Getting An Expedited Child Passport

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It seems that many people have the misconception that very young children and infants do not need passports. This is simply not true, and this misinformation could result in a child being denied travel at an airport. This type of misinformation often results in parents scrambling to get their child a passport at the last minute. Luckily, the U.S. State Departments provides channels to secure an expedited child's passport.

Sometimes An Expedited Childs Passport Is Needed

As with any type of passport, it is important to become familiar with U.S. passport law before acquiring a child express pass port. First of all, passports are required for any non-government international travel by U.S. citizens. This includes all citizens, even children and infants.

However, there are some amendments to the law that have been added specific to children. The most important of these is that any child that is not at least sixteen years old will have to have written consent from both parents before a passport can be obtained. This law is in place to prevent a parent from unknowingly leaving the country without the second parent's permission.

This special passport law means that an additional step has been added to the process, but other than that, the process is pretty similar to adults. Once the consent forms have been signed, the application process will go as a new passport application would. Just make sure that the consent form is properly done so that there will be no snags as the process moves forward.

The child must have his or her photo taken prior to applying in person at an application center. One-hour photo stores in pharmacies or supermarkets are often then best and least expensive places to obtain passport photos. When pressed for time, these one-hour photo stores are by far the best place to get express passport photos because they can crop the photos to the requisite specifications immediately on site.

The dual-parent consent form must also be signed prior to filling out the application. This can be difficult if both parents are not in the same area. This is often the most difficult aspect of obtaining an expedited child passport. However, if both parents are able to sign the consent form, then the child's passport application becomes very much the same as an adult passport application.

The normal process of a passport is around two months. If the trip is going to happen inside of that time frame, it is best to pay the $60 to get the expedited service that will have the passport back in about three weeks. If that is still not quick enough, there are other services that are more expensive that will create an even quicker turnaround time.

When traveling abroad, it is best to have all the ducks in a row so that there are no issues at the last second. However, it is perfectly understandable to see how a child's passport could slip the mind of the parents that they would need to get an expedited child's passport. When this happens, know that there are several measures in place to make the express passport process as easy as it can be with the added pressure of a short turnaround time.
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