Discovered my passport card has expired and only six months left on the full passport. So I quickly mailed in my app, photo and check on July 3- got
the full new passport back today, issued July 12 (With July 4 weekend in the middle)
No passport card yet, but I surely am not complaining.
I had read horror stories of months of waiting, and having gone through the 19 month wait a year ago for my Sentri pass I was, to say the least,
astonished.
Maybe the fact that I live in Arizona and sent it to Phlly made a difference.
Quien sabe??
Just happy to have the State Department actually do a good job on something, indeed "un milagro"BooJumMan - 7-16-2024 at 05:33 AM
Funny you bring this up. Same thing happened to me. I used the online app version. I applied on a Weds and the next Tuesday the new passport was at my
door. (This was the last week of June). David K - 7-16-2024 at 07:30 AM
So, both mailing it in and the on-line app worked quickly... great!
I wonder if doing it at the post office is the same...?pacificobob - 7-16-2024 at 07:41 AM
While working for a large international air cargo company i had my passport renewal happen in 3 days including shipping. They used some expediting
service.
On another occasion i renewed in 45 minutes at the US embassy in hong kong. AKgringo - 7-16-2024 at 07:46 AM
My passport, and passport card have the same expiration date. I just assumed that the card and book were both based on the original application, but
apparently not!
I wonder if first time applications are also being processed faster than they were a few years ago?David K - 7-16-2024 at 08:02 AM
We got our new pasports and the cards together. I have used both to get FMMs but there is no preference. Maybe that the card fits in my wallet makes
it more useable? Something cool about a passport book, however.chatolj - 7-16-2024 at 10:47 AM
Can't fly back to US with the card if the need arouse.David K - 7-16-2024 at 01:00 PM
Can't fly back to US with the card if the need arouse.
That is true, but an emergency medical evacuation probably negates that?
Of course, we also all know that to drive down and willingly leave your car in Mexico to fly back home is illegal, too (for FMM holders)... of course
we all probbaly know people who do this knowing or not knowing the rules against leaving property in Mexico at the end of your vacation. Maybe that
has changed?thebajarunner - 7-16-2024 at 03:53 PM
The enormous advantage of the passport card is that it fits in your wallet (or purse) and you always have it on you.
Passport, of course, gets you more places, on more forms of transport, but I doubt if anyone on this board carries it on their person 24/7.
Just recognize the limits and advantages of each, they are indispensable.
Before passport cards I use to challenge people....."Bet you do not have proof of our US citizenship on your person." Don't think I ever lost that
bet.
I carried my private pilot license and it indicated my citizenship and also was Federally issued. No longer the exclusive answer with the addition
of the passport card. (Plus I doubt if that pilot license would have gotten me across many borders.)
You could also carry your voter registration card, but it was paper and got pretty mushy in the wallet in no time at all.surabi - 7-16-2024 at 04:12 PM
Years ago, when I went to renew my Canadian driver's license, you had to show 2 pieces of ID, one a "primary" ID, and a "secondary" ID.
I had brought my passport for the primary ID, but the girl behind the counter said "Oh, we don't accept a passport as primary ID". I was gobsmacked
and asked why not. She said "Well, because you don't have to be a citizen to have a passport".
I couldn't believe this level of ignorance and said, "Of course you do- that's what a passport is- proof of citizenship." The bimbo's response was
"Oh, well, I wouldn't know, I've never gone anywhere I needed a passport."
I actually had to go back home, dig out my tattered 60 year-old paper birth certificate, with no photo, and THAT they would accept as primary ID.
When people complain about Mexican bureaucracy, I tell them it's often a lot less of a hassle than NOB.
stillnbaja - 7-16-2024 at 05:29 PM
the card got real popular with the introduction of the Readylane, didn't take long before everyone had one, its time to merge the Readylane with the
regular lanes.
How about a pet passport?
AKgringo - 7-16-2024 at 06:02 PM
Just in case the new requirements for having for having verifiable chips in pets crossing the border, I was thinking about getting one that would have
a photo ID and a link to her chip and shot records.
Has anyone here done that?BoenBaja - 7-17-2024 at 06:51 AM
Just received my Sentri card as my old one was set to expire in September. Took less than a month!
Second miracle
thebajarunner - 7-18-2024 at 06:24 PM
Got the passport card today
Clean sweep!!!
Exactly two weeks from mailing in the apps to receiving both the card and the passport book.
Happy and relieved.....
