there is already a long line of anxious and hopeful passport applicants who get herded like cattle into a line by a security officer.  Passport applicants are then corralled into order based on appointment time followed by the emergency cases.

Then the passport hopefuls are handled with the warmth of a visit to Riker’s Island as they are reminded by a security guard that they are about to enter a federal building and that there are “No sharp objects. No pepper spray. No food or beverages. We can’t hold anything for anybody.”

It is not a pleasant atmosphere to be in, especially as tempers can flare up in a split second as people are so anxious to begin with.  Since applicants are not allowed to bring food into the building, some resort to strange solutions like stashing it in trash cans and others have even reported that there’s a candy store that will watch your lunch for $5.00.

They are then subjected to metal detectors and sent to wait indefinitely for an interview.  After this whole process, some people can get rejected for the tiniest glitch in their applications such as having passport photos that were taken from too far away, with improper lighting or for being not perfectly centered.

Does this process sound like fun yet?  I didn’t think so…

If you do find yourself in a passport emergency, do yourself a favor – contact Rush Passport™ (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 / New York Agency 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and speak with a Live Agent or visit us online at http://www.rushpassport.com

70,000 Passport Applications in Backlog!

Friday, May 7th, 2010

Irish Passport

To Get a Passport in Ireland You'll Need the Luck of the Irish!

According to the Irish Times, each day over 4,100 people in Ireland apply for a new passport, the Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed.  Currently, 70,000 passport applications are in backlog.  There has been a steady increase in passport applications as evidenced by March 2010 when the number of backlogged passports was at 50,000.  That means that 20,000 passport applications have been added to the backlog list in just a month!  The passport office in Dublin processes approximately 3,600 passports a day, approximately 500 applications less than what are received on a daily basis.  Approximately 700,000 passport applications are received in Ireland annually.  The passport offices process approximately 650,000 applications every year.  The passport offices are asking that public counters should only be used by those who need to travel for reasons of family emergency such as death, illness or welfare of a family member.

Maybe Ireland should learn from India and start installing Passport Kiosks.  Another solution may be to use text messaging like in Singapore.  Whatever method Ireland chooses, it is clear that something must be done quickly!

Need Your Passport Quick? Just Send a Text Message…

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
Text Message Passport

Get up-to-date passport status by text message.

Need Your Passport Quick?  Just Send a Text Message…

That’s just what is going on in many passport agencies across India!  Passport status is easily being updated by SMS text messages in regional passport agencies throughout India.  Regions including Bangalore, Lucknow,  Ghaziabad and Patna were the first to offer passport status inquiries by text message and now Kashmir has followed suit.

This passport innovation gives applicants the opportunity to access their status by sending a simple text message.  According to passport officials, the move is aimed to reduce pressure on understaffed passport offices.   Through this initiative, applicants who in the past had to frequent passport offices for the simplest of queries, now send text messages 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The choice to use text messages for passport queries instead of having passport applicants use the internet actually makes perfect sense.    Only a small portion of the population in India has access to the internet, while the number of households in India with at least one cell phone within the family is astromomical.   Passport applicants who wish to know the reason for the delay of their passports are given unique ID numbers that they use to text the passport agency.  The agencies respond by text message with passport status updates.

The number of applicants seeking passports has increased significantly over the past decade.  It generally takes 6 weeks for a passport applicants to receive their passports.  If this text message service can reduce the number of passport applicants coming to the office to check status, it should expedite the passport process on the whole.

Who knows, this could spark a whole new crop of acronyms: JGMP (Just Got My Passport), LOLWMP (Laughing out Loud with My Passport!), ROTFLWMNP (Rolling on the Floor Laughing with My New Passport!) OMP (Oh My Passport!)