You should always have a current passport because you never know when someone might invite you to Paris for the weekend.
People laugh when I recite what I’ve come to call “Elizabeth’s mantra,” but it’s not far-fetched. A few years ago, my sister got a phone call from a friend who’d won a trip to Monaco as an incentive prize. “We have to leave next week,” said the friend. “Can you do it?” Fortunately, my sister had recently returned from visiting a daughter and first grandson in Germany and had a current passport. She went to Monaco and had a fabulous time.
In light of life’s serendipitous nature, it amazes me that some people are reluctant to get passports unless they have a foreign trip planned. As of June 1, you now need a passport or other approved document to enter the United States from any foreign country, including Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, or the Caribbean. That means if you are a U.S. citizen, you need proper documentation to return! Read about the new requirements at this
U.S. Department of State web page.
Many complain about the new requirements. It’s understandable, especially in these challenging economic times. A new passport costs $75, plus a $25 execution fee. And families have to pay an additional $85 for each child under 16. But those who complain underestimate a passport’s value. “An American passport is the best bargain in travel,” a friend told me a few years ago. He’d been a student leader in the former Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring of 1968, when hopes for democratic reform briefly flourished, only to wither before an onslaught of Soviet tanks. When I met him, he’d immigrated to the United States and was teaching international relations at UCLA Extension in Westwood, California. “In many nations, citizens are not allowed to travel outside the country without special government permission,” my friend continued. He spoke from experience.
I have only to think of recent headlines about government suppression of free speech and free assembly abroad to realize that his words are truer today than ever. Yes, a passport costs money, but it’s good for 10 years, and it lets you travel almost anywhere in the world. I agree with my friend: An American passport is the best bargain in travel.
Why It Pays to Renew Your Passport Early (Read more about the passport application/renewal process, fees and more at the U.S. Department of State webpage.
• If you renew your passport by mail, you can save money. A new passport costs $75, and you have to apply for it in person at a Regional Passport Agency or Passport Acceptance Facility, incurring an additional $25 execution fee—there’s no way around that. A passport renewal also costs $75, but you can avoid the $25 execution fee by mailing in Form DS-82, with your old passport and two passport photos. But you need to allow four to six weeks for processing.
• You avoid the fees for expediting the process. You can get your passport in two-to-three weeks, but the expedited service fee is an additional $60, plus overnight delivery costs.
• Some countries require that you have at least six months remaining on your passport.
I always renew mine a year early. After all, you never know when someone might invite you to Paris for the weekend.
